Pork in Tomato Sauce (nam prik ong)

Every Friday, we are bringing you pictures of the Thai food that we are eating in the Paknam Web offices. This first dish was a new one for me though I found it worth repeating in the future. The pork and tomato sauce is made up from pounding together chillies, salt, galangal, onion, shrimp paste, garlic and of course the pork and tomatoes. To cook, first fry some garlic in a wok until golden brown. Then add the paste and fry for a few minutes until cooked through. Then add some water and continue cooking until this has evaporated. It is then served with either fresh or cooked vegetables.

Green Curry with Beef (gaeng kiew wan neua)

The next dish is an old favourite for many visitors to Thailand. I like both green curry and red curry and you can cook it yourself with just about any meat or even fish. This version is green curry with beef. You can buy the curry paste ready made in most supermarkets around the world. You will also need some coconut milk. In this picture you can see the quartered egg plants and hard peas. When I cook myself I use normal garden peas from the freezer.

Steamed Noodle Rolls (kuay-tiao lod)

This is another one of those dishes I haven't had often but it has a good taste. It is basically a noodle wrap that is stuffed with various ingredients. This one had chicken with dried shrimp, tofu and bean sprouts. The topping is a sweet dark soy sauce.

Indian Fried Pastry (roti)

Our dessert today is a popular snack often seen on the street. The roti came with Indian immigrants to Thailand. Locally, we buy our roti from a Muslim family. Commonly there are two versions. This one has sweetened milk and sugar which costs about 7 baht each. Another version has an egg instead and is usually about 15 baht each. I will show you some more versions of roti on another day. When you are next in Thailand, make sure you try something new. You never know, it may become your favourite dish.

Spicy Salad (yum tua poo)

The first dish on our menu for this Friday lunchtime was this spicy salad. The basic ingredients include shrimp, squid, minced pork, hard boiled egg, sliced red shallot, roasted ground peanuts, and dried chilies. The sauce includes coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice and a sprinkling of sugar. Not bad at 25 baht a dish.

Radish Soup

The second dish uses Chinese radishes. You need to peel these and then cut them into one inch blocks. You cook the stock with pork on bone. Once the pork has cooked through, add the radish and mushrooms. Some recipes also add dried squid for the stock and fresh shrimp. However, we had clear soup. A basic dish that goes well with something spicier. This was only 20 baht.

Stir-fried bell pepper with pork

This is an easy stir-fried that you can cook yourself in a wok. In Thai it is called "pad prik yuak gup moo". The main ingredient is the green bell pepper. But there is also spring onion, onion and pork. You also add oyster sauce and some sugar. This was 25 baht.

Stir-fried vegetables with pork

Another stir fried dish was this basic one called "pad pak ruam mit" in Thai. When I go to restaurants I often buy this dish as it goes well with most curries. The ingredients will vary depending on what the cook has in stock. I often cook this myself as it is quick and easy. As always, fry some garlic until golden brown. I add the carrots and cauliflower first as they take slightly longer to cook. Keep stirring all the time. Then add the remaining ingredients. Add some water if it starts to dry out. Season with oyster sauce and sugar. Some recipes say add fish sauce instead but I prefer oyster sauce. This version also had pork which obviously you add first! This was 25 baht.

Khanom Tom

This is a nice Thai dessert called Khanom Tom. There is a Thai boxing hero with the same name - Nai Khanom Tom. I wrote about him not long ago. I am not sure if he is named after the dessert or the dessert is named after him! Anyway, the filling of this rice ball is made up from grated coconut and sugar that is cooked in a wok until it becomes a thick mixture. When cooled it is rolled into a ball. The outer wrapping is made up from glutinous rice flour and coconut cream. If you want to make the green version, you also add the juice of the pandanus leaf. This gives you the dough after you have left it stand for a while. Then roll the dough into small balls and then flatten them. Add the filling and then wrap the dough around it. These are then boiled in water until they float to the top. They are served with a topping of steamed grated coconut. These are 10 baht for 5 rice balls.

Come back to thai-blogs.com next week for more Thai dishes.

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Sour Soup with Vegetables and Shrimp (gaeng som)

Prices of food have been going up by about 20% and so it is now even more difficult for us to stay within budge for our Friday Lunchtime Thai Menu. The price of rice has also increased. At the local supermarket, in order to stop rice hoarding, a notice says that we are only allowed to buy two bags of rice per family. Though there doesn't seem to be a shortage yet. This first dish is an old favourite sometimes called orange curry though really it should be called sour curry. The word "som" can mean both. The chili paste for this is made up from red chillies, chopped red shallots, shrimp paste and steamed fish. To cook, use either a chicken stock or a shrimp stock. Bring this to a boil and add the paste. Season with fish sauce and tamarind water (which makes it sour). You can also add some sugar if you like. Now add the shrimp and vegetables. This bowl cost us 25 baht.

