Fennel Soup

Ingredients; 2 medium sized bulbs of fennel, chicken stock 30 cl, coconut milk 15 cl, light soy sauce 1 tbsp, fish sauce 1 tbsp, kurkuma 3-4 tsp, palm sugar 2 tsp, juice of half a lemon, oil 2 tbsp, chili oil 1 tbsp, fresh ginger 2 cm (peeled, cut in big chunks), tom yam paste 2 tsp (or 1 tom yam stock cube).

Trim and slice the fennel, keep the top green for dressing. Heat a wok, add oil. Stir fry the fennel on low heat until almost soft (add a little water to keep it from burning). Add chicken stock, tom yam paste, ginger and coconut milk, bring to the boil. add soy sauce, fish sauce and kurkuma.
Add the lemon juice and sugar. Taste and add more lemon juice or sugar to your liking.
Serve and dress with the finely chopped green from the fennel and some chili oil.

I add a few shrimp dumpling a few minutes before serving.

Feed me; Steaming Sticky Rice.

Steaming sticky rice near Kantharalak bus station. Sticky rice is a great travel companion, you could buy it at most train and bus station, steamed in bamboo often mixed with black beans.
Easy enough to make at home, but you need to buy the right rice, Take 2 cups of rice and cover with 5 cm cold water, soak for 6 to 24 hours (room temperature). the longer it soaks the better it gets. Line the steamer with cheesecloth, drain the rice and steam for 15 to 20 minutes. You can boil it in a pot or use a rice cooker, but steamed the traditional way ( conical steamer basket and pot) is the best by far.
Another good way is by using a colander or pasta cooker, always line with cheesecloth.

Tofu & Eryngii on toast

Ingredients; for the dressing: Honey 1tbsp, dark soy sauce 1tsp, light soy sauce 1tsp, fish sauce 1/2 tsp, wasabi - recipe: tofu 150 gr, 2 or 3 big king brown mushrooms (eryngii), garlic 1 clove, fresh ginger 2 cm, pink Himalaya salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika powder, rice wine 1 tbsp, basil, sunflower oil 3 tbsp, sesame oil a few drops, toast to your liking

Slice the mushrooms lengthwise, 5mm thick. Chop garlic and ginger very fine. preheat the oven, we need about 200°. Toss the mushrooms in a baking tray, cover with 2 tbsp sunflower oil, add a bit of black pepper, a little salt, garlic and ginger. Cover the tray with aluminium foil. Put in the oven, after 15 to 20 minutes, open the lid and add 1 tbsp of rice wine. cover and leave in the oven for 5 more minutes.
Slice tofu into litle squares about 5 mm thick, dust wiyh cayenne pepper and paprika powder. Heath a frying pan, add 1 tbsp of sunflower oil. Fry tofu on medium heat, until nicely coloured. Place tofu on kitchen paper to absorb oil.
Dressing; Mix the honey, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and fish sauce in a small bowl.
Take a piece of toast (warm), put two slices of tofu as a base, add mushrooms (leave most of the garlic and ginger in the cooking tray). Dress with 1 tsp of the honey mixture, add a touch of black pepper and pink salt. Put the toast on a plate dress the plate with some wasabi and a few drops the honey mixture and sesame oil. finish with a little basil. You can use all kinds of toast, I used a soft Swedish toast.
If you are vegetarian or vegan, eliminate the fish sauce from the recipe.

Halloumi and Eggplant

Ingredients; Halloumi 200gr, eggplant 1, medium sized onion 1, red chili pepper 1, tomato pasata 200cc, pepper, salt, cumin, parsley, paprika powder, olive oil

Cut the eggplant into 5mm thick slices, do the same with the halloumi. Heat a frying pan, add olive oil. Add the eggplant and fry until golden brown. The eggplant will soak up quiet some olive oil, make sure there is enough in the frying pan. Once golden brown place the eggplant on a plate and put aside. Chop the onion and the chili pepper, and add to the frying pan. fry until soft and add the tomato pasata and a bit of water. Bring to the boil, add pepper, salt and a teaspoon of cumin powder (or crushed cumin seeds). Cook for about 10 minutes, turn off the heat and add 2 or 3 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley.
Take a portion sized ovenproof dish, add a thin layer of the tomato sauce, a layer of eggplant and a layer of halloumi. Do it twice and finish with some paprika powder on top. Put in a preheated oven (medium height) for 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve with steamed rice or even better with some naan bread.

