Thai-style Pineapple Fried Rice

April 24, 2019 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! Oh how it has been one heck of a super hectic and stressful week! So hectic that even until today I haven’t had the time to sit down and watch the second episode of the final season of Game of Thrones! *gasp* With that being said, I do have an important announcement to make which you can read about at the end of this post.

Moving on, we’re on our last Pineapple recipe for the month! How crazy is that?! It’ll be May already next week, and in another blink of an eye, we’ll be at the halfway mark of the year! Tonight I’ll be sharing a recipe that I first tried during my travels to Thailand – now I’ve been there a couple of times already so I can’t remember when exactly was the first time I had it there, whether 6, 10, or 15 years ago.

Cooking fried rice is fun as it is super quick to make and it allows you to get creative with the choice of proteins and vegetables that go into the mix. It can easily be a sort of clean-out-the-fridge. The end result, a tasty and satisfying weeknight meal to eat!

Thai-style Pineapple Fried Rice is a refreshing twist to a classic/normal fried rice. It is one of Thailand’s signature dishes, It is often platted in a carved-out pineapple bowl to make it, not only delectable, but even more gorgeous to look at! The slightly tangy and sweet taste of the fresh pineapple is so enticing and the combination of spices just takes it up a notch. Not only that, it is so much cheaper and healthier than take-out fried rice.

Feel free to get creative and use your favourite kind of protein in this dish, i.e. ham, chicken, pork, or prawns. You may even keep it vegetarian with just the pineapple or bulk it up with tofu! Of course, don’t forget to switch out the fish sauce with salt if you’re going vegetarian with the dish. The version that I will be sharing with you guys tonight is pescatarian-friendly. It’s a true crowd-pleaser and is sure to be a hit at the table.

PREP TIME 15 MINS | COOKING TIME 15 MINS | SERVES 4-6

INGREDIENTS

3 to 4 cups cooked rice (preferably several days old)
1 fresh, almost ripe pineapple (see method below on how to prepare)
250g prawns, shelled with the tails left on and deveined
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
1 red bird’s eye chilli, sliced
1 small red onion, diced
1/4 cup frozen mixed vegetables (green peas, carrots, and corn kernels, thawed)
1/4 cup roasted cashews or peanuts
1 sprig afro parsley

For the sauce

3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp water
2 tsp Thai curry powder (or regular yellow curry powder)
1/2 tsp white granulated sugar

METHOD

Preparing the Pineapple: Cut the pineapple lengthwise, crown included.
Take one half of the pineapple and run a sharp knife around the border of the pineapple. Make sure to leave a couple of centimeteres from the edge for a firm border.
Slice the pineapple into large cubes and then carve out the flesh. Repeat for the other half of the pineapple.
Cut the carved out pineapple cubed into smaller bite-sized pieces and set aside.
Dry out the carved out pineapple bowls in the oven at 160C (320F or gas mark 2) for about 3-5 minutes.
Fried Rice: If using old rice, oil your fingers with about a tablespoon of cooking oil and work your way through the rice with you hands. Separate any chunks back into grains and then set aside.
Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the curry powder and sugar, and then set aside.
Heat a wok or a large frying pan over medium high. Add about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and swirl around. Add the minced garlic and sauté until golden brown and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the sliced chillies and diced onions. Cook for a further minute.
Add in the prawns and stir-fry until they turn pink and plump, about 2 to 3 minutes. Push the ingredients to the side of the wok/pan and then pour in the lightly beaten egg. Quickly stir the egg to cook (like scrambled eggs).
Now add in the rice, pineapple chunks, and thawed mixed vegetables. Drizzle the sauce mixture over the rice and gently stir-fry to combine all the ingredients together. You want to be able to hear the rice “dance” (make popping sounds) as it fries for about 5 to 10 minutes.
As it cooks, taste and adjust the flavours to you liking, i.e. if it needs more salt, add more fish sauce. Towards the end of the cooking time, add in the roasted cashews or peanuts.
Remove from the heat and serve into your prepared pineapple bowls. Top with the prawns, fresh chillies, and afro parsley. Serve and enjoy!

