Thai Style cucumber salad

Tofu Pad Thai

I prepared this popular Thai dish restaurant style. I used tomato sauce in stead of tamarind sauce because I wasn't able to find a tamarind to make Pad Thai sauce.

Pork with Thai Basil Sauce

I prepared the dish the way my mother used to make it for me back in Thailand. When i was eating it i felt like home with my mom, it might be a little bit spicy for somebody who doesn't like spicy food. For me, it is perfect summer dish.

Chicken with Thai Basil sauce (Pad Kraprao)

This is my favorite Thai dish; the main ingredients are garlic, fresh chili and Holy Thai Basil. The dish is very popular in Thailand, normally they serve the dish over rice and fried egg on top. You can prepare the dish with meat, seafood or vegetables. I prepared this dish Restaurant style. Explain, Krapow means Holy Thai Basil, it is widely known across South Asia as a medicinal plant. Holy Thai Basil should not be confused with Thai Basil (Horapha) which is used in Thai Restaurants. Holy Thai Basil leaves are strongly scented and spicy taste.

Make 3 servings

Ingredients


Spice Paste;

3 garlic cloves
1 cup red bell pepper cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cups onion chopped into 1-inch pieces
In the food processor, combine all the ingredientss and pulse it for 4-times, set aside in the small bowl.


Main Ingredients;

1 lb boneless chicken breast, thinly sliced ( marinade chicken with stir fry sauce in a zip log bag for 10 minutes), set aisde.
1 cup red bell pepper cut into 1-inch strip pieces
1 cup green bell pepper cut into 1-inch strip pieces
1 1/2 cup onion cut into wedge pieces


Seasoning;


 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (Olive oil is fine)
2 tablespoons stir fry sauce (find in Asian section in the grocery store)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup cooking wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Pepper flake in the amount you need
At the end of cooking process, you can add Thai Basil if you have it on hand.
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl but leaving out the oil and pepper flake and set aside.


Method

1) Heat the heavy pan on medium heat; add the oil and spice paste. Saute for 2 minutes.

2) Add chicken and stir fry for about 4 minutes.

3) Add the vegetables and the seasoning mix; stir fry for about 3 minutes or until the vegetables and chicken cook through but not over cook the vegetables. Add the pepper flake if you would like.

Coffee Banana Bread

(Make 1 loaf)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium size ripe bananas mashed
1/2 cup hot espresso ( Brewed coffee is fine)
To make 2 loaves, double the ingredients

1) Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
2) Mixed flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3) In a separate large bowl, mix sugar, softened butter, egg and vanilla extract and cream together with the mixer. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, slowly add hot coffee 1/4 cup at a time, mixing until combined. Add mashed bananas and blend thoroughly.

4) Pour into grease 5-by-9-inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes for 1 loaf or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Thai Style Spring Rolls

Risottos

Risotto is a traditional Italian rice dish cooked with broth and flavored with Parmesan cheese and other ingredients, which can include meat, fish, or vegetables ( My favorite is Seafood Risotto, Northern Italian style). It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italian Cuisine. Risottos are made by using short-grain rice with stock being added gradually while the rice is stirred constantly. The rice is first cooked briefly in butter or Olive oil to coat each grain in a film of fat, it is very important to coat the rice well with the oil or butter because you don't want sticky risotto at the end. White wine is added and has to be absorbed by the grains. When its has evaporated, the heat is raised to medium high and hot stock is gradually added in a small amounts while stirring gently, almost constantly. The cooking technique leads the rice to release its starch, giving the finished dish a creamy texture. The cheese is usually omitted if the risotto contains fish or other seafood. Properly cooked risotto is rich and creamy but still with some resistance or bite: al dente, and with separate grains.

The first time that I made risotto, I didn't use the right amount of stock and at the end the risotto wasn't smooth and creamy. It took me two times to make a perfect risotto. I like to show you two different risottos that I made. The first is the vegetarian risotto and then i made a chicken risotto.

Asparagus Risotto

Make 4 servings

Ingredients

Olive oil, 2 tablespoons
Boiling chicken stock, 4 cups (prefer homemade chicken stock but store bought is fine)
Onion finely chopped, 2/3 cup
Arborio rice, 11/2 cups
Dry white wine, 2/3 cup
Asparagus cut into 1-inch length, 2 cups
Parsley finely chopped, 1 tablespoon
Garlic finely chopped, 1 tablespoon
Lemon Zest, 1 lemon
Butter diced, 3 tablespoons
Grated Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup
Juice of 1/2 lemons

Preparation

1) Prepare all the ingredients and set aside in a small bowls.

2) Heat chicken stock and hold warm over low heat. Heat the heavy skillet large enough to accommodate all of the ingredients on medium high. Add the olive oil and chopped onion, stirring frequently, until softened. Add chopped garlic and  saute for 1 minute.

3) Add 11/2 cups of rice and stir with the wooden spoon to toast the rice for 3 minutes. Add dry white wine and continue to stir until all of the wine is absorbed by the rice.

4) Add 1/3rd of chicken stock and continue to stir and add the next 1/3rd of stock when the previous 1/3rd is absorbed by the rice. Keep giving the rice a light stir, after 20-25 minutes the rice should be al dente.

5) When the last 1/3rd of stock is almost absorbed. Gently stir in the asparagus, chopped parsley and lemon zest. Continue cooking and stirring for 3 minutes or until the asparagus cooked through.

6) Remove the skillet from heat and gently stir in butter, lemon juice and grated Parmesan cheese. Give the risotto a light stir last time before serving.

Chicken Risotto

Make 4 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
11/2 tablespoons shallot, finely chopped
11/2 cups Arborio rice
2/3 cup dry White wine

4 cups boiling chicken stock

2 cups cooked skinless chicken breast, cubed (prefer rotisserie chicken, it gives a great flavor to the risotto)
11/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter, diced
1/4 cup scallions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

Preparation

1) Prepare all the ingredients and set aside in the small bowls.

2) Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan until foaming. Add chopped garlic and shallot, cook gently for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently until softened.

3) Add 11/2 cups of rice and stir with the wooden spoon to toast the rice for 2-3 minutes. Add dry white wine and continue to stir until all of the wine is absorbed by the rice.

4) Add 1/3rd of chicken stock and continue to stir and add the next 1/3rd of the stock when the previous 1/3rd is absorbed by the rice.

5) When the last 1/3rd of stock is almost absorbed, gently stir in cooked chicken, green peas, chopped scallion and chopped parsley. Give the risotto a light stir until the stock is absorbed by the rice. Remove skillet from heat; gently stir in diced butter and grated Parmesan cheese and give the risotto a last stir before serving.

6) Serve immediately, top with the remaining chopped scallion and chopped parsley for garnishing.