Tag: Thai Cuisine

Pad Krapow (Thai Basil Tofu)

Pad Krapow (Thai Basil Tofu)

amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello everyone! This will be the last recipe that I will be sharing for the year on our Flavours of Southeast Asia journey. I’ve had to cut our journey short as the holiday season syndrome took over; basically all I wanted to do was just relax and take twice as long to get the things I needed done, actually done – for example this post! I had it up and ready to go two weeks ago but I hadn’t gotten around to editing the video for this to upload on my TikTok account, not until just this afternoon *cheeky grin*. So yes, our Flavours of Southeast Asia journey for 2021 will be ending here in Thailand tonight. Maybe next year I’ll cover some Vietnamese dishes to make up for this.

Tonight’s recipe is actually something I’ve been wanting to share on the blog for a while after coming across a vegetarian/vegan-friendly version of it on Instagram several times. Pad Krapow is a dish that I have tried many times before, but with chicken or pork (this was way back when I used to eat meat), so when I came across a version of it using tofu to make it meat-free, I knew I had to try this out.

There are three main types of basil used in Thai cooking: Thai sweet basil (ใบโหระพา bai horapa), or just referred to as Thai basil, lemon basil (ใบแมงลัก bai maenglak), and holy basil (ใบกะเพรา bai kra prao). Unfortunately it can be challenging to find holy basil outside of Thailand. You can still make this recipe using other basil variants, just be weary that it won’t have the same vibrant peppery flavour that holy basil has to give this dish its authentic Thai flavour profile.

Pad Krapow (Thai Basil Tofu)

Pad Krapow is usually served with steamed rice, but if you want to make it a little fancier without the extra carbs, serve it in a lettuce leaf and top each with a fried quail egg instead. I’ve also seen versions of pad krapow as a spaghetti dish so feel free to get creative when serving this dish up!

Now, I can’t exactly make it 100% vegan because pad krapow isn’t what it is without a fried egg where the edges of the egg white are crispy and browned to give it an added nutty flavour, but the yolk is still runny and creamy. So here’s an ovo-vegetarian Pad Krapow for you!

Pad Krapow (Thai Basil Tofu) Ingredients

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 15 MINS | SERVES 2-3

INGREDIENTS

For the sauce

  • 2-3 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1 dried red chilli, chopped
  • 1 stalk scallion (white part only), chopped
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce

For the tofu

  • 500g firm tofu, mashed
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 1 red bird’s eye chilli, chopped
  • 1 stalk scallion (white part only), chopped
  • 100g cremini mushrooms, diced
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 1 bunch Thai basil leaves

To serve with

  • Crispy Thai basil leaves
  • Fried quail eggs
  • Lettuce leaves

METHOD

  1. Sauce: Add all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and mix well to combine. Set aside.
  2. Pad Krapow: Add a tablespoon of the oil into a large pan over medium-high heat. Cook the mashed tofu until dry. Remove from the pan.
  3. Add the remaining oil and the sauté the red onion, chilli, and scallion until fragrant, about 30 seconds, before adding the cremini mushrooms and cooking for a further 30 to 45 seconds.
  4. Add the mashed tofu back into the pan and mix to combine.
  5. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and add the sauce mixture to the tofu. Mix until well combined into the tofu, and cook for about 5 minutes.
  6. Add the Thai basil leaves and mix it into the tofu, then remove from the heat.
  7. Add about a tablespoon or more to a piece of lettuce, then top with a fried quail egg and some crispy-fried Thai basil leaves.
  8. Plate up, serve immediately, and enjoy!

Pad Krapow (Thai Basil Tofu)

Pad Krapow (Thai Basil Tofu)

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

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Goong Ma Kham kab Yum Takrai (Crispy Tamarind Prawns with Spicy Lemongrass Salad)

Goong Ma Kham kab Yum Takrai (Crispy Tamarind Prawns with Spicy Lemongrass Salad)

amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! We’re packing our bags and venturing to Thailand on our Flavours of Southeast Asia journey! I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this in one of my previous posts before when I last shared a Thai recipe; I have and aunt who is Thai and I remember when we all used to live back in Brunei, she would teach me how to make Thai dishes such as Som Tam, Tom Yum, Yum Woon Sen, and many more. I’ve also visited Thailand a couple of times and have been to many Thai restaurants in Brunei and Australia.

The dish that I will be making today isn’t actually something I have tried for myself before. I came across it in a Thai cookbook that I purchased when I was still living in Brunei. It was during a work event, where within it we had something called the ‘Thailand Grand Fair’. If I remember clearly, they hosted a Som Tam making competition and had a guest chef come over as a judge and to promote his very first cookbook.