Shrimp, Fennel and Star Anise

A variation on the 'Shrimp and Fennel' recipe.
Ingredients; shrimps 16, fennel bulb 1, chilli flakes 1 tsp, juice of 1 lemon, honey 1tbsp, sunflower oil 2tbsp, little nob of butter, black pepper, salt, fish sauce 1 tbsp, Star anise 4, Ouzo 2 tbsp, water 10cl.

Chop the fennel bulb into small bits. Chop some of the top green very fine (2 tbsp) and set aside.
Heat a frying pan, add 1 tbsp oil and butter. Add cleaned shrimp, season with black pepper and salt, fry one to two minutes each side. Set aside.
Heat a wok, add 1 tbsp oil and add the chopped fennel. Stir fry on medium heat until almost soft (with a bite) if necessary, add some water while stir frying. Add chili flakes, half of the lemon juice , honey, fish sauce, Ouzo and star anise. Fry for a minute and add the shrimp. Fry for 2 more minutes, taste and add more lemon or honey. Serve, dressed with the chopped green of the fennel.
You can serve it with noodles or steamed rice. I like it with some naan bread.

sugar peas

Ingredients; sugar (snap) peas 200gr, cherry tomato 10, garlic cloves 2, 1 or 2 red chili peppers, oil 1 tbsp, oyster sauce 1 tbsp, water 1tbsp, sugar 1 tsp, fish sauce 1or 2 tsp (if you are vegan replace with light soy sauce).

Heat a wok, add oil. Add the chopped chili peppers. Stir fry for 1 or 2 minutes, add the sugar peas. Stir fry for another 4 to 5 minutes on medium heat. Add fish sauce (light soy sauce), oyster sauce, water and chopped garlic. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and add, fry for 3 minutes add sugar if needed.
You can add tofu if you like.

Thousand year old eggs

Ingredients: thousand year old eggs 5, garlic cloves 5, chilis 5, minced pork 150 to 200 grams, holy basil leaves 2 coffee cups, light soy sauce 1/2 tbsp, fish sauce 2 tbsp, oyster sauce 1 tbsp, sugar 1 or 2 tsp, sunflower oil 5 tbsp, water

Peel the eggs carefully, place in the palm of your hand and slice in half with a thin cotton thread. Heat a wok, add 4 tbsp of oil. Fry the eggs for about 2 minutes (2 or 3 half eggs at a time).
place the fried eggs on some paper tissue. Get rid of the oil.
Heat the wok, then add 1 tbsp of oil. Add sliced chilis and garlic, fry for 1 minute. Add the minced meat, fry until it starts to get crispy. Now add fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. stir and fry for one more minute. If it is too dry, add 1 or 2 tbsp of water.
Add the roughly shreded basil leaves, stir and add the eggs. If you like spicy, dress with some bird shit chilis. Ready to serve.
Thanks to our friend Lak for the cooking lesson. Lak runs a great jewel shop on Etsy.

