Mangosteen is considered by many to be the Queen of fruit, certainly it is good tasting and sweet. But, I don't think it should be dried, as it then becomes a chewy piece of leathery fruit, and is utterly rejected by my mangosteen-loving daughter! Enough said.
Sometime's you're lucky; most of the time the fruit that gets shipped in from overseas is either under-ripe or over-ripe, better to get it in the country where it's grown. Occasionally, you get a perfect looking fresh fruit that tastes wonderful. Sometimes you're lucky.
Dragon Fruit, or more correctly Pitaya or Pitahaya, is an increasingly common fruit in Asia. Once cut open, the flesh inside of the most common is white with black seeds; the less common, and more tasty, is red on the outside with red flesh inside (there is also a much sweeter variety, yellow on the outside with white flesh — this one is the tastiest). I had been looking for the red-fleshed variety for a long while, and was pleased to find some in a local Chinese Supermarket (when we were in Thailand in February, we asked at the markets, and they, unfortunately, came out 2-3 months later). The red Pitaya looks very much like the yellow dragon fruit (Pitahaya) in shape, a little bigger and elongated, inside it's quite red in colour (I have seen pictures of even darker red ones). Eating it, it's sweet, thought not as sweet and flavourful as the yellow pitahaya. I'm pleased to finally try some of this interesting fruit.
These two rices we found for sale in a Thai Supermarket. The one is a sticky rice, flavoured with a favourite of mine, roselle (hibiscus). The other is a Jasmine rice flavoured with pandan leaf, a favourite of Thais, which imparts a good flavour and green colour to many desserts. Both of these did not really have strong flavours from what they were infused with, and the rice was not of high quality. More of an interesting experience than one I would seek to repeat.
Kullanard makes several different baked goods featuring foods from Thailand, including mangosteen, and this one made from freeze-dried real durian. The goodness of the durian is offset by the other ingredients not found in health food stores (where we found it), including sugar and margarine. These cookies were crunchy, with the good taste and smell of durian. Not something I would eat on a regular basis, don't know that durian really works in a cookie.
These wafer bars, which can be found in health food stores in Thailand, are interesting because they contain a large amount of real durian (as it says in the ingredient listing, real durian). The rest of the ingredients are mostly sugar and flour, but there is a definite taste and smell of durian from the wafers. Not something I'd eat all the time, and not something I'd think to even find in a health food store, but maybe the standards are different in Thailand.
I've eaten a couple of other of New Zealand Lamb's prepared lamb dishes, Lamb Korma and Moroccan Lamb, both of which I liked for a quick but not so fresh meal (I mean, it left me wanting to make my own freshly). I had seen this one before, a Thai curry, but avoided it, because I though to make my own. This is supposed to be a Massaman curry (with Green Curry mixed in), made in South Thailand by Muslims, a recipe I had heard of before, and one dish on a long list of dishes I would like to try in Thailand. Looking through the ingredient listing, I am pleased that the ingredients look to be fairly authentic, they use coconut milk, fish sauce, green curry paste, massaman paste, tamarind pulp, rice bran oil (something I'm getting in to) and kaffir lime leaves - all fairly traditional Thai ingredients. Lamb, though, is not really a traditional Thai ingredient, you'd only find it made by Muslims in the South. I would say that I enjoyed the flavour of this, equal in flavour to the Moroccan Lamb, but, again, it left me wanting to make my own.
I see now that their website has lots of lamb recipes, I think I'll check them out!
This Thai street food dish is from the north of Thailand, there they make it with Thai garlic, raw pork and garlic sausage. You can make this dish with almost any kind of sausage, I made mine with some chicken sausage that my daughter also likes, but I would think it’d be very tasty with European garlic pork sausage or chorizo; choose your favourite. I didn’t use as much garlic as it called for, just was lazy. I found the dish to be overall very tasty, but the fish sauce gave it too much of a salty taste; I am of the mind to try it with cider vinegar rather.
Nam Pad KaiHeat the oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed frying pan until hot, then stir-fry the slices of sausage until they are almost cooked, two or three minutes. Break the eggs into the pan and stir to break up. Add the remaining ingredients and stir fry for a minute or two, until the egg is cooked and the tomato is slightly soft. Serve alone or with jasmine rice.
I’ve talked about the superior flavour of Thai bananas, this is a snack that’s really healthy, just Thai bananas baked with honey (and only 1% of the total). Because these are fresh with little preservatives (honey is itself a natural preservative, and very little can grow in it), the shelf life is very short (compared to all the other snacks out there). The banana ends up being chewy with a honey flavour. Interesting, but I think I prefer the fresh banana.
I’ve had duck before, prepared the Chinese way and the European way, and found it mostly to be very oily. Now, this dish is a whole different matter, the roasted duck that we used paired excellently with the lychees and tomatoes (which sort of explode in your mouth when you bite down on them, delicious). You can also make this with pineapple or young coconut instead of lychees. Serve this over steamed Jasmine rice and garnished with a few leaves of Thai basil.
