Flourless Chocolate Cashew Cookies

Having eaten the combination of chocolate and cashew before, and enjoyed the flavour combination, I thought to make this version of the Flourless Cashew Cookies recipe that I had made earlier. I'm still playing the ingredient combinations, but these turned out like puffy cookies that stick a little to the roof of your mouth. An interesting combination, and one that came with great taste. This is a definite make-again cookie.

Flourless Chocolate Cashew Cookies 1 cup cashew butter 100 g good dark chocolate (70%) 1/2 cup xylitol 1/4 cup soft tofu 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Heat chocolate over double boiler until just melted. Mix ingredients in medium bowl. Using two small spoons, form into ball using heaped 1 teaspoon of dough for each cookie. Arrange on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until puffed, golden on bottom and still soft to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool completely.

Shredded Pork & Burdock Root

We've recently been using burdock root, also called gobo, in various, mostly Asian, dishes, as burdock root is know for its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Burdock root comes out crunchy with an earthy undertone, I've liked it in most dishes I've tried it in. I came across this recipe on the 'Net, and, liking pork, decided to try it. The first time I made it, I used some frozen Thai birds-eye chilis, it came out really tasty and good spicy as well - the gobo worked well with the pork; the second time I made it, I used Sichuan doubanjiang chili paste, it also came out tasty. The black vinegar works well with the pork as well.

Shredded Pork & Burdock Root 3 Tbsp rice bran oil 4 chilies (1 Tbsp doubanjiang) 1 medium-sized burdock root, finely julienned 1 large carrot, finely julienned 275 g pork, julienned or sliced thin 1-2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce 1 cm ginger, minced 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 tsp Chinkiang black vinegar white pepper

Over high heat, add oil and chilis to a large wok.  Once the chilis start to blister, add the burdock root.  Stir and keep the wok moving.  Cook the burdock for about four minutes until burdock starts to darken and gets softer.

Add carrots and continue cooking another minute or two until carrots soften.  Remove veggies from wok and reserve.

Add pork to hot wok, season well with white pepper.  Once pork starts to sear add soy sauce. Once pork is cooked rare, remove any excess fat and add garlic and ginger.  Cook another minute.  Add reserve vegetables and vinegar.

Continue cooking until pork starts to caramelize and you can really hear the wok sizzling. Remove the chilis and use as garnish.  Serve hot with rice.

Flourless Cashew Cookies

Having enjoyed Sweets from the Earth Flourless Cashew Cookies and looking round the 'Net for a recipe that would duplicate it, I managed to cobble together this recipe. Sweets from the Earth uses tofu to replace egg or oil (and don't call them Flourless Cashew Tofu Cookies, which I debated doing). Most of the original recipes also called for 1 cup of sugar; I decreased it by half as you can see, with little loss in flavour. I still have to work on this to make it more of a firm cookie, was thinking of removing some of the oil that comes with the cashew butter. Still, these were quite tasty and easy to make! Finally, like peanut butter, these stick a little to the roof of the mouth.

Flourless Cashew Cookies 1 cup cashew butter 1/2 cup golden brown cane sugar 1/4 cup soft tofu 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Mix ingredients in medium bowl. Using two small spoons, form into ball using heaped 1 teaspoon of dough for each cookie. Arrange on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until puffed, golden on bottom and still soft to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool completely.

Keralan Fish Curry

I made this recipe for our Christmas celebration this year, it went over very well. Kerala is a state of India. This recipe is from Jamie Oliver, it's different than other Keralan Fish Stew recipes I've seen (which use onion rather than shallot, add lime juice at the end and don't use tomato). I used Madras curry powder, rather than the chili powder it originally called for - Madras curry is from India, and contains lots of chili powder, so I feel justified (though, again, I'm not sure that this is a traditional ingredient). For the fish, I chose haddock, it turned out well, but you could also use cod. Because some of my relatives can't take the heat, I didn't add the green chili (the Madras curry powder provides heat in itself); feel free to even add more, if you like it, I've seen a recipe that uses 4-6 chilies. Serve it on basmati rice or Thai jasmine rice. Enjoy!

Keralan Fish Curry
Rice Bran oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
20 curry leaves
6 shallots, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 x 2.5 cm piece of ginger, finely sliced
1 green chili, finely sliced
1 Tbsp Madras curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
750 g firm white fish cut into chunks
1 x 400 ml tin coconut milk
1 x 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
Chopped coriander

Heat a lug of groundnut oil in a large pan and fry the mustard seeds with the curry leaves till the seeds start to pop. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli, and cook on a medium heat for 5 mins, till softened. Mix together the chili powder and turmeric with a splash of water, and then stir into the pan. Fry for a minute, then add the fish, coconut milk and tomatoes. Season.

Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 mins, or until fish is cooked and sauce reduced. Serve sprinkled with chopped coriander.

Lentils with Pancetta and Collard Greens

I got this recipe originally from David Rocco’s TV Series, and have made it several times. I thought today, to add some collard greens, to give it more vegetables, and to give it a more festive look. Doesn’t it look Christmas-y! It tastes as good or even better than the version I have made before. I used the sprouted lentils from Sasha Co., they turned out quite well.

Lentils with Pancetta and Collard Greens
Adapted from a recipe by David Rocco
9 oz pancetta, cubed (250g)
1/2 cup rice bran oil
2 x white cooking onions, thinly sliced
dried rosemary, pinch
dried thyme, pinch
1 medium red bell pepper
1/2 roasted red pepper
1 bunch collard greens, cut into medium strips
2-3 cups cooked lentils
Pinch of salt

Sauté pancetta for a moment or two in the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat, until they are browned on one side, then add the peppers and onions and continue cooking until the onions are browned and the bell pepper is softened. Add the collard greens, and cook until the leaves are soft.

Add lentils to pan. Cook for a few minutes so that the lentils absorb flavours of the other ingredients. Add a pinch of salt.

Nam Pad Kai - Sausage Fried with Egg

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 Kai
2 Tbsp oil
4 oz sausage (about two), cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 eggs
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 whole head fresh garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 large tomato, cut into wedges
3 spring onions, coarsely chopped

Heat 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.

Chocolate Surprise Cake

The surprise in this cake, which, for me, is a total surprise that I really like it, is not really new, I’ve heard of it before; it’s adding beets to a chocolate cake. This recipe comes from the book Better Food for Kids, from which we’ve made a few recipes. As you might have guessed, I find this cake to be quite delicious, moist, and, the best part, it does not taste like a beet cake with chocolate, rather it is a good-tasting moist chocolate cake. If the idea of beets doesn’t turn your fancy, you can always substitute the beets with 4 bananas and 1/2 cup of milk. But, try the beets! The decoration on this cake, done wonderfully by my beautiful Bride, is for my young daughter’s birthday. We used natural colours, beet red (how appropriate!), turmeric yellow and blue from red cabbage. They worked out well, though are not so bright as the artificial colours.

Chocolate Surprise Cake
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp cocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 19 oz can beets, drained and puréed
1 cup granulate sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

Combine beets, both sugars, oil, butter, eggs and vanilla extract in a stand mixer. Beat on slow until blended, then on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until thoroughly mixed. Add flour-cocoa mixture in small batches and mix on low.

Pour batter into greased baking pan and bake for 40 minutes (check doneness by inserting a toothpick in the centre of the cake). Cool on a wire rack.

Chicken Stir-Fried with Lemongrass and Chile

This dish I first tried in my favourite Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Hung in Mississauga, and it quickly became my favourite Vietnamese dish. This recipe comes from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors by Andrea Nguyen; I was excited to see how it compared to Pho Hung's dish. The key to this recipe is the curry; use the Madras curry if you can get it, I used something from Japan called Oriental curry, and, while it had similar ingredients, it wasn't spicy enough - at least, that is what I like about this dish. We also added too much coconut milk; you need to "dry it out" in order to get the right consistency. But, still, it tasted similar in a lot of ways, and I'm glad to have another dish I can prepare myself. The second time I tried making it, I used some Madras Curry, as I finally found some, at this Chinese supermarket, I also used a more reasonable amount of coconut milk, and it tasted very much better, more spicy but not hot. We also found out, in talking to one Vietnamese restaurant manager, that this recipe is Chinese-Vietnamese, you would not find it on a strictly Vietnamese menu.

Chicken Stir-Fried with Lemongrass and Chile
1-1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, well trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons Madras curry powder
2-1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 or 2 Thai chiles, finely chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and finely chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
1/2 cup coconut milk, canned or freshly made
3 or 4 sprigs cilantro, coarsely chopped, as garnish
Thai Jasmine rice

In a bowl, combine the chicken, salt, sugar, curry power, and fish sauce and turn several times to coat the chicken evenly. Set aside to marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or for up to 1 hour.

In a wok or large heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the shallots, chiles, and lemongrass and stir-fry for about 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the chicken and the bell pepper; stir quickly to mix. Stir-fry the chicken for about 2 minutes, until they are nicely browned on all sides.

