Son In Law Eggs

I picked to make these based on the name. The owner didn’t know the reason behind the name which I think is quite silly.

You have two choices: (1) A son in law made this for his mother in law when his wife was gone with what was leftover in the kitchen and she loved it; (2) A mother in law found out her future son in law was mistreating her daughter and made these to say ‘this is what will happen to your balls if you keep this up’. It depends on my mood which story I prefer to believe.

This dish is used as a sweet-ish thing to calm the spiciness of the usual Thai food, however it is NOT a desert.

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP palm sugar
• 2 TBSP fish sauce
• 3 TBSP tamarind juice
• oil for frying
• 4 shallots, finely sliced
• 1 dried red chili finely sliced
• 2 hard boiled eggs, shelled
• coriander to garnish

Directions:

1) Combine the palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind juice in a small pan and boil.

2) Lower to a simmer for 5 minutes.

3) Taste and see if you want to add more of any of the ingredients.

4) Heat the oil in two pans.

5) To the smaller one, add the shallots, chilies until they are golden brown. Allow to cool. (You could do this and then step 6, using the same pan.)

6) Fry the eggs, turning as needed to brown it. We left the egg whole but I think it would be good to slice it so there is more surface area to fry AND you’re not frying something that is round-ish.

7) Drain.

8) Cut the eggs in half (if left whole), pour the sauce over, and top with the fried shallots and chilies.

Spicy Glass Noodle Salad

You can use any type of meat in this, but we used squid and octopus. I’m sure you can’t omit it.

Ingredients

• Sauce

1. 2-4 hot chilies, crushed
2. 3 tsp lime juice
3. 3 tsp sugar syrup
4. 3 tsp fish sauce

• Salad

1. 1 cup short length glass noodles
2. 1 cup thinly sliced octopus and squid *know what can ruin a dish? not removing the beak*
3. 1 cup spring onion, cut in short lengths
4. 1 bulb of lettuce
5. 2 tsp roasted crushed garlic
6. 1/2 onion, sliced
7. 10 grams of mushrooms, sliced
8. 1/2 tomato, sliced

Directions:

1) Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Add more of whichever you like the flavor of more.

2) Boil the pasta until it is done.

3) Boil the squid and octopus until it is done.

4) Mix everything together.

Tofu Soup

I found this to be quite bland, so I would up the spices.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup stock
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1 block of tofu, sliced into bite sized pieces
• 20 grams of ear mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tsp chopped spring onion
• 1 tsp coriander leaf, shredded
• 1 tsp roasted garlic in oil

Directions:

1) Heat the stock to a boil.

2) Add the fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar and mix until the sugar dissolves.

3) Add the tofu and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft.

4) Serve, garnished with the spring onion, coriander leaf and roasted garlic.

Chang Mai Noodle Soup (Khao Soi)

I had this the night before the cooking class in Chang Mai, not knowing that I would be able to make it the next day! I think it’s great. It’s basically a curry soup with more coconut flavors

Ingredients:

• 4 TBSP cooking oil
• 100 grams tofu
• 3 cups coconut milk
• 1/4 cup coconut cream
• 1 TBSP curry paste
• 1 tsp Indian curry powder
• 1/4 tsp palm sugar
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 100 grams of egg noodles
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 TBSP spring onions, chopped
• 2 TBSP shallots, chopped
• 1 piece of lime or lemon
• 1 TBSP picked Chinese cabbage

Directions:

1) Put the oil in a wok and heat.

2) Mix the red curry paste and Indian powder.

3) Add curry paste into the wok and stir fry and cook until fragrant.

4) Add the coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar and bring to a boil.

5) Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add 80 grams of the egg noodles and cook for 1 minute.

These are their directions. However they left out that we fried some noodles too to add on top, and everything that is listed as an ingredient and isn’t listed in the directions are served on the side, for the eater to add. I throw everything in.

Stir Fried Glass Noodles

From Classic Home Cooking in Chang Mai.

Ingredients:

• 50 grams of glass noodles (soaked in water for about 5 minutes)
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1/2 carrot, sliced
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tomato, sliced
• 2 TBSP light soy sauce
• 1 TBSP oyster sauce or mushroom sauce
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 egg, beaten
• 20 grams of ear mushrooms, chopped
• 2 rice straw mushrooms or button mushrooms
• 2 pieces of baby corn, sliced
• 1 other vegetable, chopped
• 1 tsp ground white pepper

Directions:

1) Put the oil in a wok on low heat.

2) Add the garlic and fry until fragrant.

3) Turn up to medium heat and add the egg until it is scrambled and dry.

4) Add the vegetables and stir well.

5) Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, glass noodles and parsley and mix well.

6) Add the white pepper and remove from the heat.

Yellow Curry

Really simple recipe:

• 1 TBSP red curry paste
• 1 tsp Indian curry powder (Garam Massala)

and mix!

(I’ll give you the red curry paste directions below)

The head chef (mom) at Classic Home Cooking in Chang Mai said this was more Indian than Thai, but Thai people love it.

Ingredients:

• 6 dried chopped red chilies, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes
• 1 chopped shallot
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 tsp Chinese ginger
• 1/4 tsp kaffir lime rind, chopped
• 1 TBSP lemon grass
• 10 black pepper corns
• 1/4 tsp dry coriander seeds, roasted
• 1/4 tsp dry cumin seeds, roasted
• 1/4 tsp shrimp paste

Directions:

1) Put everything into a mortar and pound.

