Thai Grilled Pork (Mu Ping หมูปิ้ง) with Coconut Rice

I adore Thai cuisine. The dishes often have very in-depth flavour and very versatile, which can be adapted with different type of meat or vegetables to suit individual's taste. The scent of lemongrass, Thai basil, kaffir leaves, fish sauce and tamarind are so distinctively Thai that they cannot be easily confused with another cuisine.  

Since most of Thai dishes have a very pungent flavour, I find chicken, pork or white fish are best to absorb all the flavours than red meat.

In this recipe, the marinade would also goes very nicely with chicken or turkey.

Serves 4

600g pork shoulder steaks, diced 

For the marinade

3 stalks of lemongrass (thinly sliced 1 stalk)

2 gloves of garlic

1 tbsp oyster sauce

3 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp palm sugar

1 tsp sesame oil 

A thumb of fresh ginger

A bunch of fresh coriander

1 lime juice

For the coconut rice

1 can of coconut milk

2 cup of Thai Jasmine rice

Splash of water

1. Blitz all the marinade ingredients in a mini food chopper. 

2. Marinade the diced pork shoulder steaks with the mixture overnight. 

3. For the rice, rinse the rice under tap water a couple of times to get rid of the starch. Drain well.

4. If you are using a rice cooker, pour in a can of coconut milk, add a splash of water, mix well and cook the rice as per rice cooker's instruction; if you are cooking the rice in a saucepan on the hob, cook the rice gently on a low heat for 3 minutes, pour in a can of coconut milk, turn the heat up and bring it to simmer. Bring the heat to the lowest setting and cover with lid. Leave it to cook until all the liquid has evaporated. 

5. Meanwhile, heat the griddle pan on a high heat. 

6. Once the griddle pan is hot enough, put the pork on it and cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until cooked through. 

7. Serve with coconut rice!

Panang Curry (พะแนง)

My partner and I visited a local Thai restaurant last weekend, and it was there we first sampledd Phanaeng curry. We love trying out different dishes, so if it was on the menu of the other Thai restaurants we have visited before, I am not entirely sure why we've never had Phanaeng until last Friday. Mind you most restaurants only offer Thai Red or Thai Green curry!

The Phanaeng we sampled was excellent. Like most Thai dishes, there are a variety of meat option and we went for chicken. The curry was creamy and nutty with a hint of sweetness. It also has a subtle heat. The key ingredient for this dish is founded peanut, which is not used in other Thai curry dishes. As soon as we got home we were researching for ingredients and made plan to reinvent this delectable dish at home!

Serves 2

4 boneless & skinless free-range chicken thighs, sliced 

1 can of coconut milk

1 tsp of palm sugar

2 tbsp of fish sauce

3 kafir lime leaves

For the curry paste:

2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted

1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted

1 large red chilli, chopped

A tumble of fresh ginger, cut into matchsticks 

2 lemongrass, brused and sliced

A handful of fresh coriander, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp shrimp paste

4 tablespoon of ground roasted peanuts

1. Grind the toasted cumin coriander seeds in a mortar & pestle until powdered. 

2. Put all the curry paste ingredients into a food processor (including the seeds powder) and blitz it until it is of a smooth, paste texture.

3. Heat up a frying pan on medium heat. Add the curry paste and cook for 5 minutes. Keepstirring so it doesn't stick and burns. 

4. Pour in 1/2 of coconut milk and cook for further 5 minutes. 

4. Add the chicken, kafir lime leaves, fish sauce and Palm sugar. Keep on cooking for another 10 minutes until the meat is cooked through.

5. If the consistency is too dry and you prefer a wetter curry, add more coconut milk in to the frying pan. I made mine quite dry this time.

Well, that's it! Here is a delicious curry, best serves with plain steamed rice! Enjoy!

Thai Green Turkey Curry Noodles

Thai is one of my favorite cuisine. Spicy and flavorsome, what's not to like? Most supermarkets nowadays stock all the essential ingredients such as lemongrass, fish sauce, shrimp paste and coconut milk. And of course for those who have less time on their hands then ready made Thai red or green curry paste is also available.

Turkey in a Thai curry may sounds rather uncommon, but the result is  absolutely delectable and may I emphasised with the help of a food chopper/processor, it is definitely worth it to make your own curry paste.

  

Serves 4

500g turkey minced

Enough rice noodles for 4 people

Ground white pepper

A splash of sesame oil

A splash of Soy sauce

A splash of Shaoxing wine

1 tsp of corn flour

400ml coconut milk

0.5L vegetable stock

Seasonal vegetables

For the curry paste:

1 stalk of Lemongrass

2 cloves of garlic

A thumb of ginger

4 stalks of spring onion

A bunch of fresh coriander

Splash of fish sauce

1 tsp of shrimp paste

2 tsp of sugar

Juice and zest of 1 lime

2 tsp of Thai chili paste (or a few dried chili)

1 tbsp of oil

Few kaffir lime leaves

1. Put all the curry paste ingredients into a food chopper/ processor and blitzed till refine enough.

2. Marinate the turkey minced with ground white pepper, sesame oil, soy sauce and Shaoxing wine. Mix in the corn flour to help the mixture to bind.

3. Using cleaned hands to shape turkey mixture into small balls and fry in an oiled pan until they are golden. Place on a plate to rest.

4. In the same frying pan, cook the curry paste or 5 minutes. Add in the coconut milk, vegetable  stock and the turkey balls, bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, prepare noodles as per packet instruction.

6. Cook the seasonal vegetables (I used cabbage and carrots) in the curry broth and mix in the noodles just before serving.