Thai

Thai Chicken Curry (Gang Gai Khao Mun)

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I made curry paste, from scratch. Gourmet as hell you guys! It took a few stores to find all of the ingredients for this recipe but between H Mart and Ranch 99, I was able to get it accomplished. This recipe for the curry paste makes more than you need for one batch, which was about six servings, so I threw what was leftover in the freezer for next time.

From what I read, this comforting Thai dish is a staple at street food stalls, house restaurants and is a popular take away dish. It seems that they serve the curry sauce over boiled chicken and steamed rice, opposed to simmering the chicken in the sauce. Since I am not a food stall, I made it Bon Appetit style.

Ingredients for the Kalaya Curry Paste

⅓ cup trimmed and thinly sliced lemongrass (from 2 large stalks)

⅓ cup thinly sliced shallot (from 1 large [1 1/2-ounce] shallot)

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper (about 1 1/2 ounces)

¼ cup peeled and thinly sliced fresh turmeric root (from 1/3 cup whole turmeric)

2 tablespoons paprika

1 ½ tablespoons black pepper

1 ½ tablespoons ground white pepper

1 tablespoon peeled and thinly sliced fresh galangal

½ tablespoon ground turmeric

8 garlic cloves

5 makrut lime leaves

3 to 4 fresh red Thai chiles

¾ cup water, divided

Directions:

Combine the lemongrass, shallot, crushed red pepper, sliced turmeric, paprika, black pepper, white pepper, galangal, ground turmeric, garlic, lime leaves, and Thai chiles in a food processor, and process until vegetables and herbs are very finely chopped, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup water; process until mixture looks creamy, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Scrape down sides of processor bowl, and stir mixture. With processor running, pour remaining 1/4 cup water through food chute, processing until mixture is smooth but slightly gritty and paste-like, about 2 minutes. Set aside 1/2 cup Kalaya curry paste in a small bowl.

Store remaining paste in an airtight container in freezer.

Ingredients for Chicken Curry

2 tablespoons palm sugar

1 tablespoon shrimp paste

1 (13 1/2-ounce) can coconut cream, divided

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8 thighs), cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces

1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk, well shaken and stirred

¼ cup fish sauce

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish

3 makrut lime leaves, plus more for garnish

2 fresh green long hot peppers sliced (I used jalapeños) (about 1 cup)

Directions

Heat a medium-size heavy-bottomed pot or a Dutch oven over medium-low. Add palm sugar, shrimp paste, reserved 1/2 cup Kalaya curry paste, and half of the coconut cream (about 3/4 cup), and cook, stirring often, until curry sauce is fragrant and bubbly and palm sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in chicken pieces and coconut milk. Increase heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Gently boil, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender and a thermometer inserted in thickest portion of chicken registers at least 165°F, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in fish sauce and salt. Stir in remaining half of coconut cream (about 3/4 cup). Remove pan from heat. Stir in basil and makrut lime leaves.

Garnish curry with jalapenos, basil and lime leaves.

Summer Shrimp Spring Rolls

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Each time I make these, whether I use avocado or switch it up and add fresh mango instead, I can’t believe how good they are. So deliciously fresh with the bright flavors of the herbs. I tell myself that I am going to put it on menu rotation. Then I don’t, because life… But that really isn’t a reason, so I will do better.

I found that prepping all the ingredients and assembling the rolls earlier in the day is the way to go. Cover with a damp towel, put them in the fridge and then dinner is literally waiting for you.

Chrissy suggests serving these with a Thai sweet chili sauce and a hoisin sauce. BUT, the key to these rolls is Mrs. Teigen’s peanut sauce. You see, this peanut sauce is one of the best I have ever had, and it’s super easy to make. You shouldn’t have these rolls without the peanut sauce, but you can have the peanut sauce without the rolls, you can have the sauce with anything. I find fingers pair well, cold noodles pair well and spoons definitely pair well.

Ingredients for Summer Rolls
4 to 6 red leaf lettuce leaves
8 medium shrimp, peeled (fresh or frozen (thawed))
salt
1 ounce Asian vermicelli or rice noodles
8 large or 16 small basil leaves
8 large or 16 small mint leaves
1 medium carrot, cut into 3-inch long julienne strips
1 avocado thinly sliced
8 (8-inch) round rice paper wrappers (you can find in most supermarkets with the Asian food)

Ingredients for Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 packed light brown sugar

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoon of Sriracha

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

If you are going to have the peanut sauce with the summer rolls, then start there. Add all of the sauce ingredients into your handy dandy blender or I like to use the magic bullet blender. After blending and tasting for seasoning, put it in the fridge until serving time. When that time comes, use warm water to thin the sauce to your liking.

