What not to do in the (Thai) kitchen (apparently)

[tassieman]

Well, in the spirit of humor April 1 should bring with it...a BIG faux pas this eve for me in the kitchen as I said I would take over cooking duties for my beloved and Mr. 13 year old stepson. A little tired of the relentless rice and pork, pork and rice and variations thereof....I disgraced myself by preparing two steamed fresh vegetable dishes: carrot a la butter n pepper and green string beans with a schmooze of olive oil and dry herbs and some raw garlic...added glory of a fresh garden salad (olives to boot). As Pierre Gabriel wrote so well in Games Without Frontiers: If looks could kill, they probably will. At least sink a battleship at 1000 yards. Never again. Rice and pork. Pork and rice. Got it ???? Have a great April all in the LoS and may never a steamed vege pass thy lips. Amen.

[grollies]

You need a new wife

[Lacessit]

I fail understand why any farang would presume to take over a Thai kitchen. I prefer to have my GF serve me food cooked to my specifications.

[Pilotman]

9 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I fail understand why any farang would presume to take over a Thai kitchen. I prefer to have my GF serve me food cooked to my specifications.

with lashings of Vegemite no doubt? ????

[KMartinHandyman]

I see your need for a change but you definitely sucked all the calories and fun out of that meal. Maybe one of those dishes at a time with the rice and pork, lol.
My wife’s been to the USA enough times and can tolerate a little of “my food”. So now I make spaghetti with vegetables and meat sauces, grilled tuna or ham and cheese sandwiches with soup, chef salad with bottled dressings, omelettes with ham and vegetables, pancakes or crepes, multigrain cereal with toast and yogurt, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes with gravy, potato salad, grilled shrimp etc.
I know these aren’t the lowest calorie foods but I need the calories and variety. She’s just happy not to cook and blames “my food” (once a week or so) when the scale tips to the right!
Just some easy ideas, don’t give up.

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

with lashings of Vegemite no doubt? ????

I'm not allowed to mention that on TV anymore, so thanks.

[Pilotman]

16 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I'm not allowed to mention that on TV anymore, so thanks.

banned at last eh? 

[Khaeng Mak]

My dad was a no good drunk who took off and my mum died of cancer when I had just turned 16.  I was as poor as a church mouse living in a converted garage while I finished my apprenticeship. I taught myself to cook so at least I could eat a decent meal.  Later in life I ran a 172 seat restaurant and learned a great deal from the many chefs that I employed.

 

I am now quite the cook, but getting too old to do all the work.  Of all of my girlfriends, in all countries, not one has been able to cook as good as me, with the exception of just one Thai girl.  She was a bar girl from Isaan but as a kid she worked as a house slave for a rich Sino Thai family in Bangkok.  She was a stellar cook, and my laundry was always done perfectly and neatly folded for me in my wardrobe.  Such a shame she stole that gold from me. Might of still had her around.

[Lacessit]

29 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

banned at last eh? 

No. I just get inundated with Brits who wax lyrical with praise of Marmite and Bovril, and Yanks who can't understand either of us.

So I've surrendered.

[Pilotman]

2 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

No. I just get inundated with Brits who wax lyrical with praise of Marmite and Bovril, and Yanks who can't understand either of us.

So I've surrendered.

to be perfectly honest I don't like any of them, so I will give up too.    

[chickenslegs]

3 hours ago, tassieman said:

I disgraced myself by preparing two steamed fresh vegetable dishes: carrot a la butter n pepper and green string beans with a schmooze of olive oil and dry herbs and some raw garlic...added glory of a fresh garden salad (olives to boot).

Apart from the raw garlic, that sounds like a tasty meal to me. Also, it's definitely something my Thai wife would appreciate.

 

I'd probably want some poached salmon or a few prawns with it, and a thick slice of granary bread with too much butter (in a perfect world there would be steamed Jersey potatoes - skins on - on the side).

 

Does not surprise me that the 13 yr old turned his nose up. It's just their natural reaction to most things.

[tutsiwarrior]

I introduced cauli and broccoli to my thai family and now they regularly prepare it themselves, even the kids eat it...lotsa chiles, garlic and oyster sauce...the step daughter is a good cook...