Noodles with fennel and tofu

Ingredients; Tofu 200gr, fennel 1 bulb, red chili 2, fresh ginger 1cm, lemon 1, fish sauce 2-3 tbsp, sunflower oil 1 cup, chili oil 1 tbsp, dark soy sauce 1tsp, noodles 200gr, palm sugar 1tbsp, water

Clean the fennel and cut into small strips, keep the fine green top aside (cut very fine). Slice the tofu in bite size bits, about 5 mm thick. slice ginger and red chili's into small strips.
Heat a wok, add all of the oil except 1 tbsp. when hot, deep fry the tofu. Place the deep fried tofu on kitchen paper so the excess oil is removed.
Get rid of the oil. Heatthe wok, add 1 tbsp of oil, add fennel. stir fry, but don't let the fennel get any colour. you may have to add a bit of water once in a while, stir fry until the fennel starts getting soft and glazy.
Meanwhile, bring water to the boil in a cooking pot, cook the noodles until almost soft. Drain the noodles.
Add chili's and ginger to he fennel and fry for a few minutes. Add fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce and juice of half the lemon. Heat and taste, add more sugar or lemon according to taste. Add the noodles. Dress the noodles and tofu on a plate and finish with the finely shopped greens from the fennel.

Liver and garlic chives

Ingredients; liver 150 gr, 2 chilis, garlic cloves 3, oil 1 tbsp, oyster sauce 2 tbsp, peper,
                    palm sugar 1/2 tbsp,water 1 or 2 tbsp,  light soy sauce 1 tsp, garlic chives 100 gr (stalks)

Slice the liver in 5 mm thick bite size pieces. Cut the chives into 5 cm long pieces. Heath a wok, add oil. Bash the garlic cloves and fry for a minute. Add the liver, fry on high temperature for 1 or 2 minutes. Add the sliced chili's, palm sugar and oyster sauce. After a minute, add the chives fry for 1 or 2 more minutes. Add water if necessary. Add the soy sauce, stir and serve.
You can use any kind of liver, this one is pork.
Recipe thanks to my friend Lak, she makes some great jewelry as well. Have a look over here.

Shrimps and Fennel

Ingredients; shrimps 16/20, fennel bulb 1, red chilli pepper 1 or 2, juice of 1 lemon, honey 1tbsp, olive oil 2tbsp, little nob of butter, black pepper, salt, fish sauce

Chop  the fennel bulb into bite size bits. Chop some of the top green very fine (2 tbsp) and set aside. Heat a frying pan add 1 tbsp oil and butter. Add cleaned shrimp, season with black pepper and salt, fry one to two minutes each side. Set aside.
Heat a wok add 1 tbsp oil and add the chopped fennel. Stir fry on medium heat until almost soft (with a bite) if necessary add some water while stir frying. Add chili pepper, stir fry for one minute. Add lemon juice, honey and fish sauce. fry for a minute and add the shrimp. fry for 2 more minutes and serve. Dress with the chopped green of the fennel.
You can serve it with noodles, I like it with some naan bread.

Paksoi, mushrooms and tofu

ingredients; tofu 200gr, paksoi 1, small eryngii (king oyster) mushrooms 100gr, flour 50gr, 1 red chili, fish sauce, mushroom sauce, garlic 1 clove, water 2 tbsp, chili oil 2tbsp, sunflower oil 25 cl, sugar 1 teaspoon

Cut the tofu into small bite size cubes. Put the flour in a bowl (you can add some parsley and other spices). Poor the sunflower oil in a small cooking pot and heat.
Slice the mushrooms lengthwise (5 mm thick). cut the paksoi in bite size pieces, keep the leaves ans the hard parts apart.
Heath a wok add the chili oil and the finely chopped chili. stir fry for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and stir fry for 2 more minutes. Now add the hard parts of the paksoi and stir fry for 5 more minutes.
add some water if it is too dry and add the smashed garlic.
Meanwhile deep fry the tofu until golden brown.
Add the leaves from the paksoi, stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add  fish sauce, sugar  and tmushroom sauce to the mushrooms and paksoi. Cook for 1 minute and turn off the heat.
Serve with noodles or rice

Feed me; Preparing bitter gourd and egg

Another Thai Classic, bitter gourd and egg. Served with chilli sauce it is an excellent dish. Easy and fast; slice the gourd lengthwise (500 gr) and scoop out the seeds. Cut the gourd in small pieces. Heat oil add a bit of shopped garlic (1 clove) stir fry for a minute, add the bitter gourd  and fry for 3 more minutes. Add 2 -3 tablespoons of water and 2 tbsp of fish sauce. Fry for 2 minutes and add 2 beaten eggs. Stir well and turn of the heath. Stir until the egg is cooked. 

