Steamy Kitchen» Thai Recipes

I’m a freaky-fan-stalker

SteamyKitchen — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:08:15 +0000

A little over a year ago, I met Chef Martin Yan for the first time at a Publix Aprons event. I was so girly-giddy that I breathlessly told him that he was my “culinary superhero.”

And if that didn’t scream, “freaky-fan-stalker!” then maybe he got a clue when I got a little so close trying to videotape Yan carving a chicken in 15 seconds that I almost got my bangs thwacked off. But nope, because that same evening, when I mentioned I was writing a cookbook, he actually said, “Send me a copy to review, I’ll write a quote for the back of the book.”

There was a chance that Chef Yan was just sayin’ that to be nice. I mean, he’s a celebrity chef who meets hundreds of people every day, he couldn’t possibly have remembered what he said to whom? So, two months ago, when my book was complete, I prayed that he really, really meant what he said and sent him a copy of the book galley with a kind note.

He remembered. And Martin graciously penned, “Jaden Hair delivers beautiful, simple and delicious food that will bring famly and friends to your table. She is the real deal who learned from the best, her mom. – Martin Yan.”

My publisher slapped that endorsement on the back cover of the book…and then I nearly fainted. The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook hits the shelves in mid-October, and I think the moment I see the real book at a real bookstore, I’m going to personally kiss the back of each book, right where Martin’s quote is.

A couple of weeks ago, Martin came back to town for a class…of course I attended and I gave Martin a big hug and thanked him profusely, freaky-fan-stalker style.

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Martin Yan China Cookbook Giveaway

Martin Yan’s sponsor, Tsingtao Beer has kindly given me two autographed books to give away. CONTEST OVER…WINNER ANNOUNCED!

He wanted to send a little message to you, as he autographed these two books:

I’ll randomly choose 2 winners on July 31st. Just comment below with a nice little note for Martin Yan! What do you want to say to him? I promise he’ll read it.

CONTEST OVER…WINNER ANNOUNCED!

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If Yan Can…

carve a chicken in 19 seconds…SO CAN YOU!

This is the second time I’ve seen him do this – just simply amazing. Hear that camera-clicking? That’s me, multi-tasking. Camcorder in left hand, heavy camera in right hand. Hold still….don’t get too close to that cleaver!

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Thai Basil Chicken with Cashews Recipe

What I love about this recipe is that it’s super quick and simple to make. What takes the most time in this recipe is cutting up the chicken! Really, it’s that simple. Yes, if Yan Can Cook, So Can You!

Recipe from Martin Yan
serves 4

Marinade
2 tablespoons lager-style beer, like Tsingtao
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper (or black pepper)
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon lager-style beer, like Tsingtao
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce (or add an additional 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce)
1/4 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable, canola or peanut oil
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
4 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 2 teaspoons water
1 fresh jalapeno chili, thinly sliced into rings (optional)
1/4 cup lightly packed Thai basil or sweet basil leaves.
1/2 cup roasted cashews

1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes.

2. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

3. Place a wok or wide saute pan over high heat until hot. Add the oil, swirling to coat the sides. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the chicken and asparagus and cook, stirring constantly until the chicken is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Add the sauce and bring to boil. Add the cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in jalapeno chili, basil leaves and cashews.

Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (Tom Ka Gai)

SteamyKitchen — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:26:06 +0000

So a couple of weeks ago I was chatting online with one of my friends who has a food blog but doesn’t go by her real name so that she can hide her real identity. Because you know, food blogging is so much sexier when you’re STEALTH blogging. She said some people, herself included is freaked out about their names being revealed for fear that their real names show up in Google search engines.

Which makes me wonder what kind of horrible recipes are these people publishing?

I’ve never been shy about talking about my life or my family…and I really don’t care to blur out my face nor do I put a black bar over my eyes like they do in back of magazines to show fashion DON’Ts. My kids get no cutesy, clever nicknames. Who knows if one day this whole blog will blow up in my face! I’m sure some of the things I’ve posted about my kids that are cute-ha-ha-funny will someday be cha-ching! for the therapist. Better set aside some money now. Seriously. But that’s just who I am. Loud, brash and confessional.

This is why I love blogs and books that aren’t bashful about opening their front door and welcoming us in with open arms. When I was in Los Angeles last year, I stopped by the soon-to-be-closed (sniff sniff) The Cook’s Library Bookstore where I picked up a copy of Tessa Kiros’ Apples For Jam, A Colorful Cookbook fully intending it to be a gift for a friend, but after an afternoon alone with the cookbook, I decided to keep it for myself and bought her a bag of donuts instead. What a good friend I am. (WHAAAT? Hey, at least I didn’t arrive empty-handed!)

