Thai Green Mango Salad

SALADS FOR LUNCH/SIDE DISH

Green Mango salad

This is a very simply dressed salad which is refreshing and balances the heat when served alongside any hot Thai  dish. The tart green mangoes are the main ingredient. The crunch comes from red onions and roasted peanuts white a handful of red peppers incorporate colour. Green mangoes are easily available in Asian markets. The main skill here is to shred them correctly without hurting your fingers. Fresh, sweet and sour mango salad goes very well with any grilled seafood and is a must make as summer approaches.

Add roasted peanuts before serving

Ingredients: serves 4
4 large green mangoes
1/4 red pepper
1/2 red onion
handful each fresh coriander and mint
1 tbsp fish sauce (1/3 tsp salt for a vegetarian/vegan option)
3 tbsp sugar
2-3 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts

• Peel the mangoes with a peeler. Taking one mango at a time in your palm, carefully score deep gashes across the entire surface with a sharp knife. Now slice a thin layer off the top and continue till you reach the pit. You will see thin shreds falling in your salad bowl.
• Cut red pepper into thin strips and thinly slice the green onion. 
• Now mix everything together in a large bowl except the peanuts. 
• Transfer to a serving bowl. Can be kept at room temperature for about an hour before serving or refrigerate for up to 5 hours.
• Just before serving give the salad a final toss with coarsely chopped peanuts.

pad thai recipe

Mastering an easy recipe for pad Thai with chicken at home is both the best and worst culinary discovery to ever happen in my kitchen. I have made this recipe three times in two weeks. I am now a three-time member (and soon to be president) of the Pad Thai Clean Plate Club and am currently accepting all Spanx donations.

Pad Thai ranks among my top three all-time favorite takeout dishes (the others beingMongolian Beef and Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice). There’s just something about rice noodles stir-fried with garlic and tossed in a sweet and tangy sauce that inspires me to order this dish time and time again. But it wasn’t until I shared a recent Facebook post and Instagram photothat I was inundated with requests to create a DIY version of this popular Thai dish. Challenge accepted!

Don’t let the list of ingredients fool you. Five of them are garnishes (read: optional) and the other non-traditional ingredients can be found in most major supermarkets. Just soak the noodles, whisk together the sauce and then stir-fry it all together for the freshest, most flavorful fakeout for takeout.

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SAVE

EASY PAD THAI WITH CHICKEN

yield: 4 SERVINGS

prep time: 25 MIN

cook time: 20 MIN

INGREDIENTS:

For the sauce:
1 1/2 Tablespoons tamarind concentrate/paste
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon Sambal Oelek (chili sauce)
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon fresh black pepper

For the noodles:
8 ounces Thai rice noodles
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
Vegetable oil, for stir-frying
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup sliced carrots, for garnish
1/2 cup shredded red cabbage, for garnish
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, for garnish
1/3 cup roughly chopped peanuts, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Make the sauce:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the tamarind concentrate with 1/2 cup warm water. Whisk in the remaining sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Make the noodles:

Fill a large pot with hot water. Add the rice noodles and cover the pot, allowing them to soak and soften for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they're barely al dente. (Alternately, cook the noodles according to the package instructions.) The noodles will be stir-fried so do not overcook them at this point.

Drain the noodles and rinse them with cold water to prevent them from sticking together.

Cut the chicken breasts into thin, 1-inch slices. Place the chicken in a medium bowl. Whisk together the cornstarch with the soy sauce then pour it over the chicken, stirring to coat.

Heat a wok or large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil then add the minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook, stirring continuously, for 30 seconds until the garlic is golden brown and fragrant. Add the chicken to the pan (including all liquids), and cook, stirring frequently until it is no longer pink. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of chicken stock at a time to the pan while the chicken is cooking to prevent it from drying out. (You may not use the entire 1/4 cup of chicken stock.)

Add the noodles to the pan then pour in the prepared sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, and using two flat spatulas, lift and turn the noodles to combine all of the ingredients. (Don't stir the noodles too vigorously or they'll break.) Continue cooking the noodles for 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly, then add the bean sprouts and cook for 1 more minute. The noodles are fully cooked when they are chewy and no longer crunchy.

Transfer the noodles to serving dishes and garnish with the sliced carrots, shredded red cabbage, cilantro, scallions, peanuts and lime wedges.

Kelly's Notes:

A majority of the specialty ingredients in this recipe can be found in the Asian aisle of most supermarkets. My preferred brand of rice noodles is Annie Chun's Pad Thai Noodles.

It's important to bring the sauce to a boil so that it will thicken enough as it cooks with the noodles.

Make sure you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you start cooking. This is a fast recipe that comes together in less than 10 minutes once the garlic hits the pan.