Stuffed Omelette (kai yad sai)

A nice accompaniment to a sour curry is an omelette. It is easy to cook this yourself. However, this version is slightly different as it contains a surprise. It is a bit like a crepe wrapped around another ingredient. In English we would call it a stuffed omelette. When you cook the egg, you need to make it thin by spreading it all around the pan. Once it is cooked, remove from the pan and then prepare the ingredients. This can be anything you like. This one had minced pork with tomatoes, onion, string beans and mushrooms. Once cooked, put the mixture onto the middle of the egg sheet and fold it into a square. This cost 30 baht. It is not always meat inside so you will need to ask "sai a-rai".

Sweet and Sour Pork (pad priao wan)

This sweet and sour dish is a favourite among foreign tourists. Sometimes you will find it is just stir-fried vegetables. This one has pork. Other ingredients include onion, cucumber, tomato and spring onion. Stir fry this as normal though don't use garlic. Instead add some water. Once done add some ketchup and season with sugar, soy sauce and vinegar. To make the sauce thicker, mix some water with some wheat flour. This is easier enough to make yourself. The meat version cost us 30 baht. Like I said, prices are going up and this was only 25 baht before. But, it is still good value for money.

Candied Cassava (mun sam-palang cheaum

The dessert today is made from the roots of a cassava plant. First you have to prepare the syrup by mixing together sugar and water and boil slowly until all the sugar has dissolved. Strain this through a sieve and then bring it back to the boil once more. Reduce the heat and then add the cassava roots which have been peeled and cut into two inch sticks. Once it is cooked through it will have a glazed look as most of the syrup would have been absorbed by the roots. You top this with a mixture of coconut cream and salt that has been boiled together and then allowed to cool. I have never had this before as it never looked that attractive. It also looked very sweet. But small amounts was very tasty. Try some yourself. This dish cost only 20 baht.

Come back to thai-blogs.com next Friday to find out what we ate next!

Fried Kale with Crispy Pork

For the next few weeks, we will be buying our Friday Lunch at our local food shop. This is the kind of place that does one dish meals. They have a menu up on the wall which is much the same as other shops. So, just call out your favourite and the chances are that they can cook it for you. The first one is fried kale with crispy pork or "khana moo grob" in Thai. The pork is usually fried in advance. So just cook the kale with garlic and chili in an oyster sauce. This is a good dish for only 25 baht.

Fermented Pork Fried Rice

This is a basic fried rice dish though with fermented pork. In Thai it is called "khao pad naem". You add the fermented pork to a hot wok together with the sliced onion and red shallots. Once they are cooked through, add the cooked rice and continue stirring until cooked. This one also has egg. Season with sugar and fish sauce. This dish also costs 25 baht.

Fried Noodles with pork and dark soy sauce

Our third dish today is the fried wide noodles (usually "sen mee") which is called "pat si yew". That is not easy to write in Roman letters. I quite like this dish but the recipe does vary a bit so you might need to shop around a bit to find your favourite. To make, fry chopped garlic in a wok until golden brown. Add pork or beef and stir-fy quickly. Break an egg into the wok and stir quickly until it is set. Then add the noddles and again stir and toss well to make sure nothing burns. Finally add the broccoli. Season with both dark and light soy sauce, sugar and fish sauce. There is a gravy version of this called "rat naa" and is often made at the same shop. I will buy some soon to show you. This dish was again 25 baht.

Fried Tofu, Taro and Corn

Our snack today is fried tofu (coloured white on the left), fried corn (at the top) and fried taro (on the right). You can buy them separately or mixed like we did. This dish was 20 baht. The dip is important as usual. This is a mixture of vinegar, water, sugar, salt and chili which is boiled together and then allowed to cool. There is also ground peanuts. However, when you buy it on the street, it is in separate bags and you just mix it together when you get back home.

Khanom Puak Kuan

Our dessert today was Khanom Puak Kuan. There are two different kinds as you can see in this picture. The brown one is a taro pudding and the yellow one is made from mung bean. These are cooked first and then it is combined with a mixture made up of coconut cream, palm sugar and salt. I had to try quite a few before I could decide which one I liked more. In the end I went for the taro. Fiften of these cost only 20 baht.

Come back to thai-blogs.com next week to find out what we are eating on Friday. I will be archiving all of these Thai street food blogs on a new website which will be ready to launch maybe at the end of this month. I will tell you more about that later.