pimp your noodles

Ingredients; mama instant noodles 2 (or any instant noodle you like), lean pork meat 200gr, teriyaki sauce 2tbsp, dark soy sauce 1tbsp, mirin 1tbsp, mustard leaf or water convolvulus 300gr, fish sauce 1tbsp, garlic 1clove, sunflower oil 4 tbsp, sambal 1 tbsp.

Cut the pork in very thin slice. Mix teriyaki sauce, dark soy sauce, mirin and fish sauce. Marinate the pork for 1 hour in this mixture. Bring 250 cc water to the boil and add the condiments that come with the noodles. Break the noodles and add. bring to the boil and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes 5until most of the liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile heat a wok add half of the oil, add the sambal and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the drained pork, keep the liquid. fry over high heat. After a few minutes add half of the marinating mixture. You might need to add some more later.
Heat a wok or frying pan add the rest of the oil. Add finely chopped garlic, after about a minute add the mustard leave or water convolvulus. Fry on high heat for 1 to 2 minutes.

Place the noodles on a plate and dress with the vegetables and the well done pork. add the sauce from the pork if you like.

noodles and mushrooms

Ingredients; noodles 250gr, oyster mushrooms 150gr, king brown mushrooms 150gr, sunflower oil 3tbsp, sambal 2 tsp, fish sauce 1 tbsp, mushroom sauce 1 tbsp, light soy sauce 1 tbsp, water 2 tbsp, spring onions 2, vegetarian wok strips or mock meat 150gr, garlic 1 clove.

Slice the king brown mushrooms lengthwise into 3 to 5 mm thin strips, brush with some oil and grill. Set aside. heat a wok, add sunflower oil. Add sambal and fry for a minute. Add the wok strips and fry until golden brown. Add the oyster mushrooms and fry on high heat for about 5 minutes (add a little water while frying) add diced garlic, fish sauce, light soy sauce, mushroom sauce and water. fry for 2 minutes and add boiled noodles. Serve and dress with king brown mushrooms and diced spring onion.

Custard white courgette yellow curry

Ingredients; 1 or 2 custard white courgettes, 5 medium sized potatoes, coconut milk 50 cl, shallots 5, yellow curry paste 50 gr, palm sugar, fish sauce, sunflower oil.

Cut the courgette in big chunks, peel and remove the seeds. Heat a non stick pan add a little oil. Add the courgette and fry until golden brown. Set aside. Partly boil the potatoes and set aside. Heat a wok add oil. Add shopped shallots, fry until soft. Add yellow curry paste and half of the coconut milk. Bring to the boil and cook until oil appears on top.
Add the left over coconut milk bring to the boil. Cut the pre boiled potatoes in half and add. Cook until the potatoes are done, then add the courgette. Make sure everything is cooked and add palm sugar and fish sauce to your taste.

Khao Niaow Ma Muang

Khao Niaow Ma Muang or sticky rice with yellow mango, one of my favourite. This one is in Siem Reap, Cambodia. But for me the best Khao Niaow Ma Muang is served at Sailomyoy near Tha Phae gate in Chiang Mai, Thailand. 

Not easy to get the ripe yellow mango's used in Thailand (Nam Doc Mai mango). But if you can this is my recipe. You can use another kind of mango, but the Thai ones are the best for this dish.

Ingredients: sticky rice 200gr, ripe yellow mango 200gr, coconut milk 200 cc, concentrated sweet milk 100 cc, sugar 50gr, salt.

recipe; soak the sticky rice for 24 hours and drain. Steam the sticky rice in a steamer or steaming basket.

Heat 100 cc of coconut milk, the sugar and a pinch of salt. Turn off the heat when it starts boiling. 

Put the sticky rice in a bowl add the coconut mixture. Use chopsticks or a fork and loosen the sticky rice. 