The name of his cookbook was very familiar to me, and then I realised that it was also the name of a Thai restaurant that I used to go to when I was still studying in Australia. Such a small world when I found out that he is actually the owner of it! I had the chance to talk to him a couple of times and I mentioned that I had been to his restaurant a couple of times – I even brought my mom and my sisters to eat there when they visited for my graduation. He was very humble and thankful when I told him that the food was great.

Goong Ma Kham kab Yum Takrai (Crispy Tamarind Prawns with Spicy Lemongrass Salad)

I was browsing through his cookbook one day for inspiration beyond the Thai recipes that I knew how to cook, which are also published on my blog by the way. A recipe for Spicy Lemongrass Salad (Yum Takrai) stood out to me, so did another recipe for Prawns with Tamarind Sauce (Goong Ma Kham), and thus we have a marriage of Crispy Tamarind Prawns with Lemongrass Salad that’s loosely adapted from Sujet Saenkham’s cookbook titled Spice I Am.

According to Chef Sujet, you want to take the time in slicing the lemongrass as thinly as you can otherwise it won’t be all that pleasant to eat. The fragrant and citrusy flavour of the lemongrass pairs very well with the prawns, or with any other seafood as a matter of fact. The tamarind sauce provides a nice balance of sweet, salty, and sour that is absorbed into the flesh of the crispy prawns when topped with it. Put all three together and you’ve got a match made in heaven of flavours and textures! In Chef Sujet’s cookbook, he mentioned that you can also use fish such as red snapper to pair with the lemongrass salad and/or tamarind sauce. I loved this recipe so much with the prawns so I’m definitely going to try this again with fish!

Goong Ma Kham kab Yum Takrai (Crispy Tamarind Prawns with Spicy Lemongrass Salad) Ingredients

PREP TIME 25 MINS | COOKING TIME 10 MINS | SERVES 2-3

INGREDIENTS

For the tamarind sauce

  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 dried red chilli, chopped
  • 1 red bird’s eye chilli, chopped
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 small red onion, diced
  • 2 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1/3 cup water

For the crispy prawns

  • 6 extra-large tiger prawn, peeled and deveined with tails intact
  • 4 tbsp tapioca flour
  • 4 tbsp rice flour
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste

For the spicy lemongrass salad

  • 3-4 lemongrass stalks (white part only), finely sliced
  • 2 red bird’s eye chillies, chopped
  • 1 bunch Thai basil leaves
  • 1 medium-sized red onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • Juice of 1 lime or lemon

METHOD

  1. Tamarind Sauce: Heat the coconut oil in a small pan. Fry dried chillies, red chillies, and garlic together for about 15 to 20 seconds and then add in the onions. Continue to cook for another 15 to 20 seconds.
  2. Add the tamarind paste, followed by the fish sauce, salt, and coconut sugar. Mix and bring to a simmer.
  3. Once simmering, add the water and then bring it back up to a simmer. Remove from the heat and then set aside.
  4. Crispy Prawns: Combine the flours and season in a medium-sized bowl and mix to combine.
    Coat each prawn with the flour mixture and shallow fry for 3 minutes per side, over high heat.
    Once done, remove from the pan and transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up the excess grease.
  5. Lemongrass Salad: Combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl and toss to combine.
  6. Transfer the salad to a serving dish and top with the crispy prawns.
  7. If needed, you can reheat the tamarind sauce before spooning it over the prawns. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Goong Ma Kham kab Yum Takrai (Crispy Tamarind Prawns with Spicy Lemongrass Salad)

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

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Auguest 2021: Chamaine

Spicy Purple Sweet Potato Soup

amcarmenLeave a comment

“Happiness is Homemade. Real cooking is more about following your heart than following recipes. Fresh is always better.” — Chamaine

Auguest 2021: Chamaine

Hello Everyone! Chamaine here taking over Amcarmen’s Kitchen tonight to bring you a Thai-inspired dish for the Flavours of Southeast Asia journey on this blog for this year’s Auguest theme. I am so grateful to be part of this series as, through this, I have learnt to explore other cuisines and dishes from countries outside of my home country and knowledge.

I believe that Happiness is Homemade. My favourite thing to do at home is COOK, and I season everything with LOVE. For me, cooking is an ART. I plate like an ARTIST and invent recipes like a SCIENTIST.

Spicy Purple Sweet Potato Soup

Thai cuisine has proven to be quite a challenge for me since I am not so familiar with it. Some ingredients are unusual to me, but since I am eager to learn something new, I accepted this challenge. Upon my research, I found this recipe for Sweet Potato Soup rather intriguing. All my life, I have known sweet potatoes to be used as a snack and finger food; I never thought that it could potentially be used to make a starter or appetizer in the form of a soup.

