Stuck in a rut ... ideas for easy or moderate level exotic recipes you can cook in Thailand

[mamypoko]

I don't have a specific recipe for you. But, I did recently buy a meat grinder / sausage maker from Lazada and have been

a fun time learning to make sausages and meatballs.

It's an Atkin's machine from heaven.

[bbudd]

http://caribbeanpot.com/curry-king-fish/

[vhartling]

I don't cook very often but I do enjoy reading recipes. I have tried the following recipes. After I put these together I realized that most of them are vegetarian. I am not a vegetarian but did enjoy the results. Let me know what you think.

http://www.shinshine.com/my-blog/2013/12/ch-egg-custard-phyllo.html - these were fabulous

http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/pumpkin-pie-coffee-cake/99e7bd2d-77df-4890-a3c1-5bd81840f10c

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/brigadeiro/ - these are delicious little chocolate balls

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/mediterranean/greek/greek-style-squid-with-lemon-garlic-and-olive-oil.html

http://rasamalaysia.com/seaweed-salad/2/

http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/saladsandsidedishes/r/Zaalouk_Recipe.htm

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bacon-cheese-muffins-2/?scale=8&ismetric=0

http://www.girlcooksworld.com/2013/02/sweet-sticky-rice-cake.html - I make this in the rice cooker. I use a can of coconut milk with enough water to make the 21/2 cups.

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-best-ever-veggie-burger-96967 - these take a lot of time but are very satisfying

http://leitesculinaria.com/35111/recipes-irish-raspberry-fool.html

http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2007/06/sweet-sour-salty-spicy-tropical-fruit.html

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/banana-flower-salad - I substitute shredded cabbage for the banana flower as I don't like the chalky taste of banana flower

http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2010/04/ga-kho-gung-vietnamese-braised-chicken.html

http://thaifood.about.com/od/vegetarianthairecipes/r/vegdumplings.htm

http://macrobiotic.about.com/od/pureedsoups/r/CauliSoup.htm

[Jingthing]

That list is a lot to digest!

[BadBouy]

Buttered chicken lasagna

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/butter-chicken-lasagna/13129/

[Mudcrab]

My morning smoothie.

12 ounces non-fat, sugar free yogurt.

1/2 cup raw whole rolled oats, uncooked.

1/2 cup sweet ripe fruit of any type.

Unsweetened natural fruit juice. Put oats in blender first and use enough juice to just cover. Otherwise oats may not blend well.

2 raw eggs.

After putting oats and juice in blender, add fruit, yogurt and eggs.

Run blender at increasingly faster speeds until oats are pulverized well.

Total calories 550 - 600.

(Is there a danger of salmonella in Thailand? If so I'd skip the eggs.)

Obviously Neversure neither lives nor apparently has ever been to Thailand to ask such a question.

Bear this in mind in future replies to his/hers postings.

[Jaggg88]

Hmmm... just yesterday I cooked fried spring rolls wrapped in rice paper - not perfect, but damn near the original, much better than the wheat wrap version they serve everywhere because Thai cooks are too lazy to do the real thing.

previous achievements include:

- delicious aged ribeye steaks (makro) with proper french fries and sauce béarnaise (perfectly made, if I may say so)

- crispy-baked chicken wings (in the oven). this is again something that local restaurants don't serve since they prefer to go the easy way of frying the wings which loose all flavour in the process

- Russian pelimenie

they fry the wings because they dont have ovens

[Jingthing]

I've got a very happy update to my adventures with Libyan cauliflower!

I made it a second time and being a macho man just cooked the dish from memory and I made some new fresh mistakes.

Forgot the garlic. That it turns out is essential.

Used less onion and didn't chop it as fine.

Didn't cook the florets quite long enough so some of the flour was a bit raw and overcooked the fresh cilantro.

The dish result flavor not nearly as delicious as the first try which was arguably a bigger mistake (making a roux instead of a dry roast).