Tessa’s publisher, Andrew McMeel sent me a copy of her latest book, Falling Cloudberries, A World of Family Recipes which is part of Gourmet’s Cookbook Club. Tessa Kiro was born in London to a Finnish mother and Greek father, has lived in South Africa and worked as chef in Sydney, Athens, Mexico and London. Her life of global travels inspired this book with nearly 400 pages of recipes, stories and stunning color photographs (170 recipes, 185 color photos).

I wanted to share a recipe with you from her Falling Cloudberries book – Tom Ka Gai Soup, or Thai Chicken Coconut Soup. I’m sure you’ve had this soup before if you’re a fan of Thai food. The Tom Ka Gai soup is warm, tingly and creamy.

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About Kaffir Limes Leaves (or Makrut)

Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (Tom Ka Gai) uses fresh kaffir lime leaves to give it that unmistakable Thai flavor and aroma. It’s citrusy, bright and its aroma is as exuberant as its taste.

And I’m lucky enough that in Florida the Kaffir Lime Tree grows like crazy. Even neglected, it looks like this:

While my tree doesn’t bear any fruit (I think something called “neglect” might have something to do with it) the leaves are plentiful. And the leaves are the valuable part of the tree anyways. Another name for Kaffir Lime Leaves is “Makrut,” as I just found out that the word “Kaffir” is a deragatory term (I’m off to research and find out the details on that to confirm).

How to use Kaffir Lime Leaves

The Kaffir Lime Leaves come in doubles. It’s a pretty thick leaf with a tough spine in the middle. The Kaffir Lime Leaf is used whole and discarded after cooking, unless you cut into very thin slivers.

For Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (Tom Ka Gai), fold the Kaffir Lime Leaf in half along the spine and then tear, stopping at the tough spine.

So that when you open it, the Kaffir Lime Leaves stays whole. This makes it easy to pick out and discard after cooking. Tearing the Kaffir Lime Leaves opens the aroma and flavors. Now scratch the screen and a whiff…WOW!

Just throw the leaves, torn and whole into your soup, cook, then pick out and discard. Well, I guess you don’t have to. You can leave the Kaffir Lime Leaves in the soup and make your guests pick it out.

Substitutions for Kaffir Lime Leaves

If you don’t have access to fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves, you can find them at the Asian markets frozen or dried whole. You can also substitute Kaffir Lime Leaves with thick strips of lime peel. Take a whole lime and a vegetable peeler. Peel thick strips. Use your hands to tear a few places along the strip or just crush/fold the strip to bruise it a bit to release its flavor and aroma. Discard after cooking. Use one 2-inch x 1-inch strip of lime peel for every Kaffir Lime Leaf the recipe calls for.

Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (Tom Ka Gai Recipe)

Photo and recipe of Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (Tom Ka Gai) courtesy of my buddies at Andrews McMeel Publishing. A note on galangal/ginger: while often used together, they are not the same ingredient and taste very different! Many recipes will have you substitute ginger for galangal (which can be difficult to find), which isn’t really a “substitute.” Think of it as – if you can’t get galangal, ginger would be great in this soup too. Find galangal at the Asian market – sometimes you can get fresh galangal otherwise you may find it frozen. ~jaden

Tessa’s intro: “I just wouldn’t cope with not knowing how to make some version of this soup. I love it. You can add a few mushrooms, a couple of fresh spinach leaves or some slices of zucchini in with the chicken. Also wonderful instead of the chicken is to cook some large, shelled shrimp on a barbecue or grill pan and toss them into the soup just before serving. The fish sauce is the salt in this soup so adjust the quantities according to your taste (and the same with the chile). I like it not too strong. Keep the cilantro stems in your freezer to add flavor to a broth or stew.”

Serves 4

1 1/2 inch piece of galangal or ginger, peeled and sliced
small bunch fresh cilantro with roots
4 kaffir lime leaves (makrut), torn
1 stem lemongrass, halved lengthways
3 tablespoons fish sauce
juice of 2 small limes
1 3/4 cups coconut milk
1/2 pound skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
1 red chile (chilli), seeded and sliced

Put the galangal, cilantro roots, lime leaves, lemongrass and 4 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the fish sauce and lime juice, decrease the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the cilantro roots. Add the coconut milk, bring back to a boil and boil for a couple of minutes. Add
the chicken pieces and cook for just a minute or so, until the chicken is soft and milky looking and cooked through. Throw in the chile and mix well. Serve in bowls with the cilantro leaves roughly chopped and scattered over the top.