 

 

 

[Pilotman]

I introduced an Italian pasta dish of my own devising to my Thai family.  They seem to love the cheesiness of it, which is odd as Thais don't seem to be big cheese eaters, or pasta eaters for that matter. I make the dish once ever two weeks of so.  The only stipulation they make is the I use minced pork and not beef, but it seems to taste pretty much the same, so I'm cool with that. 

[tassieman]

[OP] thanks guys for all the mouth-watering advice ???? the poached salmon (maybe with a white sauce and some lightly sauteed asparagus lol looks like a go next!). The main point of the exercise was actually to try and get my Thai stepson to experience the (occasional) heavenly delight of vegetables au naturel. I worry about his diet that seems to consist of rice and pork n chicken (often deep fried), nothing green in between and often supplemented by some bizarre 7/11 take away masquerading as sustenance hahaha. To be fair, when I was 13 all I wanted to eat was grease: fish, chips, potato cakes and when the budget could afford a glorious deep fried hamburger in batter (and still do sometimes lol) anyway... back to the cutting board.

[Pilotman]

12 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

I introduced cauli and broccoli to my thai family and now they regularly prepare it themselves, even the kids eat it...lotsa chiles, garlic and oyster sauce...the step daughter is a good cook...

 

 

 

yum, broccoli and cauli , layered in cheese sauce, with baked potato, meal fit for a King. 

[tutsiwarrior]

7 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

yum, broccoli and cauli , layered in cheese sauce, with baked potato, meal fit for a King. 

never was a big fan of cheese sauce on veges, seen some recipes where parboiled cauli and broc are added to regular mac&cheese then baked...the wife's folks will maybe add a little pork belly but many times eat it on its own with chiles, garlic and oyster sauce...

 

recently I've gotten into roasted cauli with cumin and garlic also curried cauli and potato soup which is heavenly (cauli and tatties curried together are a match made in heaven like aloo gobi)...broccoli parboil then stirfry with cooked noodles and a noodle sauce a la HK and S'pore...broc also good alone in a salad tossed with rice vinegar with dissolved salt only, stays crunchy in the fridge for a few days...good to snack on...

 

 

[Kwasaki]

18 hours ago, tassieman said:

Rice and pork. Pork and rice. Got it ????

For sure, this morning I did a 3 in 1 coffee and some toast & marmite that's me done in the kitchen for the day. ????

[Khaeng Mak]

5 hours ago, Pilotman said:

I introduced an Italian pasta dish of my own devising to my Thai family.  They seem to love the cheesiness of it, which is odd as Thais don't seem to be big cheese eaters, or pasta eaters for that matter. I make the dish once ever two weeks of so.  The only stipulation they make is the I use minced pork and not beef, but it seems to taste pretty much the same, so I'm cool with that. 

I do a regular spag bol for me and the girl. I make the sauce from scratch using tomatoes and herbs from our garden.  She loves it but it makes her fart like a draft horse

[Pilotman]

Just now, Khaeng Mak said:

I do a regular spag bol for me and the girl. I make the sauce from scratch using tomatoes and herbs from our garden.  She loves it but it makes her fart like a draft horse

In appreciation no doubt. ????

[tassieman]

4 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

5 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

never was a big fan of cheese sauce on veges, seen some recipes where parboiled cauli and broc are added to regular mac&cheese then baked...the wife's folks will maybe add a little pork belly but many times eat it on its own with chiles, garlic and oyster sauce...

 

recently I've gotten into roasted cauli with cumin and garlic also curried cauli and potato soup which is heavenly (cauli and tatties curried together are a match made in heaven like aloo gobi)...broccoli parboil then stirfry with cooked noodles and a noodle sauce a la HK and S'pore...broc also good alone in a salad tossed with rice vinegar with dissolved salt only, stays crunchy in the fridge for a few days...good to snack on...

 

 

yes, I might have to convince the missus we invest in a "proper" stove + oven...v difficult to be a wannabe masterchef with just an electric wok + microwave as the tools at one's disposal...oh to be able to bake again lol. onwards. 

 

[grollies]

6 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

never was a big fan of cheese sauce on veges, seen some recipes where parboiled cauli and broc are added to regular mac&cheese then baked...the wife's folks will maybe add a little pork belly but many times eat it on its own with chiles, garlic and oyster sauce...