So after that, I kind of thought ... maybe this new addition to my recipes isn't so great after all.

But, turns out third time is a charm.

This time remembered the garlic.

Used less flour in the spice mix so the spice coating was more intense.

Increased the onion portion and chopped fine.

Got the florets down to quite small size.

Skill in flour dredging the florets up to speed.

Cooked the florets long enough and decided it was necessary near the end to turn/mix them to make sure the flour was all cooked.

Got that SIZZLE from the video when putting in the citrus. This time i did use LEMON instead of lime (lemon is in the recipe).

I still think lime is OK, but lemon is definitely better.

Turned up the heat and throwing in the raisins, cilantro, very short cook time, not overcooking.

I plated this masterpiece over a small portion of thin rice noodles I bought at the market and on the side just some plain canned tuna and some yogurt.

The room temperature rice noodle idea turned out to be genius.

Now this turned out to be a GREAT meal.

The flavor and texture were wonderful.

The star of course the cauliflower so that was the main part with the protein (tuna) as the side.

The wonderful yellow from the dish soaked into the rice noodles and plain tuna and yogurt turned out to be perfect compliments.

You could also use sardines, fried tofu, beans, sliced chicken meat or most anything. The flavor is from the cauliflower so the protein is fine just plain.

I've got the prep drill down pat ... and now the cleanup is nothing extra difficult at all.

So I really have added this exciting new dish to my regulars. Very pleased.

So it took me three times to get it right, but now I'm confident I can get it right every time.

As far as shopping for it, I always have everything ready in stock for it except fresh cauliflower, fresh cilantro, noodles from market, and lemon (but I always have limes). Could make my own noodles at home or rice. Maybe it would work with angel hair pasta?

With this success behind me, I'm more open to new ideas.

I was looking at a Syrian lentil soup. Stay tuned.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Jingthing

[tolsti]

!. JT, don't buy a flour sifter. The next time you're in Tesco or big C buy a large metal strainer. The ones the actually have metal screen. You can put your ingredients in the strainer and sift them but stiring them with a spoon making them go through the screen. Flour sifters have the same screen on them but are limited to sifting flor. You can use the stainer for many things especially making sauces straining the ingredients from the liquid.

2. The next time that you want to "stir fry" cauliflower, parboil it first for a couple of minutes, strain it and let it cool. You can even use the boiling water in your recipe if it needs some liquid as it does retain some of the cauliflower liguid.

3. I made a Liberian dish last week for the first time. Mozarabe Spiced Chicke with green olives. Saw the recipe on TV, Master Chef, I think, but one of the ones that show someone cooking it and at the end they show the ingredients list fo a few nanoseconds and expect that you have a photographic memory. Cooked it in my pressure cooker, whole chicken, carrots (Ilke cooked carrots so I used a lot) and it lot of spices. The only thing that I didn't have was saffron and figs. I left out thesaffron and threw in some dried mango for the figs Came out really good. I turned the leftovers into some excellant and flavorful soup. Unlesss I am baking something I never measure anything so no recipe. It had cumin, paprika, chilli flakes, celery, onion. olives, pak chee, parsley, honey, and preserved lemon in it. I used the pressure cooker but it could be cooked in a big pot.

Keep trying new things. It's fun to cook something without a recipe adding the spices that you think you will like. I've come up with some delicious food and others that my dogs wouldn't even eat. You never know, next year they might have a new Television show Master Chef Thai Visa and you could add another trophy to your case!

If you google the TV channel that showed the original show you will often find that they list the recipes for the dishes on that episode. Often the series will have its own website.

[smokie36]

I'd love to know how to make the broccoli dish at Indus...man that is soooo tasty!

[Jingthing]

I'd love to know how to make the broccoli dish at Indus...man that is soooo tasty!

Could you describe the dish?

[smokie36]

I'd love to know how to make the broccoli dish at Indus...man that is soooo tasty!