So yes, here’s the important update/notice I mentioned at the beginning of this post. I’m going to be taking a month off from Amcarmen’s Kitchen to plan better content for the upcoming months ahead. It has been quite a hectic month for me, as we’ll be moving houses this week. Thus, I haven’t had the time to really sit down and plan out dishes in advance for the month of May. Having said that, once we’ve settled into the new house by the end of the week, I can assure you that I will head straight back into planning and will be back again in June!

For now, TTFN – ta ta for now!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Yam Pla Duk Fu (ยำปลาดุกฟู) Crispy Fish with Green Mango Salad

February 20, 2019 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! Tonight’s dish branches out from the first recipe I shared with you guys at the beginning of this month. If you haven’t been able to check that recipe out, here it is again: Som Tam Mamuang (ส้มตำมะม่วง) Green Mango Salad.

Yam Pla Duk Fu (ยำปลาดุกฟู), or in English, Crispy Fish with Green Mango Salad, is a classic and much loved Thai “drinking food” of all time. The combination of a crispy exterior with moist fish meat on the inside, paired with a spicy, tart green mango salad is truly a match made in heaven. For all my alcohol-loving Filipino family, friends, and followers out there, give the sisig a rest and opt for a lighter and maybe healthier alternative to your pulutan and pair this humble fish dish with your beer. On the flip side, don’t think that you can limit this dish just for happy hour; it is also best paired with a cup of steamed rice for a delicious lunch or dinner.

Traditionally, Thai charcoal-grilled catfish (pla duk) is used to make this dish, as it is widely available on the streets of Thailand. The fish is first grilled whole. Its flesh is then fluffed (fu) into tiny cotton-like flakes, and then deep-fried until crispy and golden brown. A simple green mango salad (yam) is then served alongside the crispy fluffy fish flakes.

You can see that the ingredients and process of making this dish literally translates into its name – Yam Pla Duk Fu. Since I’m not using catfish for this recipe, nor have I really paid attention to the ‘fluffing’ of the fish meat, my rendition of this dish can simply be called Yam Pla, just Salad Fish *cheeky grin*

As I did further research into this dish, many restaurants in Thailand have opted to use other variants of fish. I’ve also seen various images of the dish where a whole fish is used instead of it being fluffed into flakes. At least I know I won’t be cursed for using a fish other than the traditional Thai catfish. I did find a rather angry blog post about why people are still insistent on calling the dish by its traditional name of Yam Pla Duk Fu when ‘duk fish’ isn’t even used. So before I too get bombed about titling this post by its traditional name where it’s far from it, just note that I did this just so that I could touch on the back-story of this dish.

This dish would otherwise be named, Yam Pla (ยำปลา) Fish Salad: My Rendition of the Traditional Yam Pla Duk Fu (ยำปลาดุกฟู) Crispy Fish with Green Mango Salad. That’s one heck of a long-ass title – reminds me of the days of how Fall Out Boy used to title their songs back in the day! One of my favourites: I’m Like a Lawyer with the Way I’m Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You).

PREP TIME 15-20 MINS | COOKING TIME 10-12 MINS | SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

For the Green Mango Salad

Som Tam Mamuang (ส้มตำมะม่วง) Green Mango Salad Recipe

For the Crispy Fish

2 large tilapia fish (about 700g – 800g per fish), gutted and scaled
Ground salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD

Prepare the Green Mango Salad according to the recipe (link provided above). Set aside.
Season the fish with a touch of salt and ground black pepper on both sides and fry until browned and crispy, about 5-6 minutes per side. Once done, transfer to a serving dish.
Top with the Green Mango Salad and serve with steamed jasmine rice, or a cold bevy of your choice.

Tip: We usually rub about a tablespoon of turmeric powder when frying fish for added flavour. I completely forgot to pick some up when grocery shopping hence why we’ve left it out, but if you do happen to have it lying around, use it!

I know the recipe says 2 tilapia fish, but in the final shots of the dish there’s only one. It’s only because we had this dish for lunch and dinner for the day and instead of frying both for lunch, we fried the other when it came to dinner time so that it’d be hot and crispy for then!

