Moo Ping ( Thai street food bbq pork on skewers) หมูปิ้ง

Moo Ping: หมูปิ้ง (Thai street food BBQ pork on skewers)

Ingredients

1 Kg      Pork shoulder, sliced 

25g        Coriander roots

1            Whole garlic, peeled

2 tsp      Whole black pepper

1            Egg yolk

1 tbsp    Corn starch

1.5 cup  Coconut milk  (Save 1/2 cup for brushing)

8 tbsp    Light soy sauce

6 tbsp    Golden mountain soy sauce (Ordinary soy sauce if you                     can't get it)

120 g     Coconut sugar, shaved

3 tsp      Dark soy sauce

5 tbsp    Vegetable oil

1 tsp      Salt

              Bamboo skewers, as required.

Directions

1. Cut the pork into strips approximately 4x12cm. Set aside in a bowl.

2. Put coriander roots, garlic and pepper corn into a mortar and pestle then pound into a fine paste.

3. Place the paste into the bowl, add the remaining ingredients and marinade the pork for at least 2-3 hours, or preferably overnight.

4. Soak skewers with water to prevent them burning during cooking.

5. Thread the pork onto the skewers and grill to your liking. Brush occasionally with coconut milk while grilling.

Salted Caramel Brownies

Ingredients

- 200 g unsalted butter, cubed.
- 200 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- 3 eggs
- 300 g brown sugar
- 100 g all purpose plain flour
-45 g Dutch cocoa powder
- Salted caramel (store bought or home made)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Line baking tray ( 28 x 17 cm) with baking paper.
3. Melt the butter and dark chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally to ensure the chocolate doesn't bun on the bottom.
4. Break eggs into a large bowl, add the sugar and whisk until light and fluffy.
5. When the chocolate mixture is cool, pour it into the egg mixture. Then fold them together until combined.
6. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the mixture and stir to combine.
7. Pour half of the brownie mixture into the baking tray and spoon heaped table spoons of the salted caramel mixture over the top and bake fore 30-35 minutes or until cooked. You should be able to stick a sharp knife in it and the knife should come out just about clean. Do not overcook!
8. Once cooked, remove the brownies from the oven and leave to cool before cutting.

My take on Beef Randang

Ingredients

Topside beef                 700g, cubed
Coconut milk                1000ml
Grated coconut meat      3Tbsp
Cooking oil                2 Tbsp
Kaffir lime leaves        4

Marinade for Beef
Salt                                1tsp
Sugar                        1tsp
Dark soy sauce        1tsp

Rempah (Randang past)

Shallots                        115g, peeled and sliced
Lemon grass                2 stalks, finely sliced
Galangal                        1 Tbsp, thinly sliced
Red chillies                4, seeded
Ginger                4 slices
Garlic                2 cloves, peeled
Candlenuts                4, crushed
Dried chillies                20, soaked, seeded
Shrimp paste                1 Tsp

Seasoning
Salt 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar 2 tsp
Dark soy sauce 1 tsp


Directions
- Marinate beef with marinade ingredients for 1/2hour
- Combine rempah ingredients and pound to a fine past, set aside.
- Toast grated coconut meat in a pan until brown. While it is still hot, pound it finely (or use food processor) and set aside.
- Heat a wok until hot. Add cooking oil and when hot, put in the Kaffir lime leaves and rempah paste. Stir over medium heat until oil bubbles through.
- Add in half of the coconut milk and stir until it boils. Then add beef and seasoning. Cook uncovered for 45 minutes until it almost dry, stirring occasionally.
- Add the remaining coconut milk and stir well. Cover pan and let it simmer until the meat is tender, about 40 minutes.
- Put in the toasted coconut and continue cooking until almost dry.