Could you describe the dish?

Creamy Tandoori Broccoli is what they call it....it oozes with a delicious creaminess....spice and flavour.

Edit: To add....this is the only broccoli dish that could actually get kids to eat their greens!

Edited March 3, 2015 by smokie36

[Jingthing]

Thanks. That does look really incredible but not something for the casual home cook as it obviously requires a tandoor oven, I have seen other Indian tandoor dishes done with a cream marinade,

[lannarebirth]

I made this dish last year when I saw it on a cooking show.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/smoked-paprika-chicken-thighs-with-potato-and-onion-recipe.html

I undercooked the potatoes so I recommend you start those maybe 15 minutes early. My wife then made it and it was freaking delicious.

[smokie36]

I made this dish last year when I saw it on a cooking show.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/smoked-paprika-chicken-thighs-with-potato-and-onion-recipe.html

I undercooked the potatoes so I recommend you start those maybe 15 minutes early. My wife then made it and it was freaking delicious.

Try adding some chorizo to this dish to pad it out a bit...adds to the flavour....I have a version of this too...very tasty!

[lannarebirth]

I made this dish last year when I saw it on a cooking show.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/smoked-paprika-chicken-thighs-with-potato-and-onion-recipe.html

I undercooked the potatoes so I recommend you start those maybe 15 minutes early. My wife then made it and it was freaking delicious.

Try adding some chorizo to this dish to pad it out a bit...adds to the flavour....I have a version of this too...very tasty!

Ummmm, that sounds even better. Mexican, not Spanish style chorizo I assume?

[smokie36]

I made this dish last year when I saw it on a cooking show.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/smoked-paprika-chicken-thighs-with-potato-and-onion-recipe.html

I undercooked the potatoes so I recommend you start those maybe 15 minutes early. My wife then made it and it was freaking delicious.

Try adding some chorizo to this dish to pad it out a bit...adds to the flavour....I have a version of this too...very tasty!

Ummmm, that sounds even better. Mexican, not Spanish style chorizo I assume?

Never tried Mexican....but sounds good!

[katana]

This looks worth a try. Might replace the saffron with turmeric though.

Yotam Ottolenghi's saffron cauliflower

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/mar/17/features.weekend1

[golfer1111]

Ok, I just made Al Pastor. This is my favorite mexican meat by far when it is done right. I'm really picky about al pastor. I have usually been able to find one restaurant within a 20 mile radius of where I lived in california to get my fix but I'm in a desert here.

I have never tried to make it because it requires a vertical spit, similar to a doner.

Then I saw a recipe. Search for "serious eats pastor"

I skipped quite a few steps as he chose to use pork sirloin & bacon, while we have sliced pork shoulder available at makro. For chili I used what was available (dried, 2 varieties) at makro.

I did have achoite & chipotle chilies as I just came back from a trip to california. I don't know where you can get those here. If you have sources, please let us know.

I forgot the garlic & had a bit too much meat for the marinade. Otherwise it was just stick it in a blender & mix. I don't mind heat so I left the seeds in the chilies in.

I let it marinade for about 16 hours. I didn't bother layering, just made sure that the marinade covered all the meat.

The oven instructions were correct, 4 hours at 275 F produced a good result.

I didn't bother with the pineapple & I didn't bother with separating the fat & sauce.

I let everything cool overnight & then cut thin slices of the "meat loaf" to fry with the reserved fat & sauce. Served with a flour tortilla, home made salsa, sour cream. jalapeno jack cheese, avocado - I wasn't missing mexican food in California.

On the recipe, the texture of the meat was great. The technique of layering & cooking as a meat loaf works great as long as you cool it then fry it in the fat & sauce to finish it off. The sliced pork shoulder worked great. I didn't even bother trying to layer it much.

I didn't find the flavor to be where I would be coming back for it (in california (i am really picky about al pastor)) but it was decent & much better than I have had here. I'll be trying this again soon.