Jao Bong - Anchovy Dip

This is a traditional Isan [North East Thailand] dip for barequed meals, steamed fish and vegetable dishes.

The Thai traditional method of cooking the anchovies is as shown below: if you prefer you can wrap them in aluminum foil and roast them in a medium oven for 15 minutes. You can also remove the heads and backbones first. You can also use tinned anchovies (drain and use - they are already cook).

Ingredients.

- hakf a pound of anchovies
- quarter cup lemon grass
- qarter cup shallots, chopped
- quarter cup kha (galangal) chopped
- 3 tablespoons prik ki nu (green birdseye chilis), sliced
- quarter cup of tamarind juice (or rice vinegar)
- 5 bai makrut (kaffir lime leaves), shredded
- 3 tablespoons of garlic, sliced

Method.

Wrap the anchovies in banana leaves, and place on the embers of a charcoal brazier until the leaf blackens. Remove from the fire and unwrap. Discard the heads and backbones of the fish.

Combine all the ingredients in a mortar and pestle or food processor.

Will keep for about 3 weeks if refrigerated.

[Source from; chetbacon.com]

How Many Ways to Cook Thai Foods

Thai Foods have many ways to cook and each way help its taste difference. This is all the ways to cook Thai foods.

1. Pound means mix the food to mortar and beat it with pestle. Something pound for food such as papaya salad ( Som-Tam) but something pound for cooking such as shrimp powder etc.

2. Salad means bring vegetable, meat and sauce blend together until it combine. Taste of Thai dressed salad is sour ,salty and sweet example for Thai dressed salad is vermicelli dressed salad, water mimosa dressed salad and sausage dressed salad etc.

3. Curry means vegetable and meat which cook in spicy sauce mix water or coconut milk.

4. Stew means meat or vegetable which cooks slowly in a small amount of thicken coconut milk and eat with fresh vegetable. Example for stew is salted soya beans stew, pickled fish stew etc.

5. Toast means cooked by put a food above the fire and make it crispy such as banana toast, rice crust etc.

6. Grill means cooked by put a food above the light fire and always turn over it until inside cooked and outside still soft, it take long time for good taste such as grilled fish, grilled pork etc.

7. Boil means put the food to pot and add water then put it on the stove, wait until it boil and the food cooked such as boiled egg, boiled vegetable etc.

8. Stir means mix liquid food together and put on the stove then stir it fast and strong until it sticky such as Thai pudding, Thai toffee etc.

9. Roast means cooked it by oil, sweep the pan with little oil then turn over it until it cooked such as deep-fried pancake.

10. Larm (Thai word) means cooked the food in bamboo joints. Before Larm should close bamboo by banana leave. Example food is sticky rice with coconut milk.