Add the coconut milk, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking. Cook till the coconut milk is reduced and barely visible. Garnish with the cilantro and serve with Thai Jasmine rice.

Whole Wheat Spaghettini with Scallops and Arugula

I had made this recipe long ago once, and had mostly forgotten about it, but we had some arugula, and it popped into my head again. This recipe actually calls for the larger sea scallops, which you sear until crispy and brown, but we had only bay scallops, and frozen ones at that, but the recipe didn’t suffer. We also omitted the capers that the original recipe called for; I think it’s an acquired taste. All together, even with these changes, the pasta tastes good, the pepperiness of the arugula comes out against the background of the lemon. Fairly easy to make.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Scallops and Arugula
Adapted from a recipe from Williams-Sonoma
1/2 lb. bay scallops, side muscle removed
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Grated zest of 1 lemon
handful of Italian basil
5 shallots, minced
1/2 package whole wheat spaghettini
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 large bunch arugula, preferably small leaved, stems removed

Rinse the scallops and dry well with paper towels. Season the scallops with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy fry pan over high heat, warm the olive oil until it shimmers. In batches without crowding, add the scallops and sear until nicely browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Turn the scallops over and brown the other side, about 1 minute more. Return all the scallops to the pan, add the lemon zest and basil, and cook for a moment. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the scallops to a bowl. Reduce the heat to low and add the shallots to the pan, adding more oil, if needed. Sauté until softened, about 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Generously salt the boiling water, add the pasta and cook until al dente (tender but firm to the bite), 3 to 4 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking, add the lemon juice and stock to the fry pan and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Simmer until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the pasta well and add it to the fry pan. Add the scallops and any juices that have accumulated, then add the pine nuts. Toss over low heat to finish cooking the scallops and mix the ingredients, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Transfer to a warmed large, shallow bowl, add the arugula leaves and toss gently. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Rustic Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce

We had a large number of cherry tomatoes we bought at Riverdale Organic Farmer’s Market, mostly from a momentary lapse of brain function (I forgot that I had bought some just five minutes earlier, but, in my defence, there are so many good looking and interesting fruits and vegetables at the Market, it’s hard not to take some of everything home). We also had some very nice basil, so we decided to make this pasta sauce. I call it rustic, because I left the cherry tomatoes mostly whole, only cut them in half, and did not blend them, so they have retained their shape. Not only are these cherry tomatoes good looking, but they are good tasting, and this pasta sauce was quite good. We enjoyed this on spaghettini with some vegetarian sausage.

Rustic Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce
1 medium onion
2 large cloves of garlic
1 tbsp oil
35-40 cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp fresh basil, plus more for garnish
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Dice onion and mince garlic and add to pan; sautée until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, cut cherry tomatoes in half. Add them to the pan, along with the basil, salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are very tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Mesquite Pistachio Cocoa Nib Cookies

I’ve seen mesquite pod meal now in quite a few places, before it was really unknown in Canada. I like the smell of the mesquite baking, it gives kind of a smokiness to the cookie. This is a variation on a honey based chocolate chip cookie recipe that is one of my favourites. This is the second of two desserts I baked today, with pistachios and cocoa nibs. The raw cocoa powder kind of disappeared, it certainly didn’t turn the dough brown; perhaps I had to add more.

Mesquite Pistachio Cocoa Nib Cookies
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup mesquite pod meal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp raw cocoa powder
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup light muscovado sugar
1/4 cup butter, slightly softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp honey
1/4 cup cocoa nibs
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.

Combine flours, soda, cocoa powder and salt and whisk together.

Cream together butter and sugars. Add egg and beat until fully incorporated. Stir in vanilla and honey.

Add dry ingredients to the sugar mixture in two additions. Stir in cocoa nibs and pistachios.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies all golden all over.

Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a rack.

More "Adult" Carob-Quinoa Chews

I made a more traditional version of this recipe earlier, substituting carob for cocoa and quinoa puffs for millet puffs. The recipe I took this from is called Cocoa Millet Chews, from Health by Chocolate by Victoria Laine, which contains a number of more healthy recipes that are made from chocolate. I mean more adult, in the sense of, I think these would be less likely to be eaten by young children; the adult ingredients are pistachios, cocoa nibs and currants. Thinking about it now, I could even have added some Frangelico to it, to make it even more “adult”. Otherwise, they still taste good, a chewy, crunchy bite; the cashew butter is tasty too. They were well received at work.