For the Rolls:

Rinse the lettuce leaves and pat dry. Remove and discard the center ribs then slice in half so you end up with 16, about 3 inch long pieces. 

Fill a saucepan halfway with water and salt the water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 2 minutes. Turn the heat to low, take the shrimp out of the pot with tongs or a slotted spoon and rinse with cold water, pat dry. Cut off the tails and slice lengthwise.

Place the rice noodles in the pot of still hot water to soften. Cook until soft. Remove and rinse in a colander under cold water. 

Create a workspace lined up with lettuce, herbs, carrots, avocado, shrimp and rice noodles. Fill a clean skillet or shallow bowl with warm water to soak the rice papers. Arrange a damp towel on your workspace. One at a time, dunk the rice papers into the warm water to soften. Remove from the water and run under cool water. They easily stick together, so the cool water is a good time to unstick them from themselves. Lay flat on the damp towel.

To assemble: place 2-3 shrimp halves pink side down about 1/3 from the bottom, layer over mint and basil, then avocado, then carrots, rice noodles, then lettuce leaves. Roll up like a burrito by pulling up the bottom, tucking in the sides, then rolling till the end. The rice paper will stick together sealing it shut. Repeat with remaining rice papers. 

If you aren’t serving these immediately, place them on a damp towel, and cover with a damp towel. They are fine hanging out in the fridge until you are ready. Serve with peanut sauce and Thai chili sauce.

Food and Music

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I made a Thai Branzino recipe the other night and the results were so worth dicing 15 cloves of garlic.

The girls and I ran into our 99 Ranch Market for the fish, shrimp chips, pocky and green tea cookies… oh and a papaya that no one will touch but me. They don’t know what they’re missing.

I also found these rice crackers. I don’t know what they are called but from the picture we can guess.

I bought a variety pack for the girls, Shayne was the only taker and she loved them so we bought more.
This flavor (let’s call it chili) is really good. Not too spicy, sort of sweet….like a sweet and soy flavor with a tad of spice. Long story short, I need to buy more, I may have eaten them while the girls slept.

I also jumped on Dave Matthews Band tickets that went on sale Sunday, no hesitation. That is exciting, so very exciting. Kaili said that she wanted to go with us. I told her, the day she actually wants to listen to DMB, I’ll gladly take her to a concert. Then she followed up by asking me to take her to see BTS. The time is coming that we will be taking our tweens to a concert, what happened to these babies?

Speaking of music, I heard this song for the first time since, well before I had those babies, I am sure. I love Jason Mraz, I used to listen to this album every day.

Gouda and I watched the USWNT team win the She Believes Cup, and then the Galaxy won their season home opener.

Exciting soccer season ahead of us, I can’t believe it’s World Cup year. We are definitely wanting to watch a match in Vegas from the new downtown sports casino, who’s in?

Thai BBQ Ribs

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

I was watching the news the other morning and the segment was about a local whiskey, a peanut butter whiskey actually. Apparently Dave Grohl gave them a shoutout at a concert this summer and now sales are booming. They were chatting about all the different drinks they make but their chef was also busy whipping up dishes featuring the libation. When the segment ended the camera panned to a plate of ribs and that got me thinking about dinner. My mind went straight to Satay with a peanut sauce, which I love, and how I have never thought to pair that with ribs. Luckily I keep my Asian pantry staples plentiful so that left me with a very short shopping list. I knew what ingredients I wanted but I wasn’t sure how I wanted to execute the cooking. After some recipe searching I landed on this one here, and I was not disappointed.

*note* I did not have a lime juice for this so I substituted lemon juice + Rice vinegar

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Recipe adapted from *Half baked Harvest

Ingredients for Ribs

3-5 pounds baby back ribs

1 1/2 cups sweet Thai chili sauce

3/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons Red Curry Paste

2 teaspoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons fresh ginger grated

2 cloves garlic minced or grated

crushed red pepper to taste

Ingredients for BBQ Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter warmed/melted

1/4 cup sweet Thai chili sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon Mirin

2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

1 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice

1 lime juice

1/4 cup cilantro chopped

Directions

Place the ribs in a large baking dish or roasting pan.
In a large 4 cup glass measuring cup or bowl combine the sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, red curry paste, fish sauce, ginger, garlic and pepper. Whisk to combine and then pour the marinade over the ribs. Place the ribs in the fridge for at least 4 hours to as long as overnight, turning then once or twice if possible to make sure they get fully covered in the marinade.
Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 3-6 hours (if you go the full six hours bake them at 275 degrees F.) or until very tender. Try to baste the ribs once or twice during cooking.
Meanwhile make the BBQ sauce.
In a large glass measuring cup or bowl whisk together the soy sauce, ketchup, warm peanut butter, sweet chili sauce, rice vinegar, Mirin, red curry paste, Chinese 5 spice, lime juice and cilantro. If the sauce is not mixing place it in the microwave or over the stove and warm until everything is melted together. Add water to thin if needed.
When the ribs are done cooking preheat the grill to medium high heat and grease the grates. Remove the ribs from the baking dish. Slather the ribs in the Peanut BBQ sauce and grill 3-5 minutes per side or until lightly charred. Be careful flipping the ribs as the will be very tender.
Serve with chopped peanuts and cilantro, with extra sauce on the side. Enjoy.

