Rice Noodle with Catfish Curry (Kanom Jeen Numya)

In Northeast Thailand(Isaan), Rice Noodle with Catfish Curry is not commonly sold in noodle shops! Instead. Kanom Jeen Nam Ya is most famous food of Thailand local, it’s easy for cooking and delicious.

Ingredients:

- 1 pound dried guilin noodle (small size)
- 4 cups water
- 1 stalk lemon grass (cut into 1 inch lengths)
- 3 slices galanga (1/8 th inch thick)
- 5 kaffir lime leaves
- 1/4 pound ginger root (remove skin and cut into 1/8 th inch thick slices)
- 2 tablespoons shredded krachai
- 3 dried chili pop peppers (remove seeds)
- 3 medium-sized shallots
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 pound catfish fillets
- 1 can coconut milk (13.5 ounces)
- 1/2 pound fresh bean sprouts
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon basil (bai maengluck; can substitute Thai basil)

Instruction ;

1. Fill a soup pot with water and bring to a boil. Add guilin noodle and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until soft. Drain in cold water and make little bundles out of the noodles. Cover with plastic wrap to keep moist and set aside.

2. In a soup pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add lemon grass, galanga, lime leaves, ginger, krachai, chili pop, shallot, salt, fish sauce, and catfish and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

3. Remove lemon grass, galanga, and lime leaves from the mixture and place the remainder, including the water, in a food processor (or blender). Mix the ingredients until they turn to a paste and set aside.

4. Skim off the coconut cream from the can of coconut milk and place in a soup pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Add the paste from the food processor and cook until oil droplets appear, approximately 3-5 minutes. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

5. To serve, place several bundles of noodles on a plate and top with catfish curry, bean sprouts, and lemon basil (or Thai basil). Serve warm with lots of fresh vegetables, such as sliced green beans, sliced cabbage, and mint leaves.

Serve; 6 servings

Chicken Green Curry - Kang Keaw Wan Gai

This is a green curry made with minced chicken and small green aubergine. Chicken Green Curry is popular foods in Thailand, You can cooking it yourself.

Ingredients;

- 200 gms. Chicken Mince
- 50 gms. Green Curry Paste
- 400 ml Coconut Milk
- 2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Sugar
- 50 gms. Small Green Aubergine
- 5 gms Basil
- 2 Red Chilles
- 2 Kaffir (Citrus) Leaves

Preparation

1. Put a medium sized pan on the heat, add the coconut milk and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add the green curry to the pan and stir it untill mixed, bring to the boil.
3. When the curry is boiling, add the chicken mince using a teaspoon. The aim is to make round ball shaped mince balls.
4. Cook for 10 minutes until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
5. Add the fish sauce, salt, sugar, red chillis, aubergines, citrus leaves, basil (basically all the other ingredients) and stir it for a few seconds over the heat to warm them through.
6. Turn the heat off and serve it warm with hot rice or rice noodle.

Kao Chae - Thai Foods for Songkran Festival in Thailand

Summer comes again so lots of people try to alleviate swelter. Many think of some cooling food like ice-cream, Nam Kang Sai (Thai dessert) another tasty Thai food with unique character, Kao Chae.

Now Kao Chae is catered both on roadside-shops and in restaurants. Kao Chae actually isn’t Thai food. It originated from the people of Mon, cooked to sacrifice Songkran God. Making an original Kao Chae is a complicated procedure. “Kao Chae Sawei” or “Royal court Kao Chae” which we generally know nowadays is Kao Chae with jasmine water, it is served with side dishes which are fried shrimp paste and many color of boiled vegetable. We called “Kao Chae Sawei” because the royal court attendant offer Kao Chae to King Rama V and it became one of his favorite dishes. After 1910, AD Kao Chae become well known widely in villagers and become special menu on Songkran festival.

Momluang Neung Ninrat, the cook for King Rama V , she first brought recipe of Kao Chae to the ordinary thai society. Secret technique, making Kao Chae become a specialty is the way jasmine water is made. We use jasmine to float on the water to give the water fragrant. In the past rain water is used but today mineral water is used instead. Water is kept in clay pot to keep it cool before wasn’t commonly used. Ice was used later on when it was made more easy to find.

Fried shrimp paste is the heart of Kao Chae. People will decide whose Kao Chae is best by tasting fried shrimp paste. We will eat Kao Chae with fried sweet pepper, sweet fish, salty beef, onion, and pork chop mix with fish. Moreover there are boiled vegetable such as cucumber, mango, goat pepper etc. to served with Kao Chae. How to eat Kao Chae… Bring rice pour into jasmine water and add some ice. Have side dish first then follow with fragrant rice.

“Kao Chae” shows Thai culture of consuming which is artistic and neatly culture. Kao Chae is the Thai heritage so we, Thai people should conserve this culture for eternity. Thai food has been accepted all over the world. It is deeply synchronized with the Culture. Kao chae is another wonderful and unique Thai food that has reasonable supports of its origins. It shows the cleverness of adapting to the hot and humid climate (like the Thai house).

[Source from; at-bangkok.com]