Red Curry with Duck and LycheesRemove the skin and fat from the duck breasts; thinly slice the raw meat or shred the roasted duck meat. Mix the meat with the sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and allspice and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Heat the oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed frying pan and stir-fry the red curry paste over medium heat for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
Add the meat, coconut milk and stock and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the meat is cooked (half the time if using roasted duck meat). Add the fish sauce, sugar, lychees and tomatoes and cook for another 1-2 minutes (don’t let the tomatoes overcook). Add the kaffir lime leaves and let heat for another minute.
This is another recipe from Wandee Young’s Simply Thai Cooking, a dish that is very Thai. The choice of basil here makes for a different dish; the pepperiness of Thai Basil; the sweetness of Italian Basil; or the fragrance of Holy Basil (what we chose, because of its fragrance and flavour and health benefits - you can get this in better Chinese supermarkets). We would normally substitute chicken thighs for chicken breast, but you could also use trimmed pork tenderloin, to make Moo Krapao (Basil Pork). This is a quick dish, and serve with steamed Jasmine rice, but we made it even quicker to make, by using roasted chicken.
Gai KrapaoSlice the chicken thighs thinly. Set aside.
Cut the red pepper into small squares. Set aside.
Heat oil on high heat in a wok or heavy-bottomed frying pan until just about to smoke. Add garlic and chilis and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add fish sauce, sugar and soya sauce and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add oyster sauce and water and cook for 30 seconds.
Add peppers and three-quarters of the basil leaves and stir-fry until the peppers begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Mix cornstarch with water and add to wok, stir-frying until the sauce is thickened somewhat, about 1 minute.
This is another recipe from Wandee Young's Simply Thai Cooking, that really makes better use of mangos than the Mango Chicken. Mango Salad is a Thai dish, as much as Pad Thai is. It's simple to make as well, really - some mango cut into strips, a little bit of sugar and fish sauce, some coriander and red pepper. What you get is a delicious salad that goes with everything, and especially with hot Thai dishes. We had occasion to try some Indonesian Mango Salad on the weekend, it was quite similar, mango and herbs and green pepper, but I really prefer this one. We again used the Mexican mango salad, but, if you can find it, it's best with the Thai green mango.
Yum MamuangTo roast the cashews, place in preheat 350F oven for 10 minutes or until fragrant.
Peel the mangos. Slice the mango into very thin strips. Add fish sauce, sugar and chopped coriander (reserve a little of the coriander) and mint. Mix well. Add red pepper strips and sliced red onions. Mix well.
Garnish with cashews and top with more coriander leaves.
This is another dish we made at the same time as the Curry Chicken with Fresh Pineapple from Wandee Young's cookbook Simply Thai Cooking, though this is not a dish that you would really find in Thailand as the mangos there don’t hold up well to cooking like this - and are really better for the more delicious mango salad anyways. Again, we substituted chicken thighs for chicken breast. The mango we used you can find in most supermarkets, it comes from Mexico and has green/red skin, with an inside that is yellow; this is different than one from Asia, but what you are looking for, is a mango that will stand up to cooking, one that is not quite so ripe - you also want to cut up the mango into larger strips, thin ones will soften too much. I like mango, and the combination with chicken is great, very tasty. This is not so hot as the above Curry Chicken, but still has a heat to it. We didn't have nor could find any good coriander, otherwise the red and the orange and the green make for an appealing dish. To roast your cashews, place them on a baking sheet in a 350F oven for 10 minutes, or until they become fragrant (and better tasting than raw).
Pad Gai Manuang SoodSlice the chicken thighs into thin strips.
Peel mango and slice into thick, long strips.
Heat oil in a wok or large heavy-bottomed pan on high heat until the oil just begins to smoke. Add garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add chicken and water and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until the chicken is springy. Add soya sauce and sugar and continue stir-frying for 1 minute. Add chili paste and lime juice and stir-fry for an additional 1 minute. Add mango and red pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add cashews and stir-fry for 1 more minute.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with steamed Jasmine rice.
This is another recipe we made from Wandee Young's cookbook Simply Thai Cooking. The heat of the red curry paste coupled with the sweetness of the pineapple and the chicken make this a tasty dish. We used chicken thighs rather than chicken breast, and cut down the amount of red curry paste (if you like heat, feel free to double the amount of red curry paste).
Kan Kuua Suparod GaiSlice the chicken into thin strips (place in freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden).
Heat half of the coconut milk in a wok on high heat till it boils. Add red curry paste and stir-fry to dissolve (1-2 minutes). Add lime leaves and fish sauce and stir briefly. Immediately add chicken and sugar and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until chicken is springy. Add pineapple chunks and stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk and cook for 2-3 minutes while constantly stirring, until oil rises to the surface.
Garnish with red pepper slices and serve with steamed Jasmine rice.
