Pumpkin & Coconut Soup from Cookshelf Thai cookbook

2lb. 3 oz. pumpkin (I used butternut)

1 Tbsp. oil

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 large onion, chopped

1 celery stick (I didn't add this)

1 small red chili, chopped (I didn't add this)

3 3/4 c chicken stock

1 tsp. dried shrimp (I didn't add this either!)

5 Tbsp. coconut cream

salt and pepper

chopped fresh cilantro to garnish

1. Halve pumpkin and remove seeds. Cut away the skin and dice the flesh.

2. Heat oil in a large pan and fry mustard seeds until they begin to pop. Stir in garlic, onion, celery and red chili and stir-fry 1-2 mins.

3. Add the pumpkin with the stock and dried shrimp and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 30 mins, until ingredients are very tender.

4. Transfer to food processor or blender and process until smooth. Return to pan and stir in coconut cream. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot, sprinkled with chopped coriander.

Enjoy!

like an old friend

I hope, dear reader, that you have picked up on the fact that I LOVE Thai food. I hope you have picked up on the fact that I enjoy learning how to cook Thai food and I especially enjoy EATING Thai food! The spicier, the better, in my book and no, I haven't always felt that way! So, you may wonder why I have been content to shop at local grocery stores for the past 1 1/2 years when there are several Asian grocers in Orlando that have the exact ingredients needed to make the delicious Thai dishes that I love. There are a couple reasons. One, I never took the time to go off and find said Asian grocers...most are a good 30 minutes away and in the downtown sector where I rarely venture. 2) I am usually with the kids...thus shopping at an Asian grocery market just doesn't sound fun to me to take all three of my precious bundles. Three, I thought for sure it would be a waste of my time. But, probably the number one reason is that my friends have kept us well stocked with Thai curry pastes and other goodies that have held us over.

Yesterday, however, I turned the page and embarked on a journey that as I write this today, still brings a huge smile to my face! I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and so was kid free and decided to make the trek downtown to one of the Asian grocers. I found it with no problems and actually have driven right past it several times on my way to various homeschooling events. I had my list in my hand (of items I was specifically looking for and hoping for). The carts where lined up right outside the door and so I grabbed one and went inside. As soon as I walked inside, I was REALLY glad I didn't have ANY of my children with me! I am sure PJ and Calvin (on their own) would have been fine but I was still glad. This store was packed wall to wall with food stuff from countries all over Asia. I walked in and was welcomed by all the Thai/Japanese/Korean snack foods that readily greeted us wherever we went in Thailand. I smiled. And then I didn't stop smiling until...well, I am STILL smiling! =) As I walked the aisles and saw familiar ingredients (fresh!) I would smile some more or chuckle to myself and say, "wow". Yeah, I think others in the store probably thought something was wrong with me. But, it was like being reunited with old friends! Seriously! I saw unripe papaya for 59 cents/lb (which I didn't think was a bad price). Now, most Americans if they are familiar with papaya are used to it being ripe and fruity. In Thailand, we eat it that way too. But, it is probably mostly enjoyed unripe in a Thai Isaan salad known as Som Tam which is eaten with sticky rice and grilled chicken...yeah, it's good stuff (and the more bird peppers you can eat in it, the more the Thais admire you!). I have a friend who eats her Som Tam with 15 bird peppers!!! Let me tell you that is really, really, really hot. I eat mine with 2, maybe 3, and remember, I like spicy!
I finally found galangal or "kha" as it is known as in Thai. Galangal is a main ingredient in the Thai soup Tom Yum Kung (a favorite of Paul's which I haven't been able to make since returning because I could never find galangal).
I also saw pigs feet and ears for sale in the "deli" along with other animal body parts I daresay most Americans wouldn't eat. That, too, made me chuckle!
So, I came home with everything on my list...but now that I am home I wished I had picked up some other things that I decided to leave. I guess that way my way of saying, "I have to come back, so I better leave this here for next time."
You may be wondering what inspired this trip. Well, tonight we are having dear friends over for a Thai feast (of which I am cooking) and I wanted to make some different dishes and so here's the menu...it's a lot but leftovers are always good!
*Tom Yum Kung (spicy shrimp soup) pictured at left.
*Tom Kha Kai (chicken in coconut soup)
*Kai Phat MetMamuanghimaphaa (cashew chicken)
*Kai Phat Kraphrow (holy basil and pork stir fry)
*Kai Satay with Yam Tengkwaa (chicken satay with cucumber salad)
*Khai Ciaw sai Muu (pork and egg omelette)
*Cantaloupe
*brownies (ha, ha, I know, not very Thai of me...but give a girl a break!)

Let's hope that all these dishes turn out yummy. I am not a very good Thai cook, very amateur, in fact, but I do enjoy it. I'll let you know how it goes!

Cooking Thai Food

Well, the first time in a long time (four months) I tried my hand at keang phet sai fak thong (Red Curry with pumpkin) and chicken satay...with our beloved jasmine rice. It was okay. Nothing to write home about (but I will write on the blog about it!!!). I brought some curry packets with me from Thailand when we moved. I realized recently that I have one of the ingredients for this dish growing in an herb planter my mother in law gave me when we came back to the US. It is Thai sweet basil or bai huaraphra! So, I ran to Publix yesterday and bought an acorn squash (which ended up tasting very similar to Thai pumpkin) and a few other ingredients I needed for the chicken satay. I don't know what happened. The curry just seemed bland. I followed my "recipe" to the letter (and believe me cooking in Thai is not the type of food to follow to the letter). But, it just didn't have that zing. I think I need to add more curry next time. I added plenty of fish sauce and sugar (two staple ingredients in Thai food, along with a sour and spicy component), so I don't think that was the problem. Would it be at all possible that the coconut milk is different here??? Anyone else ever have this problem?

In any case, the satay was a hit. The kids LOVED it. Oh, I also made a Thai egg omelette and they enjoyed eating that over rice (another staple Thai dish...at least for my kids!). In the pictures you can see bits and pieces of what I made...not all the chicken got doused in the herb rub (I ran out and was too lazy to make more!). Anyway here is a recipe for the herb rub for the chicken (I bought Thai kitchen peanut satay sauce since I could not buy the ingredients...it tasted very similar, in my opinion).

2 lbs. of chicken breasts, cut in one inch strips knead with following ingredients, addint one at a time. Marinate for at least two hours. (*I didn't add one at a time, I just combined them all together and then rubbed it onto the chicken)

3 slices of ginger (crushed)

3 cloves of garlic (crushed)

1 Tbsp. curry powder

1Tbsp. coriander powder (i omitted this as I couldn't find it)

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter

bamboo skewers

Rub chicken in herbs, thread on skewer and allow to marinate. Broil until cooked or cook over charcoal fire.

Eat with cucumber salad (yah know, the one with vinegar and all), if you like to make it more Thai add red onions instead of white ones, and add one sliced, red bird peppers.