— Recipe courtesy of Falling Cloudberries, A World of Family Recipes by Tessa Kiros/Andrews McMeel Publishing

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This Week’s Steamy Kitchen Giveaway

Two weeks ago, I gave away a rice cooker, this week, the winner of The Art and Soul of Baking is lakotakat@_.com!

And now I’m giving away a copy of Falling Cloudberries, A World of Family Recipes by Tessa Kiros. To enter, just sign up for the Steamy Kitchen email newsletter (form is below). Each week, I give away cool prizes to my loyal readers as a thank you.

Thai Curry Beef Skewers + Guest Writer for Martha Stewart

SteamyKitchen — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:17:59 +0000

I’m a guest writer over at Martha Stewart Everyday Food! Have you been to their website? They’ve got thousands of recipes, all of them simple and perfect for dinner tonight.

My kids made Thai Curry Beef Skewers and Grilled Banana with Dark Chocolate for them. Come on over to Martha Stewart Everyday Food ’s website and take a look. The recipe for the MUST MAKE dessert inspired by the lovely Andreaa is over there.

I love it when my two young sons — 3 years old and 5 years old — help me in the kitchen. It’s good to nurture an interest in responsible nutrition and teach them correct food pairings, like how super-thin, shatter-crisp Lay’s potato chips are much better stacked between a hamburger bun and patty than something big and smushy like a chocolate Ho-Ho.

We have one small rolling stool in the kitchen perfect for just one little boy to stand on. Why not two? Well, because physically, my two arms and two eyes can keep track of only one child within arms reach of a smorgasbord of spices and seasonings. Trust me when I tell you that behind my back, they’ve dumped a jar of chili powder in the fried rice just because it needed more color. Well, that evening magically turned into a Happy Meal night. Which, now looking back, seems like an awfully suspicious trick that I’m sure a certain trouble-stirring uncle taught them recently.

But the kids do love to come tinker in the kitchen, especially when it involves food on a stick. You could put anything on a stick and my kids will think it’s like the best meal ever. How do you think I got them to eat brussels sprouts? You skewer them between chocolate dipped marshmallows. To get to the next marshmallow, you’ve got to eat that brussels sprout.

Once Andrew heard we were making Thai Curry Beef Skewers with his favorite fruit in the world, pineapple, on sticks, he went totally nuts and called dibs on skewering duty. One piece of pineapple for the Thai Curry Beef Skewer, one piece of pineapple for Andrew. One for the Thai Curry Beef Skewer, two for Andrew. It took two cans of pineapples to finish the job, but I guess he got his recommended vitamin C ration for the week.

Grilled Thai Curry Beef Skewers Recipe

Serves 4
Inspired by Martha Stewart Everyday Food

I have tweaked Martha Stewart Everyday Food’s Grilled Thai Curry Beef Skewers recipe just a little, adding fresh lime juice and using pineapple juice in place of some of the honey and brown sugar. The pineapple juice will also help tenderize the meat. Thai curry paste can be found in any Asian market and in the international aisle of your supermarket. Although Thai curry is normally spicy, we’re using only 1 tablespoon of the curry paste so that even the little ones can enjoy this dish. If you do enjoy spice, feel free to add another tablespoon to the recipe. Store the remaining paste in a covered jar or plastic container in the refrigerator. It will last several weeks if properly stored.

Grilled Thai Curry Beef Skewers Recipe

Ingredients
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks, 2 tablespoons of the juice reserved
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon vegetable, canola, or peanut oil
1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
1 1/2 pounds top sirloin beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 red onion, quartered, layers separated

Directions
1. If grilling outdoors, prepare your grill for high, direct heat. If broiling in your kitchen, heat the broiler with rack set 4 inches from heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Soak 8 wooden skewers (12 inches each) in a pan of water.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 tablespoons of the reserved pineapple juice, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, oil, and red curry paste. Reserve half of the sauce for serving (pour into a separate bowl.)

3. Add the beef to the marinade and let sit for 10 minutes at room temperature. Thread the beef, onion, and pineapple onto skewers. Grill on your outdoor grill or under broiler for 5 to 7 minutes, flipping halfway, until medium-rare.

Andrew enjoying Thai Curry Beef Skewers

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Free Signed Cookbook

Don’t forget to enter the random drawing for a signed copy of Dave Lieberman’s cookbook!

Fried Green Tomato Salad with Sweet Chili Dressing + Menu For Hope

SteamyKitchen — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 04:21:56 +0000

Because I live in one of the hottest states in the United States, and by “hot” I mean the moment you step outside, the crease in the back of your knees sweat as fast as spinach in a fry pan. In the summer, I curse the humidity, especially when my friends back in San Francisco brag about having lunch alfresco on happy-sunshiney-afternoons. But then along comes December, and guess what. I am still growing tomatoes, gardening in shorts and a tank top in almost 80F degree weather. Love it.

Na na na na boo boo!

In October, I bought a few Earthboxes - and began growing 3 tomato plants, lettuce, herbs, cauliflower, peppers and broccoli. The tomatoes took off like like a dog in heat and within weeks grew to 3 ft tall with a gazillion flowers. That’s the beauty of the Earthboxes…low maintenance…high productivity. Kinda like me, right Scott?!

Anyways, they grew so friggin’ fast that one day I came home to find all 3 tomato plants toppled over because the wire trellis couldn’t support the plants’ weight. One plant broke and therefore the 2 months of tomatoes which i had lovingly massaged, sang to and kissed, were left dangling helplessly on the stem. The other plants were ok, so today Scott built a massive wooden trellis system, about the size of a small bathroom just for them to “grow into.” I really should take a photo for you (next time).

18 small green tomatoes…perfect for Elise’s Fried Green Tomato recipe paired with my Sweet Chili Dressing and home-grown greens. These green babies are goin’ out in style.

I have another Earthbox just dedicated to different kinds of salad greens – our little family can’t keep up with all the lettuce we are producing. I’ve become a lettuce-pusher….presenting bags of lettuce and herbs to my friends every time I visit. This Fried Green Tomato Salad with Sweet Chili Dressing was so satisfying that I have a feeling that many of the remaining tomatoes will be plucked before ripening. Panko breadcrumbs were a perfect breading – so incredibly light yet packs a massive crunch when fried…..continued….

pssst….I forgot to drizzle with the Sweet Chili Dressing before taking the photo.

Fried Green Tomato Salad with Sweet Chili Dressing

adapted from Elise who adapted it from Better Homes & Garden New Cook Book. For my GF friends, substitute flour and breadcrumbs. The sweet chili sauce below in the dressing recipe is GF.

serves 4 as part of multicourse meal
prep 10 minutes cook 8 minutes

3 medium, firm green tomatoes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
large pinch of chili powder
salad greens

1. Slice unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2″ slices. Season both sides with salt, pepper and chili powder and let sit. In meantime, make salad dressing (recipe below) and prep the following in separate bowls in this order: milk, flour, egg, panko.

2. Heat a large skillet with olive oil on medium-high heat. Dip tomato slices in milk, then flour, then eggs, then panko. In skillet, fry slices 3-5 minutes each side until golden brown.

Sweet Chili Dressing

1 tbl bottled sweet chili sauce (I use Mae Ploy brand)
1 tbl tomato ketchup
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbl sugar
1 tbl water
1 tbl lime juice
1 tsp minced cilantro leaves

Combine ingredients and mix well.

The Sweet Chili Dressing recipe is adapted from Asian Tapas cookbook. I’ve been playing with the recipes in this gorgeous book – every recipe has a photo!

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Menu for Hope

This is my first year participating in Menu For Hope, and rather than me and my chinglish fumble a description, here is the program, from the words of the founder herself, Chez Pim:

“Menu for Hope is an annual fundraising event in support of the UN World Food Programme. Five years ago, the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia inspired me to find a way to help, and the very first Menu for Hope was born. In 2006, Menu for Hope raised US$60,925.12 to help the UN World Food Programme feed the hungry.

Each year, food bloggers from all over the world join forces to host the Menu for Hope online raffle, offering an array of delectable culinary prizes. For every US$10, the donor receive a virtual raffle ticket toward a prize of their choice. This year, the prizes include once in a lifetime experiences such as touring the elBulli laboratory with Ferran Adrià, dining on a historic British meal prepared by Heston Blumenthal, or joining Harold McGee on a lunch date to satisfy a lifetime’s worth of cooking curiosity. You can also tag along with your favorite blogger on a tour of their favorite markets, restaurants, or even receive a care package fashioned especially for you from your favorite bloggers themselves. All you need is $10 and a bit of luck.

We may never eradicate hunger from the face of the earth, but why should that stop us from trying?”

Our East Coast host is Serious Eats, one of my fav food sites. Come support the worthy cause and see the full list of prizes!

My donation is 1 ounce of saffron threads from Saffron.com. This, my friends, is an entire ounce – more than you can ever use! The prize code is UE-05.