For this dish, I substituted some of the ingredients as I could not source some of them, but don’t worry, I have the best options in our pantry. If you do have these original ingredients readily available for you, then by all means stick to using them:

  • Kaffir lime leaves to bay leaves
  • Lime juice to calamansi juice
  • Coriander seeds to oregano
  • Red curry paste to red chillies

As a result, I can say this dish is absolutely appetizing. With its tangy, savoury, and creamy flavour, plus the slightly sour and sweet taste, everything complimented each other so well!

Spicy Purple Sweet Potato Soup

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 25 MINS | SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 medium-sized purple sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 red chillies, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce*
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 tbsp calamansi juice
  • 1 stalk spring onion
    A pinch of oregano

*Replace with salt for a fully vegetarian/vegan alternative

METHOD

  1. In a large frying pan over medium-high, heat the olive and sauté the ginger and onions until lightly golden and fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  2. Add the sweet potatoes, bay leaf, red chillies, fish sauce and toss, cooking for a few minutes.
  3. Pour in the coconut milk and water, and add a vegetable stock cube. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to bring it down to a simmer. Continue to cook until the sweet potatoes are tender.
  4. Once done, remove the bay leaf, and then transfer everything into a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
  5. Add the calamansi juice and gently mix into the soup.
  6. Transfer to individual serving dishes and garnish with more chopped chillies, spring onions, calamansi juice, and a sprinkle of oregano. Serve and enjoy!

1957

Spicy Purple Sweet Potato Soup

Photo Courtesy & Recipe Copyright © 2021 | Chamaine (@chamaine_homemade)

BON APPÉTIT

– Chamaine

myTaste.com

Auguest 2021: Brendon D'Souza

Banana Peel Curry with Coconut Rice & Pickled Red Onion

amcarmenLeave a comment

“When someone cooks with love, the meal deserves to be celebrated. You get dressed, choose a killer playlist, and pour a glass of wine then sit down to share the magic with your loved ones.” — Brendon D’Souza

Auguest 2021: Brendon D'Souza

Hello Everyone! How’s life? It’s Brendon D’Souza from CookWithBrendon.com here. By day I work in sales and around the clock I spend the countless hours we have in lockdown doing my favourite thing – cooking for my loved ones and developing recipes for my blog.

After 6 years at my former blog Brendon The Smiling Chef, I realised there might be a space for online cooking classes and social get-togethers for like-minded foodies. After running a number of free workshops with my colleagues and friends I’m so ready to take it to the next level and open up the classes to the world. Let me know if you would like to join in the fun!

Now more than ever is the perfect time to try and find clever little ways to use up leftover bits and pieces you find in the kitchen. This curry will allow you to do exactly that, and is inspired by the flavours of Laos, Thailand, India, and Australia altogether.

Banana Peel Curry

By no means do I claim to be the creator of this dish. As I’m sure you’ve seen over your socials it gained cult status recently when Nigella Lawson wrote about it in her 2020 TV series and cookbook Cook Eat Repeat. It’s such a great way to transform something that would otherwise be destined for the bin. I was surprised to learn that banana skins are packed full of potassium so I’m hoping it’s doing that extra bit of good for my insides too.

I’ve also taken the liberty to use up some leftovers for this dish including a batch of leftover marinara sauce and some roast sweet potatoes. So you can absolutely feel free to swap out some of the ingredients for others which you may have at hand. Don’t forget to tag #CookWithBrendon so I can see your creations. Let’s cook!

Banana Peel Curry Ingredients

PREP TIME 30 MINS | COOKING TIME 30 MINS | SERVES 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 2 medium red onion, sliced
  • 1/2 tbsp castor sugar
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup basmati or jasmine rice
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/2 cup canned tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup diced sweet potato (or use regular potato)
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas (or any other fresh or frozen green veg)
  • 1 bunch coriander

METHOD

Start this recipe 1 hour before serving time.

  1. Banana Peel: Peel the bananas. Slice off the tops and tails.*
  2. Place the banana peels into a large heatproof bowl with 1/2 tbsp salt. Cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 30 mins. This helps to tenderise the skins and they will change in colour from yellow to brown which is totally fine.
  3. Pickled Onion: While the bananas are soaking. Finely slice 1 onion and place into a glass or ceramic bowl with the rice vinegar, castor sugar and 1/2 a tablespoon of salt. Give it a stir and then set aside. Repeat every 10 minutes or so while you’re making the curry and the onions will turn a vibrant pink and tenderise by the time you’re ready.

