Crispy Noodles (Mee Krob)

I have never been to a Thai restaurant that did not serve Mee Krob. It's as unthinkable as not seeing pad Thai on the menu. If you have never eaten Mee krob it is worth ordering, or making it in your own home.

A good Thai meal should have several courses served together family style. It is all about variety and how the different dishes on the table play together.

Mee Krob is a spicy noodle appetizer which combines the basic flavor profiles in found in Thai cooking: sweet, hot, salty, sour, bitter and savory are all in merged in a delicate balance. The textures liven up a meal. Light crispy noodle cloud, crisp bean sprouts and green onions, tender shrimp all wrapped in a light tangy sauce dance on the tongue.

Ingredients

• ¼ Pound Rice Vermicelli
• 1-2 ounces Shrimp raw
• ½ Cup tamarind paste
• ½ Cup Green onion, cut into 1" length
• ½ Cup Bean sprouts
• 1 to 4 Tablespoon Fish sauce
• 5 Tablespoons Brown or Palm sugar
• ½ Cup Warm water
• 1 Teaspoon Ketchup
• 4-5 Cups Cooking oil for deep frying
• 4-5 sprigs Cilantro or Chinese parsley
• Red Chili, sliced

Mise En Place

1. Clean, remove the shells and devein the shrimp
2. Cut the Green onion into 1" lengths.
3. Combine tamarind with warm water, mix and strain.
4. Simmer rice vermicelli in water until soft. Drain well.

Preparation

1. Fry noodles, a little at a time, in a wok on high heat until they puff up.
2. Set aside in the paper towels to drain.
3. In a saucepan, stir fry shrimp in 3 Tablespoon of oil; combine tamarind water, fish sauce, sugar and ketchup.
4. Bring to boil and simmer on a low heat until sugar becomes sticky.
5. Combine fried noodles and toss lightly to mix.
6. Garnish with cilantro or Chinese parsley, and red chili.
7. Serve with bean sprouts. and green onion.

Yields 2 servings

Lad Na

Almost every Thai restaurant I have eaten in has a variation of this savory noodle dish. You may see it spelled many different ways ranging from Lard Na to Lad Nah, however it is spelled it is good eats. Lad Na is another Thai dish that echos the Chinese influence on their cuisine.

Protein and vegetables in a silky sauce merged with thick dumpling style rice noodles. The textures are important. Crisp vegetables, and stir-fried noodles that are crispy on the outside but succulent and chewy on the inside. The noodles should have a slightly smokey flavor complimenting the sweetness of the oyster flavored sauce. It is a good choice for people who fear the fiery side of Thai cooking.

As with many recipes there is much flexibility in ingredients. You can make the dish with almost any protein choice, including pre-fried extra firm tofu making it a dish vegetarians can eat. The same goes for the mushrooms, I have eaten it made with Shitake, Crimini, or common white button mushrooms.

Preparation is simple and the cooking time is short. Just remember to do your mise en place so you can cook the dish in a timely manner and not juggle preparing ingredients for you need to add quickly. Stir-frying is a very time sensitive technique, so good prep work is critical.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup thick Rice Noodles (soaked in water)
• ½ Pound of your choice of Protein choice, Boneless Chicken, Beef, or Pork works best
• ¼ lb Sliced broccoli
• ¼ lb fresh mushrooms
• 1 Tablespoon Corn Starch
• 1 Teaspoons Oyster sauce
• 1 Teaspoon Thin soy sauce
• 1 Teaspoon Fish sauce
• 1½ Teaspoons Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Minced garlic
• 4 Tablespoon Peanut oil
• ½ Cup Water
• ½Teaspoon Pickled chili for garnish

Mise En Place

1. Soak rice noodle in a warm water for 15 minutes. Drain. Set aside
2. Break the broccoli into individual branches and slice the broccoli stalks into thin pieces.
3. Soak them in cold water for 15 minutes
4. Slice the mushrooms thinly
5. Slice the protein thinly into 1" strips.
6. Combine the corn starch with the water and make a slurry, stir well to get rid of any lumps