Disclaimer: Again, like in last week’s post, I do apologise to any of my Thai followers, or any who have just stumbled upon my blog, and this post in particular. I’ve seen so many variations of the spelling for Yam Pla Duk Fu and I’m not sure if I’ve picked the right one! *cheeky grin*

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Khao Neoo Mamuang (ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง) Mango Sticky Rice

February 13, 2019February 13, 2019 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! Yes, besides sharing mango recipes on the blog for the month, I’ll also be tackling the fruit with a Thai influence. I mentioned in my post last week that Thai food is one of the many favourite cuisines that I enjoy – and let’s be honest here – I’m in the middle of satisfying my insane cravings for it!

Mango Sticky Rice is a traditional Thai dessert where the main ingredients needed are sticky glutinous rice, canned or fresh coconut milk, palm sugar, and mangoes. Although this dessert originated in Thailand, it is highly consumed throughout the Indo-China region of Southeast Asia such as Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Mango Sticky Rice is usually only eaten during the peak mango season, which is during the summer months of April and May. Notable shops in Bangkok famous for their Mango Sticky Rice will only sell this dessert for 4 months per year from February to June.

I can’t remember if the first time I had this dish was during a trip to Bangkok way back when, or at a Thai restaurant when I was still in Brunei – but nonetheless, I remember my Aunt (who is Thai) teaching me how to make this dish a couple of years back. At that time I wasn’t interested in cooking or food, so I didn’t realise then how easy it was to put this dish together and that is really only required the pantry essentials to make. Aside from having to get the mangoes from the market when I wanted to make this dish, I already had sugar, peanuts, coconut milk, and sticky rice at home.

To prepare the dish, the glutinous rice is first soaked in water and then cooked by steaming, or cooked in a rice cooker. I cooked mine over a gas stove together with the sugar and kept a very close eye on it. The coconut milk is heated, without boiling, separately with salt and then added to the cooked glutinous rice to flavour it. Mangoes are then peeled and sliced to serve with the rice, and smothered in more salted coconut milk. The result is just heavenly! If you’re a mango lover like me, then you’re definitely going to fall in love with this exotic Thai dessert.

Disclaimer: I do apologise to any of my Thai followers, or any who have just stumbled upon my blog, and this post in particular. I’ve seen so many variations of the spelling for Khao Neoo Mamuang and I’m not sure if I’ve picked the right one! *cheeky grin*

PREP TIME 1 HOUR | COOKING TIME 30 MINS | SERVES 4-6

INGREDIENTS

2 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced
1 cup sticky glutinous rice
2 cups water
1/2 cup coconut milk (fresh, canned, or frozen)
2 tbsp white granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Roasted peanuts, roughly chopped to garnish

METHOD

Sticky Glutinous Rice: Rinse the sticky glutinous rice and then leave to soak for about an hour. Drain was ready to use.
Transfer the rice to a medium-sized non-stick cooking pot together with the 2 cups of water and the sugar. Bring to a slow simmer over low heat, partially covered with a lid (to leave room for steam to escape).
Once simmering, leave to cook for a further 20 minutes or until the water has been absorbed by the rice. Turn the heat off, but leave the rice in the pot with the lid on tight. Allow it to sit for a further 5 to 10 minutes.
Salted Coconut Sauce: While the rice is cooking away, prepare the salted coconut sauce by adding the coconut milk to a small saucepan together with the salt. Bring to a slow simmer over low heat, about 10 minutes. It is important to heat it slowly to avoid curdling the coconut milk. This happens when it is heated too quickly.
Once done, turn the heat off and set aside. If your rice is already done at this point, then add half of the salted coconut sauce to the rice and give it a good mix. Set aside the other half of the sauce for later.

Tips: Experiment with naturally flavouring the sticky rice for another dept of flavour. I used juices from pandan leaves and ube (purple yam) when tackling this recipe. All you have to do is add these flavourings together before cooking the rice.

Shape the sticky rice into logs and place on a serving plate. Top the rice logs with a slice of ripe mango and roasted peanuts.
Drizzle with the remaining salted coconut sauce or use for dipping.
Serve and enjoy while warm!