Skinny Peanut Zoodles

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I am pretty sure I can eat a spicy peanut sauce on anything, maybe even bathe in it. I used to make peanut noodles once a week for dinner just for myself. Now thanks to the spiralizer I can make them with veg and save myself the carbs.

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Ingredients

3 Zucchini or yellow squash sprialized

1 carrot sprialized

2 Tbsp Coconut oil

1 Onion, chopped

1 chopped Chilli or crushed red pepper

2 heaping Tbsp Peanut butter

1 can Coconut milk

splash of Fish sauce

 

Directions

Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan. Add your chopped chilli, chopped onion and fry until soft.

Add your peanut butter, followed by coconut milk and fish sauce. Stir until all combined and creamy on a low heat.

Add your zoodles and stir just until they are warmed through. Don’t over cook them, we don’t want them soft.

Serve with a spritz of lime just and cilantro. This would be good with soba or linguine noodles if you don’t want to bother with the veggie noodles.

 

 

Shrimp in Thai Coconut Sauce

~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

Thai and Coconut, probably two of my favorite things but when you mix them together with some spice, its pure harmony. Most of the time we have a bag of Kirkland raw, peeled, tail on shrimp in our freezer. No fuss and cooks up in minutes, perfect for a weeknight meal. If you can prep everything, cut all the veg and make the sauce…. or as the French say, “mise en place” then this dish comes together in no time.

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Ingredients

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails on or off, your preference)
4 tablespoons coconut oil, divided (you can use vegetable oil)
2 gloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
½ onion, peeled and sliced
½ red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
½ orange bell pepper, seeded and sliced
½ yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 cup coconut milk
3-5 tablespoons high quality fish sauce (start with 3 tablespoons and add more to taste)
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
Serrano pepper sliced for the heat lovers

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Directions

Place the shrimp in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the oil, garlic, ginger, kosher salt and red chili flakes. Toss to coat and let marinade for 10 minutes to 30 minutes.

Heat a good sized skillet over medium high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onion and peppers and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer the peppers and onion to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and cook the shrimp for 2 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes or until opaque, transfer shrimp to a plate.

In a medium bowl whisk the coconut milk, fish sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, brown sugar and stir well. Transfer the cooked onion and peppers to the skillet and pour the coconut milk mixture of the peppers. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp to the skillet with the basil and cilantro and toss to coat.  Garnish with more cilantro and basil, chopped green onion and sliced Serrano. Serve over rice, noodles or riced cauliflower.

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*Recipe adapted from Foodie Crush

New Name

~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

You may or may not have realized that my blog URL and name is now different. I thought since I am no longer trying for a baby it was time I update it. Simply Four, straight forward enough…no?
If you are following me on Feedly, you may have to re-add the blog, not quite sure how that works.

On another note, I made a very delicious soup, right down to the chicken stock. I don’t have an exact recipe for you but I can give you a quick rundown.

Coconut curry thai chicken soup
Coconut curry thai chicken soup

Thai Coconut Curry soup with Chicken

*I made chicken stock from a Rotisserie chicken. I pulled off all the meat and set aside. Cover chicken carcuss with water, throw in some veg, onions/carrots/garlic whatever you have and simmer for an hour. Strain and then set stock aside.

What you will need:

minced garlic 1Tb
grated ginger 1Tb
1 jalapeno minced
juice of 1 lime
1 heaping Tb green curry paste
1 can coconut milk (lite or reg)
1 Tbs. Sugar
1 Tbs. Fish sauce
4 cups chicken broth/stock
cilantro
Cooked rice or rice noodles
cooked chicken, diced or shredded

In large sauce pan heat a little olive oil and saute first 3 ingredients and then add curry paste. Stir in coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce and lime juice, bring to a simmer. Add chicken broth and bring back to simmer for 10-20 minutes. Add chicken, rice, reheat. Serve with lime wedge and cilantro.

*I had about a cup of sticky coconut rice I made a few days earlier, that is what I used and it was delish, added a touch more sweetness.

While the soup was cooking, Kaili was busy working on her Christmas list to Santa. We put it in the mail this morning and now I get to hold this over her head for another month. }Listen up kiddo, Santa is watching you!”
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