One more day left. I can’t believe how quick this has gone. I don’t want to finish :). There were no new ingredients I worked with today. Does that mean I’ve learned it all? Probably not, but I have learned a lot.

My work area today:

Today Chef Ratch taught us 7 dishes, making some up from the holiday break, and some of my favorite dishes! They were:

• Southern curry paste (Prik Gaeng Kua Kling)
• Stir fried pork with southern curry (Kua Kling Moo)
• Crispy roasted pork belly (moo Krob)
• Barbecue pork served with rice (Khao Moo Dang)
• Spicy minced chicken salad (Laab Gai)
• Thai fish cakes with sweet chili sauce (Tord Man Pla)
• Stir fried eggplant with minced chicken and basil (Pad Ma Kau Yaw)
• Sweet corn in tapioca & coconut milk (Sa Khoo Piak Khao Pode)

I have to say, although everything tasted good, my favorites today included the crispy roasted pork belly, the barbecue pork and the spicy minced chicken salad (one of my all time favorite dishes to eat and NOW I know how to make it). The pork belly had minimal spices on it but it was so tasty and tender, and the skin so crunchy. The barbecue pork had an amazing flavor as well, although that one had A LOT more ingredients in the recipe. AND the chicken laab was not disappointing at all! It’s hard to choose. Narrowing it down to two would be the crispy roasted pork belly or the chicken laab….hummmmm…okay, I will go with the crispy roasted pork belly…at least that is what my taste buds are saying right now.

For the crispy roasted pork belly, you will need:

• 300 grams pork belly, chunk
• 1 coriander root, smashed
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• Enough stock to cover pork belly
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar, optional, if you want it towards the sweeter side
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Steps:

1. Add stock to pot with coriander, garlic and pork belly and bring to boil for about 15 minutes, until 60-70% done and the skin is softened. Drain well and wipe dry with a paper towel.
2. Combine the rice vinegar, salt, and sugar (if using) and rub on the skin side of the pork.
3. Use a sharp carving knife (or a skewer or fork) to poke the rind with as many holes as possible in order to get the mixture into the meat.
4. Put pork onto a crumbled piece of aluminum foil and then on a roasting tray/pan.
5. Cook in 215 degree oven for about 30-60 minutes, to dry out the skin/fat a little before frying.
6. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat and then add pork belly (skin side down) to fry until the skin is crispy, about 10 minutes. Turn and leave in for about 5 more minutes or until crispy and the color turns to brown.
7. Remove onto paper towels and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing.
8. Serve with sauce of your choosing. It’s good with Thai sweet sauce (mix 1 tablespoon each of sugar, vinegar, dark sweet soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 1 thinly sliced long green chili, voila, your sauce).

Some of the other wonderful dishes from today:

That was a lot of dishes! Catch you tomorrow (my last day 🙁 ) with another 8 dishes!

Hi All, I am about 12 hours late posting this days yummy dishes…had a few distractions last night, like a Thai massage and my friends took me out to eat at a Greek restaurant, for a change of pace, and then dancing. Was a FUN evening!

Today was an eight dishes day, taught to me by Chef Nat. This was my last private lesson with him…did I tell you how AMAZING he is? I know I have! I will miss his tutelage! You can tell he is an experienced Chef with lots of knowledge of Thai food, as well as other countries.

A couple of the recipes were soup/stew related so had a long process to get that wonderful tasting broth happening. A couple new ingredients I worked with today included preserved mustard greens and wax gourd. Some of my work stations today:

So the dishes I made today were:

• Stewed pork leg with chili vinegar dip (Khao Kha Moo)
• Chicken and rice with soybean paste dip (Khao Man Gai)
• Northern curry paste with pork (Kaeng Hung Lay)
• Deep fried prawn and herbs salad in taro basket (Goong Thod Katong Pheuak)
• Stir fried fish with Chinese celery (Pla Pad Kun Chai)
• Southern style fried chicken (Gai Thot Had Yai)
• Spicy egg salad with bacon (Yum Kai Dao Bacon)

I have to say, I loved everything today, I don’t think I have not liked something so far, but I did have my favorites. If I only had to choose my top three they would be the stewed pork leg, the chicken and rice, the northern curry paste with pork and the southern style fried chicken…okay, top 4!

Such a complexity of flavors in the stewed pork leg, which had about 28+ ingredients in it to get those flavors. The chicken and rice was less complex but had that simple healthy flavor that made you feel good when you ate it. Both of those definitely are good soups/stews to eat if you have a cold!

On the other hand, the Northern curry paste with pork and the southern style fried chicken…not as healthy, ha, ha…but ohhhhh so good. To narrow it down even more, I believe these two are my top two choices. That being said, I have to go with the fried chicken. I have never really made a southern fried chicken and always wanted to learn how to get that awesome crunch…then fast forward to Thailand and eating that street food fried chicken that smells so good and has a wonderful crunch I wanted to learn how to make that…well, I know now! It is a simple recipe but sooo good. The chicken is moist inside and crunchy on the outside!