More “Adult” Carob-Quinoa Chews
adapted from a recipe from Health by Chocolate by Victoria Laine
1 cup cashew butter (almond or other nut butter)
1 cup honey (pure maple syrup or brown rice syrup)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup carob powder (cocoa powder)
1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
1/4 cup cocoa nibs
1/4 cup dried currants
1 to 1-1/2 cups puffed quinoa cereal (millet)

Heat cashew butter and honey on medium heat or double boiler, stirring constantly, until mixture just begins to bubble (about 2-3 minutes).

Take off heat and stir in vanilla.

Mix in sifted carob powder and puffed cereal. Add nuts and cocoa nibs and mix well. Cool several minutes.

Mold into balls. Cool on counter or in refrigerator until firm.

Red Curry with Duck and Lychees

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 Lychees
Adapted from a recipe from Fresh Thai by Oi Cheepchaiissara
1 lb boneless duck breast, or 1/2 roasted duck
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2“ fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1-1/2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp red curry paste
3/4 cup canned coconut milk, shaken well
3/4 cup vegetable stock
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1-1/2 Tbsp palm sugar
8 oz canned lychees, drained
4 oz cherry tomatoes
5 kaffir lime leaves, torn in half

Remove 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.

Gai Krapao (Basil Chicken)

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 Krapao
Adapted from a recipe from Thai Simply Cooking, 2nd Edition
300 g skinless, boneless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
1/2 medium red pepper
5 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp garlic, chopped
1 hot chili, roughly chopped (more to taste)
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp soya sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp water
20 whole leaves fresh basil
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp water

Slice 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.

Fiddleheads

I've never really eaten fiddleheads before. My mother liked and ate them occasionally, though mostly from frozen, as they were hard to find fresh. This past weekend, the Square One Farmer's Market opened, and one vendor was selling some, so we decided to finally take the plunge and see whether what I had heard, that they were good tasting, was true. I thought that they come out in early Spring, but perhaps it's mid to late Spring (mid May to early June).

Fiddleheads are the curled edible shoots of the ostrich fern, and are supposed to taste like a combination of asparagus and green beans. You need to cook them before eating; eating them raw will likely cause you to be ill, so be cautious.

Warning aside, it's relatively easy to cook fiddleheads. First, cut off any black parts at the end, and remove any brown husks with your fingers. Then, clean them several times in changes of water (and dispose of this water). Boil them for 12-15, or steam them for 10-12 minutes (disposing of the water). You can then use them in any way you like, in a recipe that you have that has asparagus, for example, in stir-fries (which is what we did and see there), really any vegetable dish.

They tasted quite different than anything I've eaten before, but interesting, and I would like to try them again when Spring rolls around again.

Yum Mamuang (Green Mango Salad)

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 Mamuang
adapted from a recipe from Simply Thai Cooking, 2nd Edition
2 large green mangos
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1-1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp coriander, chopped
2 Tbsp mint, chopped
1/3 medium red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp roasted unsalted cashews

To 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.

Pad Gai Mamuang Sood (Young Mango Chicken)

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 Sood
adapted from a recipe from Simply Thai Cooking, 2nd Edition
300 g skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 large mango
4 Tbsp chopped garlic
4 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp chili paste
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 medium red pepper, cut into thin strips
2 oz roasted unsalted cashews
fresh coriander leaves, chopped, for garnish

Slice 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.

Kan Kuua Suparod Gai (Curry Chicken with Fresh Pineapple)

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 Gai
adapted from a recipe from Simply Thai Cooking, 2nd Edition
300 g skinless, boneless chicken thighs
2 cups coconut milk
1-1/2 Tbsp red curry paste
2 lime leaves, torn into thirds
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 pineapple, cut into 1/2" chunks (or 1 can pineapple slices or chunks)
strips of red pepper

Slice 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.

Tod Man Goong (Thai Shrimp-Cakes)

This recipe also came from Wandee Young, from her Cookbook "Simply Thai Cooking"; there are many good or interesting recipes within. To complement this dish, we served it with Thai Cucumber Salad, you can drizzle some over the shrimp-cake before you take a bite. These are quite good, and different from crab cakes, in that they have chunky vegetables within, in this case the Chinese long green bean. These are perfect as an appetizer or as a side-dish to a meal. This is similar to Tod Man Pla, made with minced fish.

Tod Man Goong
adapted from Simply Thai Cooking, 2nd Ed.
40 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 egg yolk
6 Chinese long green beans, trimmed and finely chopped
3 lime leaves, cut very fine
1 cup vegetable oil

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.

Thai Cucumber Salad

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 Salad
adapted from Simply Thai Cooking, 2nd Ed.
10" cucumber (English or Korean)
1/2 small red onion
1/3 medium red pepper
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
coriander leaves, chopped fine, as garnish

Wash 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