Banana Peel Curry with Coconut Rice & Pickled Onion

  1. Remove the banana peels from the soaking liquid** and pat dry with a paper towel. Slice the peels finely into batons.
  2. Coconut Rice: Place the rice into a medium heatproof saucepan. Cover with enough cold water to reach 2-cm above the level of the rice, then add the coconut milk. Place over a high heat and bring to the boil. When it is bubbling, immediately turn the heat off and pop on a tight fitting lid and let it sit there***. The rice will continue to absorb any liquid while you prepare the curry.
  3. Banana Peel Curry: Heat a medium saucepan over a low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil, the cumin, coriander powder, and turmeric. Cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes to toast the spices, and then add the marinara sauce****.
  4. Add 1 tablespoon of crushed ginger and the banana skins, and cook, stirring over medium heat for 5 minutes.
  5. Add 1/2 a cup of vegetable stock or water and bring to the boil. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the banana peels are tender.
  6. Add the sweet potato, frozen peas, coconut milk, and chopped coriander stems, and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the veggies are cooked through. Finally, add the coconut milk and stir until combined.
  7. Serve with the coconut rice and pickled onion. Enjoy!

Banana Peel Curry with Coconut Rice & Pickled Onion

Notes:

  • *These can be composted. Save the banana flesh for another use (I’m thinking everyone’s favourite lockdown banana bread!).
  • **The minerals found in the banana peels such as potassium, phosphorus and calcium, will leach into the water. You can then use this liquid fertiliser for your plants.
  • ***I use my Mum’s absorption method trick to cook my rice and it works every time!
  • ****I’ve used 1/2 a cup of leftover marinara sauce with onion in it but you could easily substitute for 1 small onion and 1/2 a cup of crushed tomatoes.

Give this recipe a try and if you do be sure to tag #CookWithBrendon in your posts when you do!

I’m trying really hard to grow @cookwithbrendon on Instagram and now TikTok so if you have a second to visit and give both a follow I’d be so grateful.

Banana Peel Curry with Coconut Rice & Pickled Onion

Photo Courtesy & Recipe Copyright © 2021 | Brendon D’Souza (@cookwithbrendon)

BON APPÉTIT

– Brendon D’Souza

myTaste.com

Black Sticky Rice with Grilled Mango & Blue Coconut Sauce

Black Sticky Rice with Grilled Mango & Blue Coconut Sauce

amcarmenLeave a comment

The combination of mango and black sticky rice is fairly common in Thailand. Black sticky rice, a delicious whole-grain alternative to white rice, is purplish black in colour and has a chewy texture. It is naturally sweet, contains fibre, and is loaded with antioxidants, which makes this dessert all the more healthy and guilt-free to eat!

Black Sticky Rice with Grilled Mango & Blue Coconut Sauce

The black sticky rice is served alongside sliced mango, and a sauce of sweet and salty coconut milk is usually added. I had initially decided to purée the mango, but when I took a photo of the final plate up, I wasn’t happy with how it aesthetically turned out. So the following week, I thought of serving it with fresh mango on the side. It wasn’t until an idea popped into mind when I thought back to my Grilled Pineapple Dessert – I thought, why not grill the mango to further enhance its flavour?

Before we dive into tonight’s recipe, please take the time to check out the original recipe where I drew my inspiration from over on Breakfast With Flowers by Katja. This was where I took the inspiration from into making the coconut sauce for this dish blue by simmering and steeping dried butterfly pea flowers in the coconut milk.

Black Sticky Rice with Grilled Mango & Blue Coconut Sauce Ingredients

PREP TIME 10 MINS* | COOKING TIME 45 MINS | SERVES 6

* Plus 4 hours (or overnight) to soak the rice

INGREDIENTS

For the black sticky rice

  • 2 cups black glutinous rice, pre-soaked
  • 4 & 1/2 cups water
  • Pinch of salt

For the blue coconut sauce

  • 200ml coconut milk
  • 1 tbsp loose dried butterfly pea flowers
  • 2 tbsp white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt

To serve with

  • Grilled Mango
  • Shredded fresh coconut
  • Cornflakes (optional)

METHOD

  1. Black Sticky Rice: Wash the black glutinous soaked rice well in several changes of cold water and then drain thoroughly.
  2. Place the rice together with the 4 & 1/2 cups of water and salt in a rice cooker. Let it work its magic. Optional: If available, you can cook the rice with a pandan leaf for fragrance.
  3. Alternatively, you may use a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a vigorous boil over high heat. Cover, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the rice is tender (but still a little chewy in the center) and the liquid is absorbed, about 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from heat and let it stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
  4. Blue Coconut Sauce: While the rice is cooking prepare your coconut sauce. Add the dried butterfly pea flowers to a small saucepan together with the coconut milk, sugar, and salt.
  5. Gently heat on medium-low for about 10 minutes or until you get the hue of blue that you want infused into the coconut milk.
  6. Once done, remove from the heat and strain out the butterfly pea flowers. Press on the flowers to extract more colour out of them.
  7. Serve the black sticky rice together with grilled mango, and shredded fresh coconut. Top the rice with the blue coconut sauce and sprinkle with some crushed cornflakes for that extra added crunch. Enjoy as a warm dessert!

