Thai Spicy Ground Chicken and Toasted Rice, "Larb Gai"

1 lb ground chicken
2 tablespoons sliced shallot
2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onion
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
3 tablespoons roasted rice powder (khao koor)
2 tablespoons ground Thai chile (be sure to use real Thai ground chile)
3 tablespoons lime juice
2-3 tablespoons fish sauce


Garnish

Always serve with a good portion of fresh cabbage, and add green beans, parsley, sliced radish, cucumber, & coriander leaves if you like.

Method

You can use ground chicken from the supermarket, or chicken ground in your food processor. Cook the chicken with 2 tablespoons lime juice in a pan over moderate heat. Stir until done. Transfer cooked chicken into medium mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, and mix well. Taste and season as desired. You might want more or less ground chile and/or fish sauce, etc. Serve with fresh vegetables (as shown) and warm, freshly-steamed sticky rice (or if you prefer you can use Thai jasmine rice). Note: if you like chicken giblets, cut them up into small pieces and cook in boiling water. Drain then add to cooked ground chicken before you add the other ingredients.

The usual way to eat this is to get a small ball of sticky rice in the fingers and use it to pick up a little lawb, then eat it with the raw veggies. You can also use a fork and spoon as a lot of Thais do.

Waterfall Beef, "Neua Yang Nam Tok"

1 pound steak, cut fairly thick.

Marinade

1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate mixed with 3 teaspoons water
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped Thai chile peppers

Mix the marinade, coat the steak with it and marinade it for at least 3 hours.

The steak is then barbequed, broiled or grilled until on the rare side of medium rare, cut into half inch thick strips and the strips cut into bite sized pieces. The meat can be kept cool until just before you want to eat.

Remaining ingredients

1/3 cup fish sauce
1/3 cup lime juice
2-3 tablespoons chopped shallots
2-3 tablespoons chopped coriander/cilantro (including the roots if possible)
2-3 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
2 tablespoons khao koor (see below)
1 tablespoon freshly roasted/fried sesame seeds
1-3 teaspoons freshly ground dried red chilis.


Khao Koor: get a medium sized wok fairly hot, and add a couple of tablespoons of uncooked jasmine rice. Keep in movement until the rice starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Grind to a fairly coarse powder in a spice mill, or a mortar and pestle, or a pepper mill or a good clean coffee grinder (all of these work well but keep in mind that a coffee grinder tends to grind too fine--the powder should retain some "texture").

Method

In a wok bring a little oil to medium high heat and add the strips of beef, immediately followed by all the remaining ingredients. Stir fry until heated through (about a minute).

Serve with Thai sticky rice, or as part of a meal with pad Thai and a soup such as tom yum koong (hot and sour shrimp soup).

Thai Barbeque Chicken, "Gai Yang"

Marinade:

1/2 cup oyster sauce
1/2 cup sweet dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons of crushed garlic
2 tablespoons of freshly ground ginger root
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
5 (ore more) cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 sprigs parsley
Fresh limes, halved
1-2 tablespoons satay powder (optional)

Marinade the poultry for an hour or more (overnight), the longer the better.

Method

Wash the chicken and rub it with fresh limes. Combine the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken, mix well and marinade.

Barbeque over charcoal or broil until cooked and the skin is crispy brown.

This is best served with Thai sticky rice, and sweet chile sauce. You should also put some more fresh ground ginger on the table and the usual Thai condiments (we particularly like chilis marinated in sweet dark soy sauce with this one). You can also serve it with a simple green salad.

Crying Tiger Beef, "Seua Rong Hai"

Ingredients / Beef & Marinade
1 flank steak (usually weighs about 1 lb or a bit more)
2 tablespoons of thin soy sauce

Ingredients / Dipping Sauce
1/2 teaspoon corriander seeds
4 cloves garlic
15 fresh Thai chiles
5 tablespoons lime juice
5-7 tablespoons fish sauce
1-2 tablespoons sugar

Method
Coat your steak in the thin soy sauce and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Some chefs like to add a bit of fish sauce to this, but we like to use just soy sauce. Barbeque your steak over charcoal.

To make the crying tiger dipping sauce, first pound the corriander seeds in a mortar and pestle until it becomes powder. Add garlic and chilli pound until roughly smooth then stir in lime juice, fish sauce and sugar. Stir until blend. Adjust the taste to your flavor. Serve this dipping sauce on the side with fresh cucumber, green beans etc and sticky rice.

"Beef Larb"

Ingredients / Beef & Marinade
1 flank steak (usually weighs about 1 lb or a bit more)
2 tablespoons of thin soy sauce

Ingredients / Larb
2 tablespoons sliced shallot
2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onion
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons roasted rice powder (khao koor--see below)
2 tablespoons coarse ground Thai chile (be sure to use real Thai ground chile)
3 tablespoons lime juice
2-3 tablespoons fish sauce

Method
Coat your steak in the thin soy sauce and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Some chefs like to add a bit of fish sauce to this, but we like to use just soy sauce. Barbeque your steak over charcoal.

Make your khao koor: Heat a medium sized wok or skillet at medium/high, and add a couple of tablespoons of uncooked jasmine rice. Keep in movement until the rice starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Grind to a fairly coarse powder in a spice mill, or a mortar and pestle, or a pepper mill or a good clean coffee grinder (all of these work well but keep in mind that a coffee grinder tends to grind too fine--the powder should retain some "texture").

Put your cooked beef into a mixing bowl. Add the larb ingredients except the mint leaf, and mix well. Taste and season as desired. You might want more or less ground chile and/or fish sauce, etc. Serve with fresh green beans, and freshly-steamed sticky rice (or if you prefer you can use Thai jasmine rice). Serve with mint leaves on the side, to be eaten with the beef.

The usual way to eat this is to get a small ball of sticky rice in the fingers and use it to pick up a little lawb, then eat it with the raw veggies. You can also use a fork and spoon as a lot of Thais do.