Fragrant crispy duck (heong soh ngap)

My absolute favourite "Fragrant crispy duck"
Ingredients:
1 Whole duck
Peanut oil for deep frying
Plain flour for dusting

Marinade:
2 black cardamoms, cracked with the seeds and shells reserved.
2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
2 star anise
2 teaspoons five spice powder
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon caster sugar
2 tablespoons fine sea salt
3 tablespoons Shao Xing rice wine

Serve with:
1 carrot, cut into batons
1 cucumber, cored and cut into batons
3 spring onions, halved lengthwise and cut into batons
Mandarin pancakes
Sweet sauce

Directions: Duck part
Day1:

Clean the duck thoroughly. Using a mortar and pestle, pound cardamom seeds, Sichuan peppercorns and star anise to a fine powder (Alternatively you can use herb grinder). Rub the marinade all over and inside the duck and place the cardamom shells in the cavity. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight to marinate.

Day 2:
Remove the duck from the refrigerator at least an hour prior to steaming to bring it back to room temperature.

Bring water to boil in a large steamer. Place the duck on a plate in the steamer and steam for two hours over medium heat until the meat is tender. Leave the duck to cool down then remove the duck to a wire rack and dry it in a cool and dry place for 1 day (Alternatively you can dry the duck with an electric fan blowing straight at in constantly for 2-3 hours or until it's skin is thoroughly dry)

Day 3:
Just before serving. In a large wok, heat oil to 180c. Lightly dust the duck with flour, shaking off excess flour. Carefully place the duck in a pan and deep fry until the skin is crisp and golden brown. Drain the duck on paper towels to remove excess oil.

Sweet Peking duck sauce:
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons Chinese sesame paste (Smooth peanut butter or Tahini paste will do just fine if you can't find the Chinese version)
2 tablespoons Shao Xing rice wine
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
120ml water

Directions:
Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and gently bring to the boil on low heat, simmering until thickened. Leave to cool and keep refrigerated in an airtight container until needed.

Mandarin Pancakes
Ingredients:
250g low-protine or cake flour, sifted.
1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
1/4 teaspoon fine salt, sifted
160ml boiling water
Sesame oil for brushing

Direction:
Using an electric mixer, mix the sifted ingredients on low speed with a dough hook. Slowly pour in hot water while mixing to form a rough dough.

Remove dough to a lightly floured surface. Kneed until smooth and soft. Divide the dough into two and shape into cylinders. Cover and rest for an hour.

Divide the dough to small balls weigh 30g each. Flatten the dough on a lightly floured surface with an oiled palm to roughly 4mm thickness. Brush the top of the pancakes with sesame oil and roll out to a 15cm circle. Repeat with remaining dough, cover the pancakes with a towel or cling wrap to prevent them from drying out.

In a flat pan on low medium heat. When hot, brush the pan with sesame oil then cook the pancakes for 30 seconds on each side or flip over when blisters start appearing. Remove from the heat, and while the pancakes still hot, pull it apart at the seams to form two thin layers.

Stack cooked pancakes on a plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Refrigerate if not using immediately; Just before serving, wrap the pancakes in aluminium foil. Steam for 10 minutes or until warm.

Serve:
Shred the duck meat and skin. Arrange some duck meat, carrot, cucumber and spring onion on a pancake. Drizzle with sweet sauce and roll up. Serve with extra sweet sauce on the side.

Rib eye fillet with potato gratin and balsamic jus

Rib eye fillet with potato gratin and balsamic jus

Serves 4
Prep 30 mins
cook 1 hr

Ingredients
4x 180g beef eye-fillet steaks, at room temperature
oil, to brush
Salt and pepper, to season
Vegetable oil, to deep fry
3 parships, shaved
25g butter
2 tbs olive oil

Potato gratin
300ml thickened cream
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 rosemary sprigs
Salt and pepper, to season
4 potatoes, peeled, thinly scliced
50g butter, chopped
1tbs rosemary leaves

Balsamic Jus
250ml balsamic vinegar
70g brown sugar
4 rosemary sprigs
3 garlic cloves, crushed
50g butter

Method
1. To make potato gratin, place cream, garlic and rosemary in a medium saucepan over low heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Arrange a layer with one-third of potatoes over base of lamington pan. Cover with one-third of cream mixture. Repeat with remaining potatoes and cream mixture to form 3 layers. Sprinkle butter and rosemary levels on top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 30 minutes or until tender. Set aside for 10 minutes, then cut into 4 rectangles.