Black Sticky Rice with Grilled Mango & Blue Coconut Sauce

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

myTaste.com

Auguest 2020: Azrina Hidup

Thai Green Curry Mussels

amcarmenLeave a comment

“Cooking feeds the soul, both the cook and the people who are eating. For me, cooking is an act of love, a gift, and a way of sharing. It puts a smile in my heart when I put a lot of thought and care into preparing a dish. At home, cooking symbolizes love and family.” — Azrina Hidup

Auguest 2020: Azrina Hidup

Hello everyone! My name is Azrina Hidup and I am half Filipina and half Bruneian. I would like to thank my beautiful friend, Allison, for the opportunity to be featured on her blog along with other amazing foodies and chefs.

I am always the happiest girl when I get to put my apron on. It was my dream to enter ‘Le Cordon Bleu’ Culinary School, but somehow I ended up doing Political Science. My passion for cooking though, doesn’t stop. Every weekend I will be on my #apronmodeon doing recipe testing and feeding my family with my cooking.

I love creating different dishes. I love travelling for food and what I usually love doing when I travel is to explore and try the local cuisine. I will always try to remember the taste and look of the food so I can recreate them back home for my loved ones to try.

Thai Green Curry Mussels

Most of all, I strongly believe that cooking is more than just an act to fill the empty stomach. Cooking for me is an act of love, a gift, and a way of sharing. It puts a smile in my heart when I put a lot of thought and care into preparing a dish. I grew up with home cooked food, and growing up with my mom’s cooking inspires me a lot to develop my passion for cooking. For me, cooking and home cooked meals symbolize family and love.

For Allison’s Auguest series, I will be sharing my favourite Thai dish which is green curry. Tonight I have made Thai Green Curry Mussels with Homemade Green Curry Paste. Thai green curry is absolutely delicious when served with steamed rice. Nyums!

Thai Green Curry Mussels Ingredients

PREP TIME 30 MINS | COOKING TIME 20-25 MINS | SERVES 4-5

INGREDIENTS

For the green curry paste

  • 15-20 Thai basil leaves
  • 6 Thai green chillies (remove the seeds if you prefer it to be less spicy)
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • 3 long green chillies
  • 2 stalks lemongrass, bottom part only, thinly sliced
  • 1-2 shallots
  • 1 & 1/2 inch size piece of galangal
  • 1 & 1/2 inch size piece of ginger
  • 1 lime
  • 1 tbsp of coconut milk
  • 1-2 tsp of kaffir lime zest
  • 1-2 tsp of shrimp paste (belacan)
  • 1/2 tsp white peppercorns
  • Cilantro leaves and roots
  • Coriander seeds
  • Cumin powder
  • Salt, to taste

Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste

For the Green Curry Mussels

  • Mussels
  • 1 cup fresh coconut water
  • 1 cup seafood stock*
  • 1 can (approx. 440g) coconut milk
  • 3 pieces kaffir lime leaves (torn to smaller pieces)
  • Basil leaves (5-6)
  • Fish sauce, to taste
  • Palm sugar, to taste
  • Squeeze 1-2 fresh limes
  • Thai eggplants
  • Cilantro and basil leaves for garnish (cut/torn to smaller pieces)

* For this recipe, I used homemade prawn stock. You may use any kind of stock as a substitute.

Thai Green Curry Mussels Ingredients

METHOD

  1. Thai Green Curry Paste: Toast coriander seeds simply by heating them in a skillet over medium-high heat. Then, finely grind using a mortar and pestle.
  2. In the same skillet, toast the shrimp paste/belacan and set aside.
  3. Slowly add the rest of the ingredients for the green curry paste to the mortar and pound until fine, adding liquid so that the mixture will become paste-like in texture. For this recipe, I used coconut milk as the liquid.
  4. Taste the curry paste and add season with salt to your preference and add a squeeze of lime juice.

Tip: You may also use an electric blender to speed up the process (and really make your life a little easier), if you prefer. For the coriander seeds, grind them first into a powder with the mortar and pestle. Then use the electric blender to grind all the remaining ingredients together. Similarly, add liquid to get the blender going. Since this will be used for a green curry dish, I highly suggest to use coconut milk as your liquid base.

  1. Thai Green Curry Mussels: Over medium heat, reduce half the can of the coconut milk in a heavy-bottomed pot until it becomes thick.
  2. Add the homemade green curry paste and sauté. Make sure to stir constantly for 2-3 minutes until fragrant/aromatic.
  3. Add the seafood stock, remaining half can of the coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, and basil leaves. Leave to simmer gently for about 5-10 minutes, keeping the heat on medium.

