My friend Rachel loves Thai cuisine. I have been trying to learn more about Thai cuisine, so we discovered that we have a common interest. Recently, we decided to get together to cook and to invite friends to join us. Sarah, Rachel's sister, wasn't hard to persuade. She loves Thai cuisine and spicy food. Chloe saw me with my groceries last Saturday. I told her that I went grocery shopping for a Thai cooking session on Sunday. She asked if she could join us. Four of us in the kitchen was just right. It's hard to cook with too many people in a kitchen with limited counter space.
We had an ambitious plan to cook as many dishes as feasible within three hours. The menu was:
- Nam dang (red syrup in soda drink)
- Minced pork and chicken laab salad (appetizer 1)
- Kai kap muu gratiem (crispy garlic chicken and pork with a spicy dip Prik Nam Pla (appetizer 2)
- Panang kai (thick red chicken curry)
- Kanom jeen (fermented rice noodles)
- Khalam plee pad nam pla (Stir-fried cabbage with garlic and fish sauce
- Itim kati (coconut ice cream)
We started at 10.45am with the dessert, because we needed to freeze the ice cream. Planning the workflow was important. We had to divide the work.
Rachel made the prik nam pla dip for the garlic pork and chicken. She was an expert at it. The main ingredients were lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce, chili flakes, shallots, roasted rice and coriander.
Chloe chopped a lot of shallots and garlic and cut all the vegetables. She showed skill and patience, both necessary for Thai cooking.
Sarah took care of cutting the pork and the chicken. They had to be bite-size.
We had to marinate sliced pork and chicken in a paste for at least 20 minutes. Rachel made the paste from scratch with pepper corn, coriander roots and garlic. She used a mortar and pestle to pound the ingredients the old-fashioned way. The marinated pork and chicken slices had to be deep-fried at high heat until crispy. We took turns to fry.
The laab was simple to make. We boiled the minced meat (chicken and pork mixed together) and mixed it with a pre-mixed dressing. Laab is a cold dish. The minced meat is wrapped in local lettuce and served as a wrap.
The panang curry was also simple. Sarah fried the panang paste in oil until it was fragrant before adding coconut milk to it gradually followed by the chicken. It was important not to over cook the chicken.
The stir-fried cabbage with garlic and fish sauce was fairly simple too. Rachel and Sarah cooked it together.
Laab salad wrap
Crispy pork and chicken with spicy dip
Panang chicken curry
Thai fermented rice noodles to go with the panang curry
Stir-fried cabbage with garlic and fish sauce
Lunch was ready by 1.45pm. Chloe made the nam dang soda drink. It was a very complete Thai meal.
We were surprised by the number of people who turned up for lunch. It was great to have company to share a feast with.
Chloe said that she had had Thai food before, but not the dishes that we cooked. They were all new to her.
Sarah said the crispy garlic pork and chicken would have been great with steamed glutinous rice. I agreed with her, but said we needed extra time to steam glutinous rice.
Rachel said they all had fun and the food was so good!
The coconut ice cream was the treat for me. Suzie made a topping of dried mangoes and we added peanuts, just the way coconut ice cream is served in Thailand.
Coconut ice cream
It was indeed a Sunday Special!
By Chayo, HomSkil Editor 1, 20 July 2024
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