3. Meanwhile, to make balsamic jus, place vinegar, sugar, rosemary and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes or until reduced by two-thirds. Add butter and stir to combine. Set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 200C. Brush steaks with oil and season with salt and pepper. Preheat a large frying pan over high heat. Add steaks and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to an oven tray and roast for 5 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, fill a deep-fryer on large saucepan one-third full with vegetable oil and heat over medium heat to 180C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 10 seconds). Deep-fry parsnip for 1 minute or until crisp and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel, then season with salt and pepper.

6. Place a square of potato gratin on each serving plate. Add steak and drizzle with jus and top with parsnip crisps to serve.

Thai Fish Cakes : ทอดมันปลา

This recipe is super easy and doesn't take long to make (If you have a food processor) but the outcome is delicious. I often make a lot of fish paste and put it in a fridge then pull it out and fry it anytime I want (It will last for a couple of days in the fridge). These fish cakes tasted exactly the same as what I used to have in Thailand so if you make sure you have all the ingredients right such as Thai red curry paste, Thai fish sauce, you can't go wrong.

Note: 
The best way to get a nice spongy texture for fish cakes is to use frozen fish rather than blending the fish with ice in a food processor. 

Make sure you don't over process the fish paste because it will become rubbery

Make 20-25 pieces

Ingredients:

500g   Frozen fish fillets of your choice (I used Basa fillets).

60g    Thai red curry paste (Mae Ploy Brand preferable).

1 ½     table spoons of fish sauce (Tiparos or Squid brand).

2      teaspoons of raw or brown sugar.

1      egg.

60g    Snake beans thinly sliced at an angle.    

5g     Very finely shredded Kaffir lime leaves.

Directions:

Prepare all the vegetables. Slice the snake beans at an angle. Stack Kaffir lime leaves together and roll them tightly then slice them very very finely.

Pull out the fish from the freezer and put it in warm to hot water for 2-3 minutes to partly defrost. Cut it into big chunks (about 5-7cm wide) then put in the food processor for 1-2 minutes. Add the Thai red curry paste and the egg and continue processing the fish for a further 30 seconds. Add the fish sauce and sugar then process the fish paste for another 30 seconds.

Scoop the fish paste into a big bowl using a spatula. Stir in the snake beans and Kaffir lime leaves. Mix it well. If you're not going to fry all the fish paste then remove it into a smaller bowl and cover it with cling wrap.

To fry:

Choose a big, shallow pan as you're going to fry about 4-5 pieces at a time. Fill a pan with 1½ cups of vegetable oil on low to medium heat.

Fill half of a bowl with luke-warm water. Wet your hands to prevent the fish paste from sticking to your hands. Scoop about 2 table spoons of the fish paste into your palm then start shaping it into a pattie.

Put 4-5 patties into a pan making sure they are not too close together. Fry for 1 minute per side or until they look orange (make sure they don't burn or become too brown). Taste and make sure there isn’t any uncooked fish paste in the middle. Repeat this process until all the fish paste has been used up or else cover what’s left and store it in the fridge.

Enjoy!!!!

Chicken Pumpkin Curry

Make 4 servings

Ingredients:

900g       Pumpkin, peeled, chopped into bite sized pieces

1000ml   Coconut milk ( I used Aroi dee brand )

400g       Chicken breast fillet, cut into 2 by 4 cm and 1 cm thick pieces

50g         Thai red curry paste ( I used Mae Ploy brand )

40g         Palm sugar, grated.

2 tbsp     Thai fish sauce ( Tiparos or Squid brand preferable) 

20g         Thai sweet basil leaves (Ho ra pa leaves)
1 Chilli,sliced for garnishing (Optional)

Directions:

Render the coconut milk using 1 and 1/2 cups and simmer on low heat for 7-10 minutes until the coconut oil separates from the liquid.

Add red curry paste and stir until the paste combines well with the coconut milk (about 1-2 minutes). At this stage you should be able to smell the aroma from the curry paste. Let it simmer on low heat for a further 1-2 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Stir in the pumpkin and the rest of the coconut milk then turn the heat on medium-high. When it starts boiling, add the chicken and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Add Palm sugar and fish sauce and continue cooking for another 3 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.

Turn off the gas and add basil leaves, stir well and serve. Enjoy!!!!