Tip: You may also blend the basil leaves and some coconut milk into an electric blender to get nice green color soup.

  1. Add palm sugar and fish sauce to taste.
  2. Add coconut water and eggplants. Cover the pot until the eggplants are cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add in the mussels and cover until mussels are cooked, about 5 minutes.
  4. Garnish with chopped basil and cilantro. Add lime juice just before serving. Best to enjoy with steamed rice!

Thai Green Curry Mussels

Thai Green Curry Mussels

Photo Courtesy & Recipe Copyright © 2020 | Azrina Hidup (@azrinoh501)

BON APPÉTIT

– Azrina Hidup

myTaste.com

Seafood Thai Red Curry

Seafood Thai Red Curry

amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! The secret to a great, vibrant, and spicy Seafood Thai Red Curry is of course the quality of the red curry paste, spices and aromatics, vegetables, and the freshest seafood you can find out there. The best thing about this dish is that it is pescatarian-friendly, dairy-free, and gluten-free!

Seafood Thai Red Curry

When it comes to a seafood-loaded curry, versatility is one of the things that I love about it. You can pretty much load it up with any type of fish, shellfish, and seafood of your choice. The same goes with the vegetables. Also, depending on the ingredients you choose to add to the dish, it can be prepared in 30 minutes or less.

For those who know me, I would normally tackle recipes like this by making my own paste. However, due to the limited availability of certain ingredients here in the Philippines, I thought long and hard before I opted to use store-bought paste. Just make sure that if you are using good-quality and authentic Thai Red Curry Paste. They can usually be found in the international aisle of any large supermarket chains.

Seafood Thai Red Curry Ingredients

PREP TIME 30 MINS | COOKING TIME 45 MINS | SERVES 4-6

INGREDIENTS

  • 200g salmon belly, skin removed* and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 100g baby clams, de-grit and cleaned**
  • 100g baby mussels, cleaned and debearded***
  • 100g baby squid, cleaned
  • 50g snow peas
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2-3 bunch baby bok choy, halved
  • 2-3 red bird’s eye chillies, whole or sliced
  • 1 block firm tofu, cut into large cubes
  • 1 large lemon, juiced
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, sliced
  • 1 small piece ginger, sliced
  • 1 small red onion, halved then sliced
  • 3/4 cup fish stock (or 1 fish bouillon cube dissolved in 3/4 cup water)
  • 3/4 cup extra light olive oil
  • 200ml full cream coconut milk
  • 4 tbsp Authentic Thai Red Curry Paste
  • 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • Thai basil leaves or spring onion, to garnish
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

* Do not discard the skin
** Find out how to de-grit and clean clams over on Just One Cookbook
*** Find out how to clean and debeard mussels over on Epicurious

METHOD

  1. Crispy Salmon Skin: Place the salmon skin into a bowl and toss with about 2 tablespoons of salt. Set aside for 10 to 15 minutes. This is to draw out the moisture from the salmon skin to get it nice and crispy when fried. Pat the salmon skin dry with a paper towel.
  2. In a medium-sized frying pan, heat the 3/4 cup of extra light olive oil, or enough oil for shallow frying, over medium-high. The oil should be very hot, but not smoking or else the salmon skin will burn before fully crisping. Stir the skin around frequently to prevent it from sticking to the pan. The skin will look rubbery at first, so take your time as it can take a full 10 to 15 minutes for it to crisp up. Once crispy, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb any excess grease. Set aside.
  3. Preparing the Tofu: Meanwhile, if using tofu from a package, drain and allow to sit on a clean tea towel or paper towel to get rid of any excess water. Set aside for about 15 to 20 minutes for it to fully extract moisture.
  4. In the same medium-sized frying pan, over medium-high heat, carefully add the tofu in and cook for about 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crispy. Remove from the pan and let it sit on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb any excess grease. Cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes, and set aside.
  5. Seafood Thai Red Curry: In a soup pot or heavy duty Dutch oven, heat about 2 tablespoons of the extra light olive oil over medium-high and sauté the onions, ginger, lemongrass, and chillies until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the Thai red curry paste and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes.
  6. Add the fish stock and cherry tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Season with salt and black pepper, as well as with the Thai fish sauce and brown sugar to get the balance of flavours up to your liking. Feel free to add more chillies in if you feel you need a bit more of a spicy punch to the soup base.
  7. Add the lemon juice for some tang, together with the tofu bites, and followed by the snow peas. Cook the snow peas for about a minute and then remove them from the pot. Transfer to a separate plate. Do the same with the baby bok choy. This is to prevent the vegetables from overcooking.
  8. Add the baby clams and mussels and cook for 2 minutes before adding the salmon belly and baby squid to the pot, together with the coconut milk. Cook for a further minute, or until the soup comes back up to a rapid simmer.
  9. Turn the heat off and transfer the curry to a serving dish. Garnish with the crispy salmon skin, Thai basil leaves or spring onions, and fresh chillies. Serve immediately with steamed rice and enjoy!

