Pad Thai - ผัดไทยกุ้งสด

Ingredients
1/2 package Thai rice noodles
1-1/3 cup bean sprouts Optional
1/2 banana flower Optional
1-1/2 cup Chinese chives Optional
2 tablespoon cooking oil
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
2 tablespoon sugar
1 minced shallots
1 tablespoon preserved turnip Optional
1/3 cup extra firm tofu
1/2 lime
2 tablespoons peanuts Optional
1/2-1/4 lb shrimp Optional
ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground dried chili pepper
3 cloves minced garlic
4 teaspoons fish sauce
1 egg

Prepping
Start with soaking the dry noodles in lukewarm or room temperature water while preparing the other ingredients. Getting the noodles just right is the trickiest part of making Pad Thai. Make sure that the noodles are submerged in plenty of water. Check out Tips and Substitutions for in depth explanations. By the time you are ready to put ingredients in the pan, the noodles should be flexible but not mushy. Julienne tofu and cut into 1 inch long matchsticks. When cut, the super firm tofu/pressed tofu should have a mozzarella cheese consistency. You can fry the tofu separately until golden brown and hard, or you can fry with other ingredients below.

Cut the Chinese chives into 1 inch long pieces. Set aside a few fresh chives for a garnish. Rinse the bean sprouts and save half for serving fresh. Mince shallot and garlic together.

Cooking

• Use a wok. If you do not have a wok, any big pot will do. Heat it up on high heat and pour oil in the wok. Fry the peanuts until toasted and remove them from the wok. The peanuts can be toasted in the pan without oil as well. Add shallot, preserved turnip, garlic and tofu and stir them until they start to brown. The noodles should be flexible but not expanded at this point.

• Drain the noodles and add to the wok. Stir quickly to keep things from sticking. Add tamarind, sugar, fish sauce and chili pepper. Stir. The heat should remain high. If your wok is not hot enough, you will see a lot of juice in the wok at this point. Turn up the heat, if it is the case.

• Make room for the egg by pushing all noodles to the side of the wok. Crack the egg onto the wok and scramble it until it is almost all cooked. Fold the egg into the noodles. The noodles should soft and chewy. Pull a strand out and taste. If the noodles are too hard (not cooked), add a little bit of water. When you get the right taste, add shrimp and stir. Sprinkle white pepper around. Add bean sprouts and chives. Stir a few more times. The noodles should be soft, dry and very tangled.
• Pour onto the serving plate and sprinkle with ground pepper and peanuts. Serve hot with the banana flower slice, a wedge of lime on the side, raw Chinese chives and raw bean sprouts on top.
• As always, in Thailand, condiments such as sugar, chili pepper, vinegar and fish sauce are available at your table for your personal taste. Some people add more chili pepper or sugar at the table.

Kway Teow Tom Kha Gai (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวไก่ต้มข่า)

Rice Noodle with Coconut Soup Recipe (Kway Teow Tom Kha Gai)

Ingredients

2 oz (60 grams) chicken meat

1 handful thin rice noodles (*soaked)

3/4 cup (170 ml) water

(1/2 cup) 100 ml coconut milk

4-5 pieces galangal (sliced)

1/2 stalk lemongrass (sliced)

2 kaffir lime leaves

1 Thai shallot (press gently)

2 small green chillies (press gently)

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 teaspoon crispy fried garlic

Preparation

Put the coconut milk in a pan and bring to the boil then add the chicken and mix them well. 

Stir until it is half cooked then add the water and fish sauce, sugar and lime juice then mix them well.

Add all the herbs and wait until it boils and then pour over the noodles. 

Garnish with crispy fried garlic and serve.

*Note: Before cooking, soak the rice noodles in cold water for 20-25 minutes until they become soft, then drain. In a pot, bring 1 liter of water to the boil. Dunk the noodles for 2-3 seconds in the boiling water; set aside in a bowl.

Roasted Chicken

What's life if you haven't tasted that amazing whole chicken roast? Rather, there is a latent pleasure in knowing how to cook it well.Roasted chicken is popular in its own right all across the world. Here's how you can cook it. 

For this you'll need :
-  A whole cleaned chicken about 1.5 kgs in weight
-  1/2 lemon
-  6 garlic cloves, unpeeled 
-  Bunch thyme
- 1 tablespoon butter
-  Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 3 desiree potatoes, peeled
-  A dozen baby carrots, peeled
-12 eschallots, peeled, left whole
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- Rosemary bunch
- Watercress

And this is how you can make it :

Heat the oven to 220 C. Clean the chicken and wipe dry.  Tuck lemon, two garlic cloves and two thyme sprigs into the cavity, and tie legs together with kitchen string. Coat chicken with dabs of butter, scatter with sea salt, pepper and oregano, and place in a lightly oiled baking tray. Cut potatoes in half lengthways and cut each half lengthways into three wedges. Coat potatoes, carrots, eschallots and remaining garlic cloves in olive oil, and arrange on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Strew with half the remaining thyme and half the rosemary and bake for one hour in the oven with the chicken. Roast the chicken breast-side down for 15 minutes, then turn breast upwards and roast for a further 45 minutes, until the skin is golden and the juices run clear when pierced. Rest chicken for five minutes. To carve, remove legs and cut leg joints in two, then slice breast meat at a slight angle. Serve with vegetables, watercress and remaining thyme and rosemary.