 

recently I've gotten into roasted cauli with cumin and garlic also curried cauli and potato soup which is heavenly (cauli and tatties curried together are a match made in heaven like aloo gobi)...broccoli parboil then stirfry with cooked noodles and a noodle sauce a la HK and S'pore...broc also good alone in a salad tossed with rice vinegar with dissolved salt only, stays crunchy in the fridge for a few days...good to snack on...

 

 

A cauliflower cheese, baked with cheddar cheese, plenty of seasoning and grated nutmeg is a great side to gammon or a Sunday roast of lamb or beef. A neighbour has sheep and I'm buying a couple for the freezer eventually. Going to fence them in the rubber and they can eat all the grass. Neighbour feeds them rotting kanun, bet the meat is great. Sigh, cauli cheese, lamb and gravy.....

[Khaeng Mak]

36 minutes ago, grollies said:

A cauliflower cheese, baked with cheddar cheese, plenty of seasoning and grated nutmeg is a great side to gammon or a Sunday roast of lamb or beef. A neighbour has sheep and I'm buying a couple for the freezer eventually. Going to fence them in the rubber and they can eat all the grass. Neighbour feeds them rotting kanun, bet the meat is great. Sigh, cauli cheese, lamb and gravy.....

You should buy some ivermectin and inject them every month to ensure they are worm and parasite free.

[tutsiwarrior]

6 hours ago, tassieman said:

 

yeah, the wife kitted out my downstairs kitchen with a new freestanding whirlpool 3 gas burners. one electric and a gas oven when she was doing the finishing of the house we bought 19 years ago...very basic but good fer most things including baking, etc...they ain't got no need in the upstairs family kitchen, just a gas two burner hob...

 

once in Abu Dhabi where we had a full electric western kitchen the wife cooked a whole duck in oil stovetop in a wok, calmly turning it over and over and when I indicated the oven for that purpose she looked up with a face that said 'don't interfere' so I never mentioned it again...the duck turned out tasting quite nice, succulent and crispy and very labor intensive...

 

 

 

[GinBoy2]

Now my dear wife grew up in her teens in the US, before returning to Asia after college.

 

We're back in the US 20 odd years later, and to this day, if she doesn't have rice every day, at least once, she's not 'full'

 

One of my house husband jobs is to cook rice when I wake up for her to take to work.

 

If no rice, Momma's not happy, hence none of us are happy....so I cook the rice come what may! LOL

 

[tassieman]

well, a "minor" win in the kitchen today lol... pumpkin+ soup with chunks of salmon on a base of lightly fried onion + green beans....served cold with coriander...went down a treat...cheated a little but, as blended the pumpkin initially with 2 tins of good old cambells chicken n mushroom & potato soups I had in the pantry...anyway, delicious ???? 

 

[user343434]

Takes many Years to teach a Thai wife to cook western food.

One day she does well the next she takes shortcuts again.

We agreed, Sunday is roast and Wednesday soup day, she does the cutting and peeling and I add the taste to it.

 

On the other hand she brought me over years to her standard of fire in the hole that even knocks my Thai nephews over.

In restaurants the chef is peeping around the corner to see me suffering when I order pet maak maak. But he is stunned when that is not the case. It's still fiery spicy but I am adapted now, it's the flavor behind the fire what makes chili so unique.

 

When I am going offshore I miss the taste of chilies..

 

Regarding Thai food she could cook at least a month long every day a complete different taste which I really love. 

 

For me 2 Western meals per week are enough and my wife learned to love some German classics like Sauerkraut, Curly kale and Pork in Jelly (Suelze) on fried potatoes. Its all about team work.

[donim]

On 4/1/2019 at 6:39 PM, grollies said:

You need a new wife

Have two kitchens.

 

Helps for me.

[tutsiwarrior]

14 hours ago, donim said:

Have two kitchens.

 

Helps for me.

 

yeah, separate western and thai kitchens is the way to go...the thai kitchen in our house usually feeds about 10 people give or take a few and my western kitchen only feeds me and I hate people messin' about in my kitchen...we share ingredients and spices when the need arises and works out pretty well...

 

here's tutsi and the step daughter at the market looking at a daikon radish and she sez 'whaddaya gonna do with that then?' 'slice and toss with a bit of salt dissolved in rice vinegar to make a salad...' 'ye can make a nice gaeng wid one ob those...' 'who wansta???'

 

and she frowns so as to say dese falangs sho' is clazy...