Peel and slice the mango. Mix the rest of the coconut milk with sweet milk and a pinch of salt.

Serve the sticky rice, dress with the mango and drizzle some coconut and sweet milk mixture on top.

Chicken, lime and mint

Ingredients; chicken fillet 250 gr, shallot 1, chili pepper 2, fresh ginger 3 cm, fresh mint, potato flour 1 tsp, 1 lime, honey 1 tbsp, mirin 2 tbsp, rice wine 2 tbsp, lemongrass 2, sunflower oil

Slice chicken fillet int small strips. Take a bowl and add the juice of one lime with the honey, mirin and rice wine. Mix well and add the chicken strips, marinade for one hour.
Slice the ginger into small strips and fry in sunflower oil until golden brown. Set aside on some kitchen paper. Heath a wok add some oil. Add finely chopped shallot and chili. Fry for 2 minutes. Drain the chicken, keep the marinade. Add the chicken to the wok and fry for a few minutes. Add the bruised lemon grass and the marinade. Bring to the boil. Mix 2 tbsp of water with the potato flour and add to the wok. Cook for one minute, turn off the fire and add chopped fresh mint.
Serve with rice or noodles.

Butternut squash soup

Ingredients: 1 butternut squash (2,5 kg), vegetable stock 2 l., onions 2, garlic cloves 8, pepper, salt, olive oil 8 tbsp, chili oil 1-2 tbsp

After washing the butternut cut it in big pieces, take out the seeds. Clean seeds and set aside. Place the pieces of butternut in an oven scale, drizzle with oil and place in a medium hot oven. When almost soft add the oiled garlic cloves (unpeeled).
Fry the seeds in 2 tbsp of olive oil until golden brown. Put them on some kitchen paper.
Slice the onion. Heat 2 tbsp of olive in a cooking pot and glaze the onions .
When the butternut is soft take it out of the oven, scrape the soft flesh from the skin. Put the butternut in the cooking pot. Peel the soft garlic. Add to the cooking pot and cover with vegetable stock.
cook for 5 to 10 minutes and blend it with a mixer. bring back to the boil, add pepper and salt. Add the chili oil. Serve hot, add some of the fried pumpkin seeds.
You can add some shrimps or croutons, or both.

Vodka and berries

Ingredients; vodka 1 bottle (75cl), berries 500 gr, sugar 175 gr.

Rinse the berries, remove the stalks. Fill a jar with the berries, sugar and vodka, as simple as that. Make sure to use a jar with an airtight lid. Store in a cool dark place, stir once every few weeks until the sugar is dissolved. Store for at least 6 months, you can easily leave it for up to a year. When you decide on drinking it, strain through a metal colander. Store in a glass bottle with a tight cap.
Best served cool.
You can use almost any berry (strawberries don't work for me). Add a little more sugar when using sour berries, about 50 gr.
For a little kick. Infuse your vodka with a chili pepper. Just add a red chili pepper to your vodka the day before, and remove it when you fill the jar!

Pad kra pao...

Ingredients: shallots 2, red chili peppers 2, garlic cloves 3 to 4, fish sauce 1 tbsp, light soy sauce 1 tbsp,  a little sugar 1 tsp, minced meat (pork or beef) 250 gr., holy basil (or bai kaphrao), bird's eye chilies 10, sunflower oil 2 tbsp

  

Chop the shallots and chili peppers finely. Heat a frying pan, add the oil. Fry the shallots and chilies for 1 to 2 minutes. add the smashed garlic cloves , fry for 1 more minute. Now add the minced meat and fry while breaking it up into small parts with a fork or spoon. When almost ready add the fish sauce, sugar and soy sauce. mix well, add the chopped basil and turn off the heat. Serve with steamed rice and the sliced bird's eye chillies (if you like it hot).
Pad Kra Pao chicken; use little strips of chicken instead of minced meat.
You can make a vegetarian pad Kra Pao using soy meat.