PASTA/FLAT NOODLES...ORIENTAL STYLE!! Filed under ( Breakfast and Brunch, Rice/Rotis/Noodles and Breads, Thai Food )

I love noodles, pasta and rice and prefer them possibly over anything and everything else, so I made this delicious Oriental style pasta (not technically pasta but should I call them flat noodles instead here :)) for dinner yesterday which combines possibly all my favorite flavors, this simple, put-together-in-a-jiffy pasta will have your family licking their fingers...literally! for this you require-

• Pasta boiled and drained-200gms


• Carrots, sliced- 2


• Capsicum, sliced-2


• Cabbage-1/2 head, sliced thin


• Ginger+garlic- chopped fine-1 tbsp


• Boiled and shredded chicken-1 cup


• Cilantro-1 bunch


• Sweet chilli sauce- 2-3 tbsp (I use Maepranom Thai sweet chilli sauce)


• Lemon juice- 1 tbsp


• Salt and black pepper to taste


• Oil-2 tbsp

Heat oil and toss in the ginger and garlic first, till slightly golden, now add the veggies first and cook for 5 minutes, toss in the rest of the ingredients, season, toss well, taste and adjust the seasoning, garnish with cilantro, and a fried red chilli if desired.Enjoy your pasta piping hot!

THAI YELLOW CHICKEN CURRY- Easy step by step recipe Filed under ( Chicken and Mutton, Dals/Gravies and Curries, Thai Food )

It is after a long hiatus that I am writing this post, but I do promise to be regular from now on, I would also like to thank each one of my readers who have been regularly writing in to me for their queries or suggestions.Please do keep writing in at bindiyasingh7@gmail.com.
Today I made this warm, milky, flavorful Thai curry which is very comforting eaten with freshly boiled basmati or jasmine rice, it scores high on the nutrition scale too and is tasty to boot, so lets get cooking!
Thai yellow curry paste is easily available at all supermarkets and is easily distinguishable from its Red and Green counterparts, using Coconut milk from a tetrapack is so easy and I definitely prefer it over the elbow grease of extracting milk from fresh coconuts.

Ingredients-

• Boneless Chicken- 500gms
• Coconut Milk- 200 ml (freshly squeezed from 2 coconuts or packaged)
• Thai yellow curry paste-50 gms
• Refined oil-2 tbsp
• French beans- a handful, top and tail
• Brinjals(long variety)- 2-3 sliced lengthwise
• Cauliflower(separate into florets) 1/2 cup
• Carrots-1/2 cup diced, if desired
• Cilantro/ Coriander- for garnish
• Salt and black pepper to season

Method-

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and empty the contents of Yellow Curry paste(easily available at all supermarkets).Fry for a minute.
2. Add the washed Chicken pieces and continue frying on low heat for another 5-8 minutes.
3. Next tip in the coconut milk and stir well, add salt.
4. Add the veggies and cover, add 1/2 cup more water if required.
5. Cook for another 15-20 minutes till the Chicken and veggies are both cooked through, taste and adjust seasoning.
6. Garnish with cilantro and serve with freshly boiled rice.Enjoy!

CHICKEN PAD THAI NOODLES Filed under ( Rice/Rotis/Noodles and Breads, Thai Food )

I am a noodle lover and will never miss an opportunity to order them when eating out, I sometimes make my own egg noodles too and eat them deep fried on top of a veggie chicken sweet and sour or in a simple stir fry, they are quite easy to make actually, will post more of that later, right now we move onto a new noodle experience altogether.

My knowledge of Thai food was mostly limited to their famous Green and Red curries or Tom yum, until I chanced upon this superb post by Pim aptly titled Pad Thai for beginners that got me thinking and prep work began in right earnest, the result is right in front of you!, though I tweaked the original according to my taste and liking, I was very happy with the end product, try it you will not be disappointed for sure...

Ingredients

• Rice noodles- 500 gms (I used regular flat noodles instead)


• Boneless chicken- 250 gms, sliced


• Peanuts- 2 tbsp


• Whole red chillies- a few


• Julienned vegetables- 2 cups(Carrots, capsicum, cabbage,mushrooms)


• Minced garlic- 1 tsp


• Seasoning + a few limes/lemons


• Eggs-2


• Tofu -few pieces


• Beansprouts(do add if you have at hand)


• Oil- 4-5 tbsp

for sauce-

• Tamarind paste- 2 tbsp


• Sugar 2 tbsp


• Paprika- 1 tsp


• Soya sauce- 1 tsp (instead of fish sauce)

Method-

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and cook till sugar melts, adjust ingredients according to taste.Keep aside.Boil the noodles till done, drain in a colander and drizzle some oil to keep the noodles from sticking together.Heat oil in a wok add the chicken first, then after 2-3 minutes add tofu, garlic, peanuts and chillies followed by the sauce,( I did not cook individual portions, due to the fact that I was already making this for the two of us), add veggies and then noodles, if using eggs, at this point move all the noodles to one side of the pan and break an egg in the middle,let set for 10-15 seconds, season and toss well.Serve with fresh cut limes,extra ground peanuts and chilli powder, simply delicious!

Thai Shrimp Stir-Fry Filed under ( Fish and Seafood, Thai Food )

Don't attempt the following recipe unless you have most all of these ingredients, even though I, as the High Priestess of Substitutions, normally do this all over the place. The key to this stir-fry is the magical blend of exotic salty-sour tastes. Alright, maybe one or two alterations, but that's it!

My husband got me this lovely little cookbook (Practical Simple Thai, Bath, UK: Parragon 2002) at our local dollar store, so perhaps you can pick one up on the cheap too. It has many color pictures, which is key to attempting a complicated recipe or cuisine which is new to you. Inspired by the Rice Noodles with Chicken recipe, I switched things around to make the following wheat-free, meat-free version:

Thai Shrimp Stir-Fry

4 oz. rice vermicelli noodles

1Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 tsp. red curry paste

1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp

2 stalks celery, julienned

1/2 red pepper, julienned

1 carrot, peeled and julienned

1 cup sliced cabbage

Handful of snow peas, sliced

1 (14 oz.) can bean sprouts, drained

Juice of 1 lime

2 Tbsp. Thai fish sauce

3 Tbsp. wheat-free soy sauce

Handful each chopped cilantro, peanuts and mint

Bring a pot of water to boil and add vermicelli. Take off heat and let soak 8 minutes or until softened. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking or the noodles will get mushy.

Heat oil in work or large frying pan and stir-fry garlic, ginger and shallots for 2-3 minutes. Add shrimp and stir-fry until pink. Stir in celery, red pepper, carrot, cabbage, snow peas and bean sprouts. Stir-fry several minutes, then add red curry paste, lime juice, fish sauce and soy sauce. Stir and then add vermicelli. Heat through and serve hot. Garnish with cilantro, peanuts and mint.

Serves 4-6.