Mango Sticky Rice is usually served differently with one big serving of rice and mango slices on the side. I decided to plate mine up differently after stumbling upon an Instagram post of Mango Sticky Rice “Sushi” hence why they look like nigiri!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Som Tam Mamuang (ส้มตำมะม่วง) Green Mango Salad

February 6, 2019 amcarmen1 Comment

Hello Everyone and welcome to an all new theme on Amcarmen’s Kitchen for the month of February! Well okay, it’s not exactly a new theme, but more like we get to play around with a new fruit for this month! In my very first post for the year I mentioned that it’s going to be a FRUITFUL year on the blog. Last month we went nuts for Coconuts and now we’re moving onto Mangoes!

From what I know, mango season here in the Philippines isn’t until March but you can already spot an abundance of mangoes at the markets for a reasonable price (well they are cheaper than a couple of months ago when they weren’t in season), and since they’re here early, I’ve been non-stop playing around with them for the dishes that I will be sharing with you guys over the next couple of weeks.

Also, just to note, I’m going to stray away from Filipino food for a while since I’ve been sharing dishes from that cuisine for the past 4 months on the blog ever since I’ve been back here. It’s not that I have anything against it (quite the opposite actually), it’s just that I want to continue exploring and enhancing my skills and techniques in other cuisines. Amcarmen’s Kitchen is afterall, A Third Culture Foodie.

Thai food is one of the many favourite cuisines that I enjoy. It is also a cuisine that I’m constantly craving for from time to time, whether it’s heading to my favourite Thai restaurant or cooking up a Thai storm in the kitchen. I think my tolerance for spice was developed from this cuisine, though I am definitely not at their level of tolerance. Every time I order a Thai dish, I keep forgetting to tell the waiter to make it “less spicy” or to only add 1 chilli. I then end up tearing up, sniffling endlessly and needing to extinguish my mouth, followed by fiery trips to the bathroom after. I remember when I used to have Som Tam everyday for lunch from a food stall during events that I worked and forgot to tell the lady to make it less spicy – she ended up adding 10-15 pieces of chillies into the dish. The following day, I asked her to make it less spicy, but for them less spicy was still about 5-6 chillies in. I ended up having to tell her to only add 1 chilli the day after that and she looked at me weirdly.

Even though there are many recipes online that you can follow, I’ve had the opportunity to be taught by my Thai Aunt, and also learnt a few dishes from Chef Sujet Saenkham of Spice I Am, Australia, who I met last year in Brunei during an event I worked for the Thailand Grand Fair. Tonight’s dish is one I learnt from him, but I’ve replaced the green papaya for green mango instead. Note that, it’s not so much about how green the mango is – as long as it’s sour!

PREP TIME 15-20 MINS | COOKING TIME — | SERVES 4-6

INGREDIENTS

2 green mangoes, peeled and julienned
3 pcs long green beans, cut into 1-inch long stalks
2-3 red bird’s eye chillies, seeds in and roughly chopped (more if you want a spicier kick to your palette)
2 small tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
2 tbsp dried salted shrimp
2 tbsp roasted peanuts
1 & 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 & 1/2 tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
1 tbsp palm sugar
Spring Onions, to garnish

METHOD

Lightly crush the garlic and chillies large and deep mortar and pestle.
Add the dried salted shrimp together with the long green beans. Pound a few times to slightly bruise the beans. Add in the roasted peanuts and lightly crush.
Next, add in the fish sauce, lime/lemon juice, and palm sugar. Lightly grind until the sugar has dissolved into the mixture.

Tip: At this point, taste the mixture to see if the balance of flavours is to your liking. Add more fish sauce if it needs more salt, or add more lime juice if it needs more acidity. Add more palm sugar if the other flavours are too overpowering. Want more spice? Crush more chillies!

Add in the chopped tomatoes and lightly crush to bruise them a bit, followed by the julienned green mango and softly pound. Use a spoon to mix all the ingredients around while pounding. Be careful as to not over pound, grind, or crush the ingredients.
Garnish with a spring onion and serve as a main or side dish. Enjoy!