Another one of those unusual fruits that you can buy while on holiday in Thailand is the Star Fruit, otherwise known as Carambola. It is oval-shaped and has 3 to 5 ridges along its length. It is light green in colour but turns yellow when it ripens. When cut in cross section it provides you with a star shape, hence the name. The fruit is easy to prepare. You need to cut off the tough ridges with a peeler and then slice off each end. Then cut into slices. The thickness is up to you. Other than the ridges, the skin is alright to eat. There are some seeds inside which should be removed first. It is nice and juicy and is probably best served chilled. Though if you put it in the refrigerator you need to cover it. The fruit is a good source of Vitamin C and has less than 30 calories per fruit. At my local supermarket it is a little expensive at 65 baht per kilo. This is about US$2. You will probably find it cheaper down the market. Try something different the next time you are in Thailand.

Thai name: มะเฟือง (ma-feuang)

Chinese Chicken on Rice (khao man gai)

We have been doing the Friday Lunchtime Thai Menu for just over three months now. Normally we buy three or so dishes and then share these among us. This time we have opted for a couple of one person dishes as there was only two of us today. The first is an old favourite called khao man gai or Chinese Chicken on Rice. It is not quite as simple as chopping up some boiled chicken and placing it on some cooked rice. What makes it unique is the way the rice is cooked. You first fry some garlic in hot oil until it is golden brown. Then add the uncooked rice for about three minutes making sure that you stir well. Then transfer this to a standard rice cooker where you add chicken stock instead of plain water. The stock comes from boiling the chicken earlier. You can buy two versions. Boiled chicken or fried chicken. For this one, you use a brown soybean sauce. This contains hot chili, ginger, fermented soybean, vinegar and dark soy sauce. The standard dish costs 20 baht though this one cost us 25 baht as we asked for extra chicken.

Chicken on Yellow Curry Rice (khao mok gai)

As an alternative, I sometimes like eating this yellow curry version which we can buy from the same shop for the same price. This is "khao mok gai" or Chicken and Yellow Rice. A local muslim family run this very popular shop. They are usually sold out by two in the afternoon. The yellow comes from turmeric powder. To cook "khao mok gai", you fry some garlic in a pan until golden brown. You then stir in the rice, turmeric curry powder, salt and chicken pieces. You then transfer this mixture to an electric rice cooker. You add the chicken stock and cook for about 20 minutes. This one is fried chicken so you use the sweet red chili dip which is made from sugar, red chili, garlic, vinegar and salt. Both dishes come with a bowl of chicken broth.

Khanom Tuay Foo

Today's dessert looks quite appetizing though I found it a bit dry. There are two versions of this Thai dry cake. They look much the same. They are Tuay Foo and Pui Fai. The difference is that the one we had today has shredded coconut and the other one has duck eggs instead. Other ingredients include wheat flour, sugar and condensed milk. The mixture is spooned into aluminum molds and then steamed for about 15 minutes. Visit thai-blogs.com next week to see what we will choose to eat on Friday.

White Noodles with Fish Curry Sauce

This is the continuation of our Friday Lunchtime Thai Menu. The main dishes today are not served with rice. Instead, we had them with what some people call Thai spaghetti. The Thai people themselves call them "khanom jeen" which makes you think that it is a kind of Chinese dessert. But really, it comes from a Mon word "kanom jin". When the Thais adopted this dish, they either misheard the name, or just couldn't spell very well. In English, we would call it fermented rice vermicelli. There are a number of different dishes that you can have with these noodles. The one today is called khanom jeen nam yaa. It is a fish curry with wild ginger. There are variations around the country. In the north, they use pork instead of fish. In the northeast, they use dried bird's eye chillies and no coconut milk. And in the south, they use turmeric and dried prawns. This cost us 20 baht for the curry, 5 baht for the noodles and 5 baht for the boiled egg. We added our own vegetables.

White Noodles with Chicken and Bamboo Shoot Curry

You can eat this chicken curry with either "khanom jeen" or rice. I personally prefer rice, but it did make a nice change today to have it with noodles. The actual curry is made in the normal way for green curry. You just add bamboo shoots which are very tasty. This was 30 baht including khanom jeen.

Khanom Piak Poon

The dessert today is "khanom piak poon" which is sometimes translated as rice flour custard. Though it is firmer than what we would normally call custard. You basically stir together rice flour, tubular flour, palm sugar and saturated red lime juice. It is cooked over a high heat until it turns sticky and thick. To make the green version you need to soak pandanus leaves in water. The black comes from burnt coconut skin. It is not a bad taste and I quite enjoyed eating it. These three only cost 10 baht.