Khao Yam Pak - Thai Rice Salad

Khao yam, Thai rice ’salad’, isn’t exactly spicy, but the abundance of thinly-sliced fresh herbs certainly stands in contrast to a bowl of oatmeal or rice porridge. This dish is typically served slightly warm as a wonderful breakfast, particularly when coupled with a glass of sweet Muslim-style tea.

Yield:

Serves 4

Ingredients

1. 520 g room-temperature cooked rice (made using 2 cups raw long-grain fragrant rice)
2. 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3. 100 g freshly grated or desiccated coconut, toasted in wok until golden brown, cooled
4. 125 g shredded pomelo or grapefruit segments (juice drained off if using grapefruit)
5. 100 g bean sprouts, straggly tails removed
6. 2 eggs, lightly beaten and cooked to make 2 thin omelets, shredded
7. 35 g dried shrimps, soaked in hot water to soften, drained and minced
8. 100 g thinly sliced young long beans (snake beans) or green beans
9. 100 g finely diced cucumber
10. 4 stems lemon grass, tender inner part of bottom 3-in only, very thinly sliced
11. 1 tablespoon minced red or green bird's eye chili
12. ½ cup loosely packed coriander (cilantro) leaves
13. 2 large calamansi, halved
14. 2 kaffir lime leaves, cut in hair-like shreds
15. .
16. For the sauce:
17. =============
18. 2 tablespoons preserved salted fish or 3 tablespoons canned anchovies
19. 2 tablespoons ground palm sugar
20. 2 tablespoons ground galangal
21. 4 shallots, peeled and finely minced
22. 1 stem lemon grass, tender inner part of bottom 3-in only, thinly sliced
23. 2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
24. 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
25. 1 teaspoon fish sauce
26. 1 cup (250 ml) water

Directions

1. To prepare the sauce, put all the ingredients in a small saucepan, and bring to the boil, stirring. Lower the heat and simmer very gently, with the pan uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by half, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Pour through a sieve into a small bowl, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Leave the liquid to cool, discarding the solids.
3. You can either arrange the rice in the center of one large serving plate, putting all the other ingredients around it, or you can prepare individual servings. To do the latter, lightly grease a small bowl with oil. Add 1 cup rice, pressing down to make grains adhere, then invert the bowl over a plate. Repeat, putting each portion of rice on a separate plate. Put small piles of pomelo, bean sprouts, omelet, dried shrimps, snake beans, cucumber, lemon grass, bird's eye chili, and coriander (cilantro) leaves around each rice mound. Add 1 calamansi (halved) to each plate and top the rice with kaffir lime shreds.
4. Divide the sauce between four small sauce dishes and serve with the salad for everyone to drizzle over according to taste. The garnish ingredients are normally mixed through the rice just before eating.

Notes

Pad See-Ew

Pad See-Ew is a Thai noodle dish that can be made with meat or without. (Some people call it Thai-Chinese, because the technique of stir-frying noodles came from Chinese immigrants.) It's a lot like the Cantonese chow hor fun, with thicker sauce and the addition of egg. This dish has fewer ingredients than Pad Thai and is easier to make, perfect for those lazy "crap, I'm starving but my fridge is practically empty" days.

Yield:

Serves 4

Ingredients

1. 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
2. 1/2 cup mushroom-flavored soy sauce, store bought or homemade (see last paragraph above)
3. 2 tablespoons brown sugar
4. Splash(s) of peanut or vegetable oil
5. 1 chicken breast, cut into biite size pieces
6. 3 cloves garlic, minced
7. 1 Thai chili, diced (optonal)
8. 2 eggs, beaten
9. 1 to 2 cups Chinese broccoli florets
10. 1 pound fresh flat rice noodles, or 8 ounces dry flat rice noodles
11. Lime wedges, for garnish

Directions

1. If you are using dry rice noodles, soak them in warm water per the instructions on the package.
2. In a small bowl mix together the 2 soy sauces and sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar and set aside.
3. Heat oil in wok and stir-fry broccoli until just tender and crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside. In the same wok, add a bit more oil. Add the chicken breast and stir-fry until the pieces begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and chili and continue to cook another minute.
4. Pour eggs down side of wok and cook until they set. Stir to break up egg and to mix with the chicken. Toss in rice noodles and pre-cooked broccoli, cooking until noodles are softened, about 2 minutes. Add soy sauce and stir until noodles and other ingredients are well coated. Scoop onto plate(s), garnish with lime wedges, and serve.

