Yellow Vegetable Curry

This was thrown together the other night in a hurry. I had not planned dinner so had a look in the fridge and pantry and came up with this nice surprise. It's tasty but not too spicy and packed full of vegetables. This serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons yellow curry paste
• 2 tins (800ml) coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• ½ red capsicum, roughly chopped
• ½ green capsicum, roughly chopped
• ¼ eggplant, peeled and roughly chopped
• ½ zucchini, roughly chopped
• 1 squash, roughly chopped
• Handful of broccoli florets
• Handful of green beans, ends removed and cut into 2cm pieces
• 4 mushrooms, stalks removed and roughly chopped
• Coriander for garnishing
• Dried shallots for garnishing
• Noodles of your choice - I used 2 squares of vermicelli

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wok and add the curry paste. Stir and heat for about 2mins
2. Add the coconut milk, stir well and simmer for 2mins
3. Add the hard vegetables, i.e. carrots, broccoli and green beans, simmer for 2mins
4. Add the remaining vegetables except the mushrooms, and simmer for 5mins
5. Add the mushrooms, fish sauce and brown sugar and simmer until the noodles are ready
6. Feel free to add water if there isn't enough sauce for you. If it's too spicy, add more coconut milk, but if the spice is just right, only add water to extend the liquid
7. Cook the vermicelli noodles (or noodles of your choice) as per packet instructions
8. Drain the noodles, place in a bowl and pour the curried vegetables over the noodles
9. Garnish with chopped coriander and dried shallots.  D-E-L-icious  XD

Chicken Laksa

This laksa dish is very easy, tasty and pretty quick to make. It serves 4-5 generous bowls and is a great winter warmer. If you love Thai flavours - you will love this simple soup-like dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons laksa pasta
• 1 and half tins coconut milk or cream (I used light coconut milk)
• 300g chicken thigh fillets, cut into small chunks
• 600ml water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red capsicum, roughly chopped
• 1 yellow capsicum, roughly chopped
• 5 mushrooms, quartered
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 handful of green string beans, cut into thirds
• 1/2 packet rice vermicelli

Method:

1. Cook the chicken in a tablespoon of olive oil until brown
2. Once the chicken is brown, add the water, garlic, laksa paste and coconut milk to the pan with the chicken and stir well. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes
3. Add the carrots and beans, stir and simmer for 5 minutes
4. Add the capsicum, mushrooms and shallots and simmer for another 5 minutes
5. Add the vermicelli and cook for 3-4 minutes until the noodles are soft
6. Serve while hot in soup bowls.  D-E-L-icious  XD

Thai Red Chicken Curry

This is one of my favourite Thai dishes. This recipe serves 4 with steamed rice.

Ingredients

• 2 tblspn olive oil
• 1 tblspn Red Curry Paste
• 3 cups coconut cream (I use light coconut cream)
• 500g thinly sliced chicken breast
• 1/2 tspn salt
• 1 tblspn white sugar (palm if you have it)
• 1/2 tspn chicken powder
• 2 small carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 cup green beans, halved
• 8-10 corn spears (tinned is moister than dried)
• 200ml water
• Fresh coriander leaves

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in the wok
2. Add the curry paste and stir for 1-2 minutes
3. Add the coconut cream and stir until hot
4. Add the sugar, salt, and chicken powder and stir
5. Add the chicken and cook on high until tender
6. Add the vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes
7. Serve with jasmine rice and garnish with chopped fresh coriander.

*Warning* This is a very hot dish.

Thai Beef Salad

This is one of my favourite Thai dishes. This one is so healthy, lean, tasty and spicy - it's the whole kit and caboodle. This serves 4.

Ingredients

• 600g lean rump steak, very thinly sliced
• 1/2 red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced
• 1/2 cucumber, quartered and cut into 1cm chunks
• 2 tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
• 3 shallots, sliced into 2cm lengths
• 1 garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 12 mint leaves, torn into halves
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon red curry paste

Method:

1. Prepare all vegetables, place into a large bowl, toss and set aside
2. In a small bowl mix together the chilli paste, garlic, sugar, fish sauce, chicken stock and lime juice and set aside
3. In a very hot wok, add 1 tablespoon of good quality olive oil
4. When hot, add the beef
5. Stir fry and watch it carefully. As soon as there is no red meat left, turn the heat off
6. Add the beef to the salad (discarding the juice in the wok)
7. Pour the dressing mixture over the beef and salad and toss well
8. Serve on a bed of steamed Jasmine rice... D-E-L-icious  XD

Prik Khing Pork

I learned to make Prik Khing Pork, a Thai stir fry when I worked in a Thai kitchen. What I love about it is - there is no coconut milk required…and this makes it healthier XD. Here are the ingredients:

• 1 tblspn olive oil
• 1 tblspn Prik Khing curry paste
• 300g thinly sliced lean pork with all fat removed
• 1/2 tblspn white sugar (or palm sugar if you have it)
• 1 tspn chicken powder 
• 1 tblspn fish sauce * (see below tip)
• 1 tblspn seasoning sauce * (see below tip)
• 1 tblspon soy sauce * (see below tip)
• 1/2 red capsicum
• 1/2 green capsicum
• 8-10 long corn spears (tinned are juicier than dried)
• 1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 long red chilli (or full one if you like it very hot)
• 4 Kaffir lime leaves very thinly sliced. You buy these by the punnet in your supermarket or in an Asian grocer. They are easy to freeze and use small amounts when necessary. They ARE compulsory for this dish. It simply doesn't work without them.