To make the curry:

Ingredients:

• 100g tofu, chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 1 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 TBSP yellow curry paste
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp palm sugar
• 1 boiled potato, chopped bite sized
• 1 onion, chopped bite sized
• 2 TBSP cooking oil

Directions:

1) Fry the curry paste with oil in a wok on low heat.

2) Add the coconut cream and keep stirring until the oil becomes separated.

3) Add the tofu, fish sauce, palm sugar and coconut milk.

4) Up the heat to medium.

5) Add the potatoes, onions, and bring to a boil.

6) Cook until the potatoes can be pricked easily with a fork.

Purple Sticky Rice with Coconut Sauce

Again from Tamarino in Luang Prabang

I don’t normally like sweet rice, but I LOVED this.

Ingredients:

• 300 grams rice
• 8 fl oz coconut cream or milk
• 100 grams sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• toppings: strawberries, mint, toasted coconut, sesame seeds, mango, sliced banana, or other fruit

Directions:

1) Make the rice per the instructions.

2) Heat the coconut milk/cream, sugar, and salt in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved.

3) Remove the rice from the steamer and pour the sauce over it (leaving a bit), and allow to stand for 15 minutes.

3) Alternatively, if the rice is cold, add the rice to the coconut milk/cream mixture and cook until the mixture is bubbling and most of the moisture is gone.

4) Serve with more of the sauce (if left over) and toppings.

 

Stuffed Lemongrass

‘This delicious dish is definitely best eaten with fingers. Cutlery just won’t let you enjoy the juicy lemongrass flavor which permeates the filling. Try using different meats, and consider using the filling for stuffing zucchini/courgettes and their flowers, eggplants, bamboo shoots or any other vegetable you fancy. Experiment with the balance of flavors to suit the availability of ingredients and your palate. Mashed potato and tofu are possible vegetarian options, with some roasted rice powder for texture.’–From Tamarino in Luang Prabang

Ingredients:

• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 4-5 medium spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 kaffir lime leaf, finely sliced (be sure to take out the stem)
• 1 heaped spoonful of salt
• 200 grams of potatoes
• a bit of rice powder
• 10-12 stalks of lemongrass, leaves removed so it is just one circle at the bottom.
• 2 eggs, beaten with salt
• 1 cup oil for frying

Directions:

1) Pound garlic, spring onions, coriander, kaffir lime leaf and salt in a mortar.

2) Add the potato and rice powder and mix.

3) Starting about 1 cm from the base of the lemongrass, cut all the way though the stalk for 4-5 cm. Do this again 1/4  to the right/left.

4) Make many thin cuts all around (these do not need to go all the way though, just to the cut in the middle).

5) Use your thumbs to open the lemongrass ‘cage’ and make a basket.

6) Add the filling with your hands or spoon.

7) Dip the lemongrass stuffed part in egg.

8) Heat oil in the wok to medium heat and fry the stalks until it is brown on the outside.

9) Drain on absorbent paper and serve.

Me and the lemongrass ‘cage’

The frying process

Fish Steamed in Banana Leaves

Again from Tamarino in Luang Prabang. One of my favorite meals in SE Asia.

Ingredients:

• 3 TBSP sticky rice powder, uncooked
• 5 Asian shallots
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 chili
• 2 inches of lemongrass, finely shredded
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 TBSP chopped dill
• 2 TBSP chopped Lao/Thai basil
• 2 small spring onions, chopped
• 2 TBSP water
• 1 TBSP fish sauce
• 300 grams of fish fillets, roughly cubed
• 4 banana leaves

Directions:

1) Pound the sticky rice powder, shallots, garlic, chili, lemongrass and salt in a mortar.

2) Add the lime leaves, dill, basil, and spring onions and pound some more.

3) Add the water and fish sauce and stir.

4) Add the fish pieces and mix with your hands.

5) Run each banana leaf over a flame to soften them (do not burn).

6) Take two banana leaves and place one across the other, with the ends opposite one another (one top one bottom).

7) Place half the fish mixture (without liquid) at the center of the leaf.

8) Fold each side up (the top and bottom).

9) Take one side that is open up, to make an almost pyramid.

10) Tilt the packet  and pour some of the liquid in.

11) Seal the open end the same way you did the closed end.

12) Tie with lemongrass or toothpicks.

13) Steam for 15 minutes over a high heat, until the leaves get lighter.

14) Serve with rice.

Eggplant Dip

‘This smoky eggplant dip is usually eaten with sticky rice, dried meat or raw greens. Lao use the local thin eggplant, but larger ones are fine’–taken from the book from Tamarino in Luang Prabang

Ingredients:

• 2 small Japanese eggplants (or 1 Italian eggplant)
• 1 chili (or 2)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup coriander
• dash of fish sauce
• 1 small spring onion, just the green part, chopped

Directions:

1) Prick the eggplant with a knife to let out the moisture while burning.

2) Put the eggplant on coals. This one should take the longest to blacken.

3) Stab the garlic and chili onto different kebab sticks and put them onto the coals.

4) Remove from the heat and allow to cool a bit.

5) Squeeze the garlic out, peel the char off the eggplant and cut the stem off the chili.

6) Pound the chili,, salt, and garlic in a mortar.

7) Add the eggplant and coriander.

8) Add the fish sauce (cover your nose!) and spring onion and mix a bit more.