Seafood Thai Red Curry

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

myTaste.com

Mangosteen Vermicelli Salad with Steamed Prawns & Snow Peas

Mangosteen Vermicelli Salad with Steamed Prawns & Snow Peas

amcarmen1 Comment

Hello Everyone and happy 1st of the month of December! If you’ve been following my IG page, you would’ve seen that I posted a story update on where Amcarmen’s Kitchen is at, at the moment. I informed my friends and followers that I’d be taking a hiatus and that I wasn’t sure when I’d be returning. If you want to know the real reason why I’ve been away for a while now, and will continue to be away until next year, you can read about it at the end of this post. I didn’t want to start the post off with a downer, so I saved it for last.

Now, tonight’s post does not mean that I am back from my hiatus. I just wanted to get this recipe up since I had this prepared way before my personal life spun out of control, and I didn’t want this recipe to end up in my archive of recipes that will never get posted because it doesn’t fit in with the current theme.

Mangosteen Vermicelli Salad with Steamed Prawns & Snow Peas

Before we dive into the recipe, please check out the original recipes from where I drew my inspiration from – Eat Well with Bite and Where To Eat in Phuket.

I love the sweet and tangy flavour that the mangosteen fruit adds; the chillies that bring a nice kick to it, and the mint for hint of freshness to the dish as a whole. From the original recipe, I ditched the pork since I’m slowly cutting out my meat (not including seafood) intake from my diet, and instead substituted it with juicy jumbo tiger prawns that were just as good!

PREP TIME 20 MINS | COOKING TIME 10-12 MINS | SERVES 4-5

INGREDIENTS

For the salad

  • 500g large tiger prawns, peeled and deveined
  • 100g thin rice vermicelli noodles
  • 50g snow peas
  • 4 fresh mangosteen fruit, rind removed and discarded
  • 2 sprigs fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
  • Handful of roasted peanuts, lightly crushed
  • Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to season

For the dressing

  • 1-2 red bird’s eye chilli, finely sliced
  • 4 tsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • 2 tsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • Juice of 1 large lime or lemon

METHOD

  1. Dressing: Prepare the dressing by adding all of the ingredients into a small bowl. Mix well until combined. Set aside.
  2. Rice Noodles: Let the noodles soak in hot water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and then add to a large mixing bowl. Add a teaspoon of sesame oil just so that the noodles do not dry out and stick to each other.
  3. Snow Peas: Bring a small pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add the snow peas into the boiling water and blanch for about 60 seconds. Remove from the heat and transfer to an ice bath. Once cool, drain and pat dry. Add to the mixing bowl together with the rice noodles.
  4. Prawns: Season the prawns with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Arrange in a steamer basket and steam for about 5 minutes. Once done remove and set aside to cool down slightly before cutting them into smaller pieces. Add to the mixing bowl.

Mangosteen Vermicelli Salad with Steamed Prawns & Snow Peas Ingredients

Mangosteen Vermicelli Salad with Steamed Prawns & Snow Peas Ingredients

  1. Salad: Add the rest of the salad ingredients into the mixing bowl, together with the dressing and toss to combine. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste and adjust to your liking.
  2. Divide equally into 4-5 individual serving plates and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Mangosteen Vermicelli Salad with Steamed Prawns & Snow Peas

So as promised, here’s why Amcarmen’s Kitchen is still on a hiatus.

The week that I had this recipe scheduled to go up on my blog, which was back in mid-September for Mangosteen Month, I had about 4 to 5 hours of sleep over a span of 3 days. My Mom was admitted into the hospital and we had spent 2 nights in the emergency room waiting for a room in the intensive care unit to open up. Unfortunately my Mom passed away a week later. Though I may not show it, I am still in a constant battle between grieving and moving on. I believe that the hardest part of healing after you’ve lost someone, especially your mother, is to recover the you that went away with them. It was hard celebrating my birthday a couple of weeks ago; I couldn’t help but to shed a few tears being reminded that she was no longer here with me. And it’s only going to get harder with the Christmas season coming up.

With that being said, I am using my time off from Amcarmen’s Kitchen to plan ahead for 2020! I already have a theme set in stone and have drawn up a few recipes to match the theme! All I have to do now is to execute a bunch of them so that I’ll have the recipes ready for you by the New Year! ‘Till then, stayed tuned!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

myTaste.com

Auguest 2019: May (my_kusina_ph)

Green Papaya Salad with Crispy Fried Soft-shell Crabs

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Hello everyone, my name is May. I am behind the IG account @my_kusina_ph. I normally feature Filipino food and I love using “bilao” as my plating dish, hence, the hashtag #bilaoserye for some of my home-cooked meals. It was last August since I started my IG food account, almost a year now. My friends encouraged me to set one up as they know how much I love to cook (because I have been cooking for them a lot! Lucky them!). So I said to myself, why not give it a try!