For the fried chicken, you will need:

• 2 chicken thighs (you can use any cut of chicken but dark meat tends to stay more moist)
• 1 coriander root, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon white pepper corn
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 tablespoon coriander seed
• 2 tablespoons tempura flour
• 2 tablespoons limestone water or soda water
• 2 tablespoons deep fried shallots for topping
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon seasoning sauce
• 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
• Palm oil for frying

Steps:

1. Pound (in a mortar) the peppercorn, cumin and coriander seeds then add coriander root and garlic and pound between rough and smooth. Add to a mixing bowl.
2. Combine all the other ingredients into the mixing bowl, except for chicken and fried shallots (shallots are a topping), with the tempura flour being added last and mix well.
3. Add chicken and let marinate for at least 30 minutes. In the meantime slice your shallots thin, cover with some all purpose flour and fry to make deep fried shallots for topping.
4. Deep fry chicken in wok on medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning half way through.
5. Turn wok to high and cook for another 3-5 minutes, turning once in between, until you have a golden color and is crispy. Take out and set in a strainer to rest about 10-15 minutes.
6. Right before you are ready to eat, re-fry chicken for about another 3 minutes, turning in between, to get it extra crispy.
7. Can serve with sticky rice.

Pictures of the other dishes I made:

Well, that is it for today, sorry my post was a little later than usual. More to come on Monday!

Merry Christmas to those that believe! I hope everyone is having a good holiday season. Thailand officially doesn’t celebrate Christmas with the day off so I had cooking school today…which is great because that is what I am here for!

Today I learned to make massaman curry paste. It was wonderful! I think to now it’s my favorite curry and I had never tried it before, I have some cans of it in my pantry at home but hadn’t tried that type yet. It was different then the red and green in that it had some warm spices in it, such as, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, plus the herbs and spices are toasted before pounded in the mortar. It supposedly is a Muslim inspired curry.

My stations today:

The dishes I made today included:

• Massaman curry paste (Nam Prik Gaeng Massaman)
• Massaman curry with chicken (Gaeng Massaman Gai)
• Stir fried chicken with cashew nuts (Gai Pak Med Ma-Muang)
• Steamed pork with lime sauce (Moo Noung Ma-Now)
• Deep fried shrimp in tamarind sauce (Goong Thord Lad Sood Makham)
• Chicken in coconut milk soup (Tom Kha Kai)
• Stir fried vegetables with tofu (Phad Pak Teahu)
• Pork belly with spices (Moo Hong)

I have to say that the tofu dish above I got to use the tofu I made yesterday. It was excellent! I can’t believe how easy it is to make tofu…I think I said that yesterday. It was a medium firmness tofu. Chef Ratch said that I want it softer to not press most of the water out of it before refrigerating it overnight. But I loved the texture, and it was WONDERFUL when I battered it with panko and fried it…YUM!

There were several stand out dishes for me today. The Massaman curry with chicken, the deep fried shrimp in tamarind sauce and the pork belly with spices. The shrimp was so crispy and the homemade tamarind we made was awesome! The pork belly had a thick stew consistency. I didn’t think I’d like the spices so much in it because when I tasted the sauce, while it was cooking, I didn’t like it that much…but once the liquid reduced oh my gosh, it was wonderful…the flavors came together great.

Okay, that leaves the Massaman curry with chicken. When I tasted it the first thing I thought was “this is my favorite dish up to date.” So that is my #1 pick today! It was served with a crispy hash brown like pancake, all I can say is it was amazing in every way. Massaman curry is usually good with chicken, beef or lamb, not seafood.

For the Massaman curry with chicken, you will need:

• 100 grams chicken, cut into about 1.5″ chunks
• 1-2 tablespoons prepared or store bought Massaman curry paste
• 50 grams potato, shredded
• 1/4 cup onion, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick (1″ piece crushed)
• 1-2 cardamom seeds
• 1 tablespoon roasted peanuts
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon tamarind juice

Steps:

1. Heat wok with 1 tablespoon of oil and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of Massaman curry paste (to your taste), stir vigorously until fragrant.
2. Add coconut cream and mix well, stir until fat separates to the top.
3. Add chicken and fry for about 5 minutes (depending on the size of your chunks).
4. Add coconut milk, onion and palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind juice.
5. Stir constantly until chicken and onion are cooked. Remember to add some chicken stock, when needed, so it doesn’t dry out.
6. In the meantime, make your potato pancake. Add shredded potato to a heated non-stick pan with one tablespoon of oil and fry until golden brown on both sides. You can salt your potato a little bit before or afterwards, if you wish.
7. Throw in half of the peanuts into curry as it’s cooking and garnish with the other half after you plate.

The other dishes I made today:

That is it for today. Catch you tomorrow for more wonderful Thai food!