Post
 Posted By: Mama Mangia 
Nov 13  # 1 of 44
Wing Bean Salad (yum tua pu – ยำถั่วพู) is a central Thai dish featuring “wing beans” which are blanched and tossed with coconut milk, roasted chili paste, toasted coconut, tamarind, palm sugar and peanuts. If you can’t get wing beans where you are, they can be substituted with green beans or snap peas.

Directions
1.Slice the fresh coconut meat into match-stick size strips, about 1″ (2cm) long. Remove the skin of the shallots and slice thinly.
2.Roast the coconut on medium heat in a dry pan until light brown. Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn. Set aside on a flat plate to cool.
3.If your peanuts are not already roasted, dry roast them now like you did the coconut. Crush the peanuts with a stone mortar & pestle or the side of a heavy knife.
4.Fry the shallots in enough vegetable oil to cover them on medium heat until golden brown. Be careful not to burn. Remove before dark brown as they will continue to cook for a minute or two once removed from the pan. (You can cheat here and buy pre-fried shallots in a container at many Asian groceries.)
5.Fry the chilies in the oil until browned.
6.Boil the eggs in water until hard-boiled, about 10 minutes. Replace the hot water with fresh cold water to stop the cooking. Peel and slice however you wish (halved, quartered, or sliced thin like shown).
7.Clean the shrimp by peeling off the heads and legs, and removing the “vein” (intestine), but leave the tail on.
8.Trim off the ends of the wing beans and boil whole in salt water for less than a minute — just enough time to turn a darker green. You want them to still be crisp & crunchy. Rinse in cold water and slice into 1/4″ pieces (as shown).
9.Heat the coconut milk in a pan until boiling. Add the shrimp and cook until pink. Turn off heat and add the palm sugar, tamarind paste, roasted chili paste, lime juice, fish sauce, peanuts and coconut. Mix well.
10.Add the wing beans and mix. Remove to a plate and arrange the eggs along side. Garnish with the fried shallots and chilies.
Note:

There are a few variations on this dish which include adding small pieces of boiled chicken or pork along with the shrimp.

If you cannot get fresh coconut where you are, or are too lazy to do that step, do not substitute for the dried coconut in the baking section of the supermarket. It's better to just leave it out.
Post
 Posted By: Mama Mangia 
Nov 13  # 2 of 44
Fried Chicken with Salt (gai tod gleua) is a very easy snack dish which goes great with beer! Boiling the chicken first makes it juicy and tender.

2 cups chicken (legs and wings work best)
enough vegetable oil to coat your pan 1" deep
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
1.Rinse and boil the chicken for about 15-20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
2.Cut the chicken into pieces, larger than bite-size (about 1.5-2.5″ long).
3.Fry in the oil on medium-high heat. Make sure the oil is hot before you drop the chicken in. It’ll probably splatter a lot, so you might want to use one of those splatter screens.
4.Remove the fried chicken and drain. Place into a pot with the salt. Cover with a lid and shake hard to cover the chicken well with the salt.
5.Serve. Goes well with beer!
Post
 Posted By: Mama Mangia 
Nov 13  # 3 of 44
Pad Thai Sauce (makes four large servings)

1/4 cup palm sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
1/4 cup Sriracha sauce

Put tamarind concentrate into a measuring cup, and add enough water to make 1/4 cup, stir, this is your tamarind juice.

In a small sauce pan, put palm sugar, fish sauce, tamarind juice, and sriracha sauce. Cook on low heat until the palm sugar dissolves, then increase heat. Let it start to boil, then quickly remove from heat, and set aside. You can make this Pad Thai sauce ahead and put in a jar in the fridge up to a week.
Post
 Posted By: Mama Mangia 
Nov 13  # 4 of 44
Pad Thai (makes 2 servings)

1 egg lightly beaten
3/4 cup (or more) fresh shrimp, uncooked
1 tablespoon sliced shallot
1 tablespoon chopped salted radish
1/4 cup diced firm tofu
1 handful rice stick noodle
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/4 cup fresh chives, cut into one inch long pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanut
vegetable oil for frying


Rinse the radish several times under cold water, gently squeezing off the water. Chop it and add a little bit of sugar to sweeten, mix well.

Soak the rice stick noodle in warm water for about 15 minutes, leave in water until you are ready to use.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok at medium-high heat. Add egg and cook it quickly, scrambling into small pieces (see video below). Remove, set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil in the same wok. Add shrimps and cook until done. Transfer to a bowl, set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. Add shallot, radish and tofu fry until aromatic. Increase the heat of your wok. Add a handful of soaked noodles followed with water. Stir-fry this mixture for about 5-6 minutes. The noodles will start to get soft. Add 1/4 cup of Pad Thai Sauce and mix well. Add sugar, cooked egg, bean sprout, chive and cooked shrimps. Stir well for another 1-2 minutes until everything blends together. Turn off heat, transfer to serving plate with sliced fresh lime, roasted peanuts, and more bean sprout on the side. Now dazzle your friends with the fact that your Pad Thai looks and tastes just as good as any restaurant. Enjoy!

You may add Thai chili powder, sugar and crushed peanuts at the table on the side.
Post
 Posted By: Mama Mangia 
Nov 13  # 5 of 44
Thai sticky rice (also known as "sweet rice" or "glutinous rice")

Thai sticky is a particular variety of sweet rice, and you must not substitute other varieties with this method.

Rinse rice 2-3 times, until water runs clear. Place rinsed rice in a bowl and fill with cool water so the water is approximately 2-3 inches above the rice. Let the rice stand in water for 6-8 hours. Drain the rice, place it in a cheesecloth, wrap it up and put the cheesecloth inside bamboo steamer. Put 6-8 cups of water in sticky rice steamer. Then place bamboo steamer inside sticky rice steamer. Be sure the bottom of the bamboo steamer does not touch the boiling water. Place a standard 8 inch lid loosely over the top of the bamboo steamer. Now turn on the heat (Med/High) and steam the rice for 45 minutes (or until tender). Enjoy!