When I was a kid, my lola (grandmother) and mother, both true blooded Kapampangans (Kapampangans by the way are known to be one of the best Filipino cooks) would ask me to help out in the kitchen by washing utensils and chopping ingredients. At that time, I felt it was more of a chore. Later on in high school, I find myself enjoying my “me” time in our little kitchen, experimenting and trying out recipes (I’m having goosebumps right now as I remember my aunt’s handwritten recipe book). I guess that’s when my love for cooking started.

Green Papaya Salad with Crispy Fried Soft-shell Crabs

Through IG, I have met people who share the same passion in cooking and food in general. They have inspired me to become a better cook. Most of them are generous enough in sharing their recipes! Allison is one of the warmest people whom I’ve met virtually in IG. I wish to meet her in person someday! She would post the ingredients and let us guess what she would be cooking next. Often times, she would feature a particular ingredient and highlight how it can be used in a certain dish. I am very happy to be part of her “Auguest” series!

This month, her blog would be featuring fruits. I chose to feature green papaya since it’s very accessible in tropical countries like the Philippines.

Back home in the province, we would just pick this fruit from our farm anytime we needed one for cooking. Here in Manila, everything comes with a price, unless you have a tree in your backyard or a generous neighbor has one. Here’s a photo of our papaya tree:

Papaya Tree

I have travelled around Asia and whenever I visit a country, I make it a point to enrol myself on short cooking courses to learn more about the local cuisine. I love the diversity in Asian cuisine; the way various spices and herbs come together to create a glorious dish!

Green Papaya Salad is a well known Asian salad dish. It’s a spicy salad made from shredded unripe papaya. In fact, it is present in most Southeast Asian cuisines. In Thailand, this dish is called Som Tam, in Cambodia, Bok L’hong, in Laos as Tam Som and in Vietnam as Gỏi đu đủ.

PREP TIME 15 MINS | COOKING TIME — | SERVES 3

INGREDIENTS

For the green papaya salad

  • 200g green papaya, shredded
  • 40g carrots, shredded
  • 6 string beans, cut into 2 inches long
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1-3 red bird’s eye chilis, chopped
  • 1-2 stalks of Coriander leaves
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • 6 tbsp roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed
  • 3 pcs Crispy Fried Soft-shell Crabs*

For the dressing

  • 7 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 7 tbsp Thai fish sauce
  • 5-7 tbsp coconut sugar

*To cook the soft-shell crabs, dredge them in seasoned flour with salt, then dipped in beaten egg, and lastly coated with flour. Deep fry in cooking oil until golden in color and crispy.

METHOD

  1. First, add the chilis, garlic cloves, and string beans together in a mortar. Lightly crush/pound.
  2. Add in coconut sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, and mix well, adjusting the flavors as you work, to your liking.
  3. Lastly, add in shredded papaya and carrots. Mix well.
  4. Transfer to a serving dish, and top with roasted peanuts and crispy fried soft-shell crabs. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve.

Below is a photo of the tool I used for shredding the papaya and carrots. Easy to use. I got it from one of my market tours in Vietnam and it only costs Php 100!

Vegetable/Fruit Shredder

Here’s the finished product!

Green Papaya Salad with Crispy Fried Soft-shell Crabs

Enjoy this healthy salad dish! Oh, you can top it with shrimp if you can’t find soft-shell crabs!

Photo Courtesy & Recipe Copyright © 2019 | May (my_kusina_ph)

BON APPÉTIT

– May (my_kusina_ph)

myTaste.com

Thai-style Pineapple Fried Rice

Thai-style Pineapple Fried Rice

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

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.

Thai-style Pineapple Fried Rice Ingredients

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

  1. Preparing the Pineapple: Cut the pineapple lengthwise, crown included.
  2. 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.
  3. Slice the pineapple into large cubes and then carve out the flesh. Repeat for the other half of the pineapple.
  4. Cut the carved out pineapple cubed into smaller bite-sized pieces and set aside.
  5. Dry out the carved out pineapple bowls in the oven at 160C (320F or gas mark 2) for about 3-5 minutes.
  6. 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.
  7. Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the curry powder and sugar, and then set aside.
  8. 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.
  9. 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).
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Remove from the heat and serve into your prepared pineapple bowls. Top with the prawns, fresh chillies, and afro parsley. Serve and enjoy!

Thai-style Pineapple Fried Rice

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

myTaste.com