Place the shrimp in a food processor and process until a fine pulp. Add the red curry paste; blend well. Stir-in the egg yolk. Stir in the Chinese long green beans and the lime leaves and mix everything together well.
Heat oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed frying pan on high heat till almost smoking. Turn down to medium heat, then add a tablespoon of shrimp-cake mixture that has been flattened. Add more, but do not crowd the wok or pan. Fry for 2 minutes on one side, then flip over and fry for 2 minutes on the other side. Flip over again and fry for 30-40 seconds, until both sides are golden brown. Remove from oil and place on plate covered with paper towels (to soak up the oil). Repeat with the remaining shrimp-cake mixture as needed.
This dish we used as a dressing for the Tod Man Goong (shrimpcakes) we made at the same time, the recipe comes from a lady called Wandee Young, who owns a restaurant in Toronto called Young Thailand
, ostensibly the first Thai restaurant in Canada. We haven't had the pleasure of eating at her restaurant, but we have met her, and she seems a very charming lady (and of course, she invited us to come try her food). And now we have the opportunity to try some of her dishes, albeit they are not cooked by her. This is a fairly tasty dish that worked well with the shrimpcakes. Or, you could add more of the cucumber, and eat it as an accompaniment to other Thai dishes. We used Korean cucumbers, which we got in a Korean supermarket (they are more expensive than English cucumbers, but really tasty).Thai Cucumber SaladWash and dry the cucumber. Slice into 1/4" pieces and place in bowl. Julienne red pepper and red onion; place on top of cucumber in bowl.
Whisk together sugar, vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Pour over vegetables
Rambutan is one of those Asian fruits that you might see in an Asian supermarket, and some of them will have come from Thailand. These frozen versions, the whole fruit is frozen, would be my introduction to this interesting looking, well, kind of weird-looking, fruit. Rambutans are similar to longans or lychees, peeling the skin reveals a milky white fruit (could be yellow or pink) that surrounds a seed (in this case elongated and smaller than an almond).
Within the outer bag reveals an inner bag with the frozen fruit (I’m surprised that, unlike mango or durian, these are frozen whole, but perhaps that prolongs their shelf life).
This is a close-up of the individual rambutan, which looks similar to the fresh ones I’ve seen.
The fruit was definitely frozen, but we managed to slice open the peel, to reveal the white flesh within.
How did they taste? The fruit itself was somewhat difficult to separate from the seed, and I could not, no matter what it said on the package, eat it frozen, I left it to defrost before consuming. The texture is similar to the longan and lychee, slighly sour but sweet at the same time, not bad for my first try. I am sure that fresh in Thailand would taste infinitely better, and they seem to be a lot of work to eat, so I might decide to wait till I actually get to Thailand before trying them again.
We again went to the Thai Society of Ontario's Saturday Market, and picked up a few items.
These are Gleeb Lum Duan, which are made of cake flour. We think these are too brightly coloured, and would not be like this in Thailand.
These are Kha Nom Pia, Thai pastries filled with taro and green bean.
This is an Isaan-style sausage. There is pork and rice with herbs. There is also vinegar mixed in, which gives it a sharp and interesting taste, though I would prefer the Northern Thailand style sausages, which are mostly meat.
We found out something the other day on our visit to Chinatown on a Saturday, that the Thai Society of Ontario has a Saturday Market, where lots of freshly made Thai foods are sold. The Thai Society of Ontario has their office in the building on the northeast corner of Dundas and Spadina; go to the door before the Fruit Market going North, there are stairs going up. The Thai Society is on the left.
The selection in the Market varies from week to week, but there could be all kinds of Thai desserts, snacks and meals, such as Mor Gang, Khanom Tuey, Curry Puffs, Khanom Dtom, Toddy Palm Cake, Tod Man Pla, Som Tam and Sticky Rice.
Cookie Sabparod is a pineapple cookie. Delicious and the best of the desserts.
Khanom Chan is a multi-layer rice flour dessert. Peel the layers for extra fun.
Krong Kreang Grob is deep-fried flour with a peppery coating. Interesting but not exactly what I'd expect in a dessert or snack.
The other Thai dessert we used the smalls bowls we got with the Kanom Tuy uses the flavours of Thai banana, coconut and coconut milk mixed with rice flour to make a small and delicious banana cake. This again, like the Toddy Palm Cake, is a steamed cake, but, because of the banana, it ends up denser.
Khanom GluayAdd rice flour and tapioca flour to mashed Thai bananas and mix well. Add sugar and 1/2 cup of shredded young coconut. Gradually add coconut milk and mix everything together well. Toss 1/4 teaspoon of salt with the rest of shredded coconut; set aside. Spoon the banana mixture into small bowls or silicone baking cups and garnish them with the prepared shredded coconut. Preheat the steamer until very hot, then place the prepared bowls in the steamer and steam them for 25-30 minutes. Take the khanom out of the bowl once they cool to serve.
