A Thai Attempt

Fresh from my Phuket escapade, I decided to attempt a Thai meal for dinner.

The menu:

1. Pineapple Chicken with Oyster Mushroom
2. Deep Fried Morning Glory
3. Tom Yum Seafood Soup
4. Rice

I'm not a particularly expert cook, but I figure that I've grown up watching enough people cook (mom, aunties, sisters, Yan - of 'Yan can cook fame') so how hard could it be right ? I can just go on gut and a little improvisation, like I normally do with just about everything.

Dish 1 - Pineapple Chicken with Oyster Mushroom

INGREDIENTS
Fresh pineapple (cut into cubes)
Chicken breast (cut into cubes)
Oyster mushroom (randomly sliced)
Garlic
Oyster Sauce
Corn flour
Water

METHOD
i. Coat the chicken in some corn flour and deep fry in a wok, then set aside on a plate that's been laid with some kitchen towels (paper not cloth) to soak up the oil.

ii. Oil in pan; for some reason, I don't seem to have a frying pan at home. It's a recent development. I suspect my mom threw it out as part of her 'new year spring cleaning' routine. She's quite strange, she throws out/gives away things we need, and keep the things we don't. For example, no frying pan but we do have 5 pots. So anyway, I heated up some oil in a pot and fried the garlic. I didn't use the wok because it was filled with oil from the earlier deep frying, and too hot for me to clear.

iii. Add the oyster mushroom, some water and continue frying. The oyster mushroom that my mom got from the market was of a curious variety, it's huge ! I've never seen anything like it. At least the size of three of my fists.

I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I just sliced it up randomly like so (see below).

iii. Add chicken and pineapple cubes, some oyster sauce and water and let it simmer for a bit then it's done !

Dish 2 - Deep Fried Morning Glory

INGREDIENTS
Morning glory
Tempura battter
Sweet chilli sauce to accompany

METHOD
i. Mix your tempura flour with some ice water - that's what I gathered from the couple of recipes I read on 'how to make tempura'. It's supposed to add extra crisp to the final product I think. For good measure (and because the weather was so hot), I decided to toss in an ice cube as well and let it slowly melt whilst I took my time coating and frying the morning glory.

ii. Heat oil lots of oil in a huge wok.

iii. Take a bunch of morning glory, sort of fold it into half and then coat it in the batter. I used tongs to hold on to it coz I wasn't sure how it was meant to be done. And if you were me, you'd fry this one bunch at a time because the oil splatters like crazy. So take the bunch of batter-coated morning glory drop it into the oil (gently), and then step away while it splutters. After about 30-40 seconds (or when it stops spluttering), it's safe to step in and turn it around. When it's slightly brown, take it out and let the oil dry again on some paper towels.

iv. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

v. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

It should look like so.

Dish 3 - Tom Yum Seafood Soup

INGREDIENTS

Tom Yum Paste

Shallots

Lemongrass

Tomatoes

Prawns (with head)

Squid

Straw Mushrooms

Chicken Stock

METHOD

i. First, prepare all your ingredients like so, so it's all handy.

Straw mushrooms, shallots, lemon grass, tomatoes

Squid (again, wasn't sure how it should be cut, so I just sliced it into random bite-sized pieces), prawns - separate the heads, and de-shell the body. Just a tip from my boyfriend the Nat Geo geek, when picking prawns you should also pick those that are curled up. It means they're fresher than their stretched out counterparts. I can't remember why though.

METHOD

i. Some oil in a pot, stir fry the shallots and lemongrass and prawn heads. Add water, chicken stock and tomatoes then bring to a boil.

ii. Add tom yum paste, I used this that I got from the airport on the way back from Phuket - we had some spare Baht. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

iii. Add the seafood, and you're done !

Tom Yum Soup and Pineapple Chicken

Tip: If for some reason your tom yum soup turns out too spicy or sour, just add some Oyster Sauce. I know it sounds weird, but I learnt this from my good friend Den back in Uni. "Oyster sauce fixes everything!", he says.