Pineapple Fried Rice

Ingredients:
8 oz. leftover and overnight rice
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
4 oz. fresh pineapple (cut into small pieces)
4 oz. shrimp (shelled and deveined, leave whole or cut into small pieces)
2 tablespoons cashew nuts (optional)
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 tablespoon pineapple juice
1/4 teaspoon dark soy sauce (for coloring)
1 fresh red chili (seeded and cut into small pieces)
2 tablespoons oil
Cilantro leaves for garnishing
Method:
Heat up a wok and add cooking oil. Stir-fry garlic, red chili, and shrimp paste until aromatic. Add shrimp and stir-fry until half-cooked. Add rice, pineapple pieces, pineapple juice, and do a few quick stirs. Add fish sauce and dark soy sauce to blend well with rice. Stir-fry for another minute or so, dish out and serve immediately.

Seafood Tom Yam

ingredients

• 4 shallots (chopped)
• 2 garlics (chopped)
• 1 onion (cut into wedges)
• 1 tomato (cut into wedges)
• 1 inch galangal - finely sliced
• 2 stalks of lemon grass (slightly crushed)
• 3 0r 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 or 3 bird pepper
• juice from 1 lime
• 1 tbspTom Yam Chilli paste
• 1 tbsp of Fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 cups of chicken stock/water
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 5 medium size prawns ,shells off,cleaned and cut into butterfly
• 5 medium size , slice into an inch thick.

directions

• 1
  heat the oil in a pot and saute the chopped shallots and garlic until transparent.add in the chicken stock/water into the pot, put the lid on and let it boil.
• 2
  when the stock is boiling put in all the aromatic ingredients - the galangal/ginger, slighty crushed lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves.
• 3
  then put in the Tom Yam Chilli paste, fish sauce , lime juice, sugar, the bird chilli pepper (slightly crushed), wedges of onions and tomatos.
• 4
  finally put the prawns and the squid into the boiling soup, cook for 3 to 4 minutes and then it’s ready to be served.

Sago Gula Melaka

Ingredients

Serves: 4 

• 250g sago, soak in water for 30 minutes then drain
• 8 cups (2l) water

• Coconut sauce:
• 1 cup (250ml) coconut milk
• salt to taste
• Palm syrup Sauce:
• 300g palm sugar, break into pieces
• 1 1/4 cups (310ml) water

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Directions

Prep:5min  ›  Cook:7min  ›  Extra time:18min  ›  Ready in:30min 

1. Boil water in a deep pan. Add sago and stir. Cook until it becomes transparent. Remove from heat and rinse the sago in a wire mesh sieve under cool running water to remove excess starch.
2. Spoon the sago into individual serving molds or one large round mold and refrigerate until chilled.
3. Heat the coconut milk over low heat and stir in a touch of salt. The coconut sauce should have just a hint of saltiness. Remove from heat and reserve.
4. For the palm syrup, simmer the broken pieces of palm sugar with water in a saucepan. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Strain the syrup through a sieve into a pitcher.
5. To serve: Unmold the sago pudding into a shallow bowl. First pour in the coconut sauce then the syrup over the pudding. If serving individual portions, add the amount of sauce/syrup according to individual preference.

Couscous Cakes Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups cooked couscous, prepared according to package instructions and cooled
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 lemon, zested
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup mild mango chutney (Recipe Follows)

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix together the couscous, cilantro, egg, egg yolk, coriander, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture. Mix until combined.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Form 1/4 cupfuls of the mixture into 8 patties. Add 4 of the patties to the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes each side until golden. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining couscous mixture.

Moroccan Couscous

INGREDIENTS 1 kg couscous 1 kg meat, cut into medium pieces 500 g turnips, cut into quarters 500 g carrots, cut into thick slices 500 g zucchinis, cut into thick slices 1 cup chickpeas, soaked in water overnight or equal to 150 g 2 onions, chopped 200 g butter, cubed 1 teaspoon saffron 1 teaspoon paprika 1 dried coriander 1 teaspoon ground ginger salt to taste black pepper to taste

COOKING METHOD   1. Place the couscous in a bowl and pour a little bit of warm salted water over it. Mix and use a fork to separate the grains. Strain the couscous and place it in a steamer that fits in the pan used for the meat. If you do not have a steamer, you can use a strainer instead, but make sure that it fits on top of the saucepan. 2. Place the meat pieces in a saucepan and cover it with 5 liters of water. Then add in the onions, saffron, paprika, salt, black pepper and chickpeas. Bring to a boil then simmer over low heat for an hour. 3. While cooking the meat, place the steamer inside the saucepan. When the steam begins to rise from the couscous remove the steamer and return the couscous to the bowl. Set aside. 4. After one hour of cooking the meat, add in the turnips and carrots and simmer for 15 minutes. Then add in the zucchinis and coriander. 5. Put the couscous again in the steamer and place it inside the saucepan. Cook for 45 minutes. 6. When the couscous is cooked turn off the heat. 7. Place the couscous in a serving dish and stir in the butter. Remove the meat and vegetables from the broth. 8. Make a hole in the middle of the couscous and place the meat and vegetables inside. Pour the broth in a deep serving bowl. 9. To serve, place the couscous on individual plates and put the stew on top. Pour the meat broth over.