Notes

燒賣 - Siu Mai

These small steamed dumplings with pork inside a thin wheat flour wrapper are usually topped off with crab roe and mushroom. The delectable little bites are typically steamed but you can also opt to fry them if you're so inclined. As with most dim sum or dumplings, you can be creative with the filling - for this recipe, you can add Chinese mushrooms if you like as well.

Yield:

Makes 20

Ingredients

1. 20 wonton wrappers
2. 1/4 pound of ground pork
3. 18 medium sized tiger shrimp
4. 2 stalks green onions, chopped finely
5. 4 cloves garlic, minced
6. 4 water chestnuts, chopped finely
7. .
8. For the marinade:
9. ==============
10. 2 tbsps light soy sauce
11. 1 tsp sesame oil
12. 2 tsps Chinese Shaoxing Wine (Chinese Rice Wine)
13. 2 tsps sugar
14. 1 tsp Mirin
15. 2 tsps corn starch

Directions

1. First, chop the pork and shrimp together until well mixed. Next, add the green onions, water chestnuts and garlic to the mixture and mix well. Marinade with the ingredients listed above. You may also add ginger juice if you like. Add the corn starch and mix well. Now, you're ready to wrap the dumplings.
2. Next, working with one siu mai at a time, spoon about 1 tsp of the filling onto the middle of the wrapper, keeping it 'tall' i.e. don't flatten it. Brush the edges of the wrapper with water and simply gather the wrappers up, folding wherenever needed. Allow the filling to 'pop' up on top of the wrapper. While working with each siu mai, be sure to keep a damp paper towel on top of the rest of the wonton wrappers to avoid them from drying out.
3. Prepare a bamboo steamer with some parchment paper or foil. Place the wrapped dumplings on top and steam over high heat for about 10-15 minutes. Before steaming, you can add ssprinkle some mashed up salted egg yolk for some colour if you wish. Serve hot. These will be perfect with some sweet chilli sauce or simply on its' own.

Notes

焼きそば - Yakisoba

Yakisoba (焼きそば ?), literally "fried noodles", is a dish often sold at festivals in Japan, but originates from China. The dish was derived by the Chinese from the traditional chow mein, but has been more heavily integrated into Japanese cuisine like ramen. Even though soba is part of the word, yakisoba noodles are not made from buckwheat, but are similar to ramen noodles and made from wheat flour.Yakisoba usually refers to sōsu yakisoba, flavored with yakisoba sauce.

Yield:

Serves 2

Ingredients

1. For the Yakisoba:
2. =================
3. 9 ounces soba noodles
4. 2 eggs
5. ½ green pepper, trimmed, seeded, and cut into strips
6. ½ red pepper, trimmed, seeded, and cut into strips
7. 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
8. 8 scallions, trimmed and sliced
9. 2 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
10. 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
11. A handful of bean sprouts
12. 2 tablespoons (with lemongrass and ginger) yaki soba sauce
13. 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
14. 2 teaspoons pickled ginger
15. 1 tablespoon dried shallots
16. ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
17. 2 tablespoons yasai soba dressing (with lemongrass and ginger)
18. .
19. For the Soba sauce:
20. =================
21. ½ cup light soy sauce
22. 2 teaspoons sugar
23. 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
24. .
25. For the soba dressing:
26. =================
27. 2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
28. 41/2 tablespoons crushed yellow bean sauce
29. 1 lemongrass stalk, outer leaves removed, finely sliced
30. 1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger root

Directions

1. Instructions for the Sauce:
2. Put all the ingredients in a small pan and bring to a boil.
3. Lower the heat right down and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Once cool, it will keep for a few weeks in the fridge.
5. Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine until blended.
6. Please note: this is a thick dressing, designed to coat noodles rather than salad greens, although the latter are rather good too. It will keep for months in the fridge.
7. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until tender.
8. Drain and refresh under cold running water.
9. Beat the eggs in a bowl and add all of the vegetables and the yaki soba sauce.
10. Heat a wok over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until completely hot and almost smoking, then add the vegetable oil.
11. Add the egg mixture and the cooked noodles, and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
12. Divide between 2 bowls and top with the pickled ginger, shallots, sesame seeds, and dressing.

Notes