Preparation

1. In a saucepan, heat 2 Tablespoon of oil and brown minced garlic to light brown.
2. Add soak rice noodle and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Remove and reserve them for later.
3. Heat the remaining amount of oil.
4. Add the sliced protein, broccoli and mushrooms.
5. Stir-fry for approximately 3 minutes.
6. Add cornstarch slurry and bring it to a gentle boil.
7. Add oyster sauce and fish sauce, sugar, stir until the sauce thickens.
8. Add the rice noodles and toss to warm and coat them in the sauce.
9. Transfer the Lad Na to a serving plate.
10. Garnish with the pickled chili. (optional)
11. Serve Immediately

Yields 2 servings

Chicken and Peas in Herb Sauce

We all need lots of chicken dishes in our bag of tricks. Here is one I have made for 40 years. It a relatively quick, simple tasty comfort food recipe. Pair it with a good white wine, a salad, and some glazed carrots for a hardy meal. Perhaps you might spoil your guests with a spiced baked apple with a scoop of vanilla icecream for dessert.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 pound mushrooms sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion cut into crescents
• 2 cloves garlic microplaned or crushed and chopped
• ½ cup flour for dredging the chicken
• 1 ½ cup frozen peas thawed
• ¼ cup slivered almonds for garnish
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 ½ cup chicken broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 ½ cup half and half
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
• kosher salt to taste
• fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Preparations

1. Slice the mushrooms and onion.
2. Microplane or crush and fine chop the garlic.
3. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
4. Dredge the pieces in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.
5. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat.
6. Heat the olive oil in the pan till it is hot.
7. Add the onions and mushrooms to the pan.
8. Cook them a few minutes and add the garlic.
9. When the onions turn color remove the vegetables from the pan.
10. Sauté the chicken in the flavored oil.
11. Cook the chicken until golden brown.
12. Pour in the wine and stir to deglaze the pan.
13. Add the chicken broth and stir well.
14. Mix in the onions and mushrooms and peas.
15. Add the thyme and tarragon to the mix.
16. Pour in the half and half.
17. Stir till it thickens, add the butter to make the sauce shiney.
18. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
19. Remove from the pan to a Serving dish.
20. Garnish with the almonds.
21. Serve with rice or kluski noodle.

Kitchen Bootcamp Number 1

This series is about getting back to basics in cooking. Tips and tricks for people wanting to roll up their sleeves, throw away the box and do some real cooking. Please feel free to share any questions or tips you may have in the comments.

Basic Pasta Dough

Fresh pasta is something that is so easy and cheap I wonder how they got people to eat the dried stuff. I got this recipe from my grandmother. The recipe is easily scalable so you can make large batches and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. I usually roll and cut mine as needed. It is still is faster than cooking dried pasta. Personally I like my Italian made pasta mill but roll and knife cutting works ok for a more homey feel. This dough makes great ravioli and lasagna noodles too.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of hard semolina wheat flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• a pinch of salt

Preparation

1. pour the flour on a clean work surface
2. make a depression in the middle of the mound
3. widen the "well" so you have room for the wet ingrediants
4. break the eggs into the well
5. add the salt. water and oil
6. use a fork to mix the eggs water and oil
7. begin pulling flour into the liquid as you stir
8. keep working the flour into the center till you have a ball of dough
9. dust the ball with flour and cover with plastic wrap.
10. let the dough rest for half an hour
11. roll into a thick sheet and cut into squares.
12. Dust with flour and stack them up
13. Seal the pieces in a plastic bag for storage

Ok, What Can I Do With All This Dough?

Think of it as play time. The choices are nearly limitless. For starters you can make your own home-made lasagna noodles.The beauty of home made pasta is you roll and cut the noodles as needed. It's faster and easier than you may think. Fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried. The amount of time required for preparing fresh and dried pasta is the same.