Thai

THAI GREEN CHICKEN CURRY

Serves 4
Preparation 35 mins
Cooking 15 mins

Ingredients

400 ml Coconut Milk
3 Limes - zest and juice
A few fresh stalks of Basil and coriander
3 tbsp Virgin Olive Oil
½ a Cup Cashew Nuts
2 Garlic Cloves
4 Chicken Breasts
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds crushed
1 tbsp Root Ginger finely chopped
½ Tsp Black Pepper
A few torn Lime Leaves
6 Spring Onions
2 chopped Lemon Grass Stalks
5 Green Chillies
Salt & Pepper

For the curry Sauce - Place all the green curry ingredients (Coriander, Salt and Pepper, Lemon Grass, Ginger, Spring Onions, Lime Leaves, Black Pepper, Coriander Seeds, Garlic Cloves, Olive Oil, Basil, Limes and Chillies) in a blender and liquidise for 2 or 3 mins.

Now you should marinate the chicken in some of the curry sauce for about 30 minutes. Then fry the chicken for about 4 to 5 minutes, together with a little oil, in a wok or casserole dish. As you are cooking add the remainder of the curry sauce.

THAI FISH CAKES

Serves 4
Preparation 15 mins
Cooking 50 mins

Ingredients

1kg floury potatoes
50g butter
1 pint of milk
350g cod fillet, skin on
2 bay leaves
6 peppercorns
100g smoked salmon, chopped
Handful of chopped fresh chives
Handful of chopped parsley
Flour, for dusting
2 eggs, beaten
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
Lemon wedges, to serve

Cut the potatoes into even-sized pieces and boil in salted water for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain well, return to the saucepan and heat for 30 seconds to remove any moisture. Add the butter and a splash of milk if you like, and mash well.

Meanwhile, put the cod in a shallow pan and pour over the milk to cover. (Add a little water if it doesn't cover.) Add the bay leaves and peppercorns and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes until tender. Remove from heat.

Put the flour, egg and breadcrumbs into three shallow dishes. Dip the fish cakes first in flour, then in beaten egg and finally coat all over in breadcrumbs. (You can chill them or freeze them at this stage, if you like.)

Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the fish cakes for 5-6 minutes each side until golden and heated through.

Serve with sweet chili sauce, salad or vegetables.

EASY CHICKEN PAD THAI RECIPE

Serves 2-3
Preparation 15 mins
Cooking 50 mins

Ingredients

8-10 oz thin Thai-style rice noodles - look for linguini-size rice noodles (made in Thailand) at Asian/Chinese stores
1 to 1 1/2 cups raw chicken breast or thigh meat, sliced
lime wedges (for serving)
oil (for stir-frying)

Marinade for Chicken

2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups fresh bean sprouts
3 spring (green) onions, sliced
approx. 1 cup fresh coriander
1/3 cup crushed or roughly chopped peanuts (or other nuts, such as cashews)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Pad Thai sauce

3/4 tbsp tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (look for tamarind at Asian/Chinese or Indian food stores)
2 tbsp fish sauce
1-3 tsp chilli sauce (depending how spicy you want it)
3 tbsp brown sugar (not packed)

Make the Pad Thai Sauce by combining the sauce ingredients together in a cup. Stir well to dissolve both the tamarind paste and the brown sugar. Set sauce aside.

(Note: this may seem like a lot of sugar, but you need it to balance out the sourness of the tamarind - this balance is what gives Pad Thai its taste)

Place chicken slices in a small bowl. Pour the marinade (2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp. soy sauce) over the chicken. Stir well and set aside.

Check the noodles. You will be frying the noodles later, so you don't want to over-soften them at this point. Noodles are ready when they are soft enough to be eaten, but are still firm and chewy. Drain and rinse through with cold water. Set aside.

Warm up a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. When the wok/pan is hot, add 1-2 Tbsp. oil plus garlic. Stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds). Add the chicken (together with the marinade). Stir-fry until the wok or pan becomes dry (30 seconds to 1 minute).

Now begin adding some of the chicken stock. Add only a few Tbsp. at a time, enough to keep the chicken frying nicely. Continue until all the chicken stock has been added and chicken pieces/strips are cooked (about 5-8 minutes).

Add the noodles, and pour the Pad Thai sauce over the noodles. Using two spatulas, wooden spoons, or other utensils, quickly stir-fry the noodles. Use a "lift and turn" method (almost as though you were tossing a salad) instead of the usual stir-frying motion, or the noodles with break apart.

Fry the noodles in this way for 1-2 minutes. If you find your wok/frying pan too dry, push noodles aside and add a little more oil to the bottom. Add the bean sprouts and sprinkle over the ground black pepper. Continue "tossing" for 1 more minute or until noodles are cooked. Noodles are done to perfection when they are no longer "hard" or translucent (they should be opaque and chewy).

Taste-test the noodles for seasoning, adding more fish sauce as needed (I usually end up adding up to 1 more Tbsp. fish sauce, as I like mine on the salty side). Toss well to incorporate.

To serve, lift the noodles onto a serving plate. Top with generous amounts of fresh coriander, spring onion (green onion), and crushed or chopped nuts. Add fresh lime wedges (lime is great squeezed overtop), and serve with a bottle of Thai chili sauce on the side, for those who like it extra spicy.