Directions:

1. Heat oil in wok
2. Add curry paste and stir in oil for 2 minutes
3. Turn heat to high and add pork, stir until cooked
4. Add sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, seasoning sauce, chicken powder and mix through
5. Add vegetables and cook for 3 minutes
6. If mix is too dry, add some water
7. Garnish with kaffir lime leaves and serve on jasmine rice.

* Tip: If you love Thai food and want to start cooking it - the above sauces are compulsory in any Thai kitchen as well as oyster sauce, seasoning sauce, chicken stock powder, and palm sugar. Visit a local Asian grocer when you can and buy all the sauces. Some will keep for months in the fridge or pantry.

Chicken & Lychee Thai Curry

This is the first time I’ve made this recipe and it’s very nice. These quantities serve 4 people with rice.

Ingredients:

• 1tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 1 medium red capsicum, sliced
• 150g button mushrooms, quartered
• 1tbs red curry paste
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 500g lean chicken breast fillets, fat trimmed, cut into 3cm pieces
• 150g green beans, cut into 3cm lengths
• 100g snow peas
• 3tbs low-fat natural Greek yogurt
• 16 fresh lychees peeled and pitted (or canned and drained)
• 1 large green chilli, thinly sliced diagonally
• 2 green shallots, thinly sliced diagonally

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wok, add onion, capsicum and mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes or until soft
2. Add curry paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant
3. Add stock and bring to the boil. Add chicken and simmer for 4 minutes
4. Add green beans and snow peas and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until chicken is cooked through
5. Stir in yogurt and lychees and cook for 1 minute or until heated through
6. Serve on a bed of rice and sprinkle with chilli and green shallots…D-E-L-icious XD

Thai Style Salmon Fillets

This is the most delicious sauce I've ever made and it goes really well with Salmon. It is so more-ish that I've doubled the sauce quantities so there is enough to pour over the rice. This recipe is easy, no-fuss, extremely tasty and serves 4 with rice and vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 4 suitably sized salmon fillets
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon dried coriander
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
• 2 teaspoons good quality olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 4 tablespoons lime juice

Method:

1. Mix all sauce ingredients together
2. Place the salmon fillets in a suitably sized baking dish
3. Pour over the sauce
4. Cover (with foil, if you don't have a lid) and cook in 190 degrees celsius for 35-45 minutes (depending on size of fillets). Turn over half way through cooking.
5. Serve with rice and vegetables and pour over the sauce...D-E-L-icious  XD

Thai Tom Yum Soup

This is authentic Thai Tom Yum Soup, is low-fat, very easy, fast and delicious. It has virtually no fat and serves 2 generous helpings or 4 smaller serves for entrees.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups weak chicken stock. If your chicken stock is quite concentrated, water it down with half water
• 2 tablespoons either Tom Yum paste or Red Curry paste
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 stalks lemon grass, roughly chopped
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, torn into large pieces
• 2 skinless chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
• 200g small mushrooms, halved
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 large handful coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 large handful basil, roughly chopped

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, bring the chicken stock to the boil, stir in the paste and garlic and cook for 2 minutes
2. Stir in the lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves
3. Place the chicken in the saucepan and cook for 5 minutes, or until cooked through
4. Mix in the mushrooms, fish sauce and lime juice and continue cooking until well blended
5. If it's too spicy for you, add another cup or 2 of water and warm through
6. Remove from heat and serve hot with coriander and basil thrown on top. D-E-L-icious  XD

Note: Traditionally the kaffir lime leaves are left in the bowls for flavour - and not eaten :)

Lean Thai Beef Stir Fry

This recipe is one of our favourites and we have it often, because we love Thai food. I worked in a Thai kitchen and I've also undertaken Thai cooking classes. This is as traditional as it gets, as well as being healthy, easy and fast. I have reduced the oil content by two-thirds so this recipe only uses 1 tablespoon of good quality olive oil and I've watered down the sauces so the sauce soaks into the rice ;) We love it and hope you do too. This recipe serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon good quality olive oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic (or 2 fresh garlic cloves finely chopped)
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed chilli (or chopped fresh chilli to your own taste)
• 500g rump steak, all fat removed, finely sliced
• 2 handfuls of fresh green string beans, ends removed and cut into 2-3cm lengths
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 1 yellow capsicum, sliced into 2-3cm lengths
• 1 zucchini, sliced into 2-3cm lengths
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon chicken stock powder
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon seasoning sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• Fresh coriander
• Jasmine rice

Method:

1. In a large wok, heat the oil on a high heat, add the garlic and chilli and stir for 1 minute
2. Add the beef strips, stir fry until browned on both sides
3. Stir in all sauces, the sugar and the chicken stock powder and 1/2 cup water
4. Add the vegetables and stir fry for 4-5 minutes
5. Serve on a bed of jasmine rice and garnish with coriander

Note: It may seem there are many ingredients, however once you've bought the sauces, they keep well in the pantry for ages and are common sauces used in Thai cooking. Therefore if you like Thai food - you're going to need these sauces anyway.

D-E-L-icious  XD

Prik Khing Chicken

This is an authentic Thai stir fry and is absolutely lovely. 


Ingredients:

• 2 tblspn olive oil
• 1 tblspn Prik Khing curry paste
• 300g thinly sliced chicken breast
• 1/2 tblspn white sugar (or palm sugar if you have it)
• 1 tspn chicken powder 
• 1 tblspn fish sauce