A Vagabond Life - Food

Tom Yam Pla This fantastic spicy yet sour soup is simply delicious! Ingredients 1.5 litres chicken or fish stock 4 whole roasted shallots 3 kaffir lime leaves, torn 1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 3 cm lengths   300g fish, scaled, gutted and cut into fillets (or cheat as I do and buy fish fillets - make sure it is a firm white fish.  4 crispy fried dried red chillies 1 shallot, sliced 3 blades corriander 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce 2-3 limes, juiced 2 tablespoons tamarind juice Method In a pot, add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the roasted shallots, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the fish fillets and simmer until just cooked. Add the chillies, shallot and coriander. Cook for 5 minutes. Season the soup with the fish sauce, lime juice and tamarind juice. Just before serving, adjust the seasoning, it may need more stock, lime juice or fish sauce. The Thai people eat this soup ...

Nam Prik Ong This is another traditional northern Thai specialty of minced meat in a mild spicy sauce with fresh vegetables. It is usually served with pork crackle/rind. Ingredients 350 gm minced pork (not too lean) 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered 1 heaped tbsp red curry paste peanut or vegetable oil 2 tbsp Asian fish sauce ¼-½ cup chicken stock 2 tbsp shaved palm sugar (or soft brown sugar) 2 heaped tbsp chopped fresh coriander 2 spring (green) onions, finely chopped Fresh seasonable vegetables like cauliflower, cucumber and carrot served raw Thai holy basil sprigs  Method Put the mince, tomatoes and curry paste in a large bowl and mash until the tomatoes are broken down. Heat a little oil in a wok (or large heavy-bottomed non-stick pan) and stirfry the pork mixture until sealed, mashing it as you do so. Add the fish sauce with ¼ cup stock and the sugar. Stir well and cook for about 5-7 mins until thick and fragrant, adding more sto...

Chiang Mai Noodles I first had this dish in Chiang Mai and loved it. I was really looking forward to getting back to the region to try it again. The version we had in Chiang Rai is a little different, not a thick as the Chiang Mai version but still very tasty. Khao Soi is a curry noodle dish from the northern part of Thailand. It is often made with chicken, served over Chinese Bah-mi egg noodle, and garnished with fried noodles, shallots, corriander, pickled mustard greens, fried whole chillis and a squeeze of lime juice. Serves: 4 Ingredients: For the chicken curry: 3 chicken fillets or boneless thighs  , sliced 1 heaped tablespoon Red Curry Paste 2 tablespoons oil 1 400g can Coconut Milk 1 tsp. Curry Powder ½ tsp. Turmeric Powder 1 brown (or black) cardamom pod, crushed or ground (optional) 2-3 cups chicken stock 1 tablespoon of brown sugar 1 - 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce The rest of the ingredients: About 6-7 (loosely packed) cups of Chinese Bah-m...

Green Papaya Salad Som Tam Coming Soon

Green Mango Salad Som Tum Mamuang Coming Soon

Thai Beef Salad Serves 2 Ingredients 1 piece quality steak  Salad Handful rocket Handful of fresh herb (coriander and basil work well) 1 small red onion finely, sliced 8 - 10 cherry tomatoes, halved 1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced 1 tablespoon of roasted un-salted peanuts a pinch of roasted chili powder (optional) 1 teaspoon of toasted rice powder (optional) The roasted chilli and rice powder will evenly disperse the heat through the dish - if you do not like spicy food leave this out. Roasted Chilli Powder Dry roast 3 - 4 whole dried chillis in a frying pan until they turn black then pound them to a powder in a mortar and pestle. Roasted Rice Powder Dry roast a tablespoon of rice in a frying pan until it turns golden brown then pound it to a powder in a mortar and pestle. Dressing 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 french shallot, finely diced 1 small red chilli finely chopped 1 tablespoon tamarind water 3 tablespoons...

This Thai staple is along way from French food...but it is delicious and a great way to use up some of the cabbage you have in the fridge! Larb Gai Larb Gai Serves 2 - 4 2 chicken breasts minced 1 table spoon Khao Kudo 1 red onions or 3 shallots finely sliced 1/2 cup of mint leaves (or coriander or parsley also works) 1 tablespoon sugar 3 tablespoons lime juice 1 tablespoon fish sauce 3 spring onions 1/4 of cabbage sliced into wedges or shredded Serve with Jasmin Rice Khao Kudo is used frequently in Thai food, it distributes the heat and flavour of the roasted chilli evenly through the food and also acts as a thickening agent. Make the Khao Kudo Place 2 tablespoons of rice and 2 - 3 dried chillis in a dry pan and roast until the rice has gone brown and the chillis have blackened. Pound to a fine powder in a mortar and pestle. This will give you enough to store some for another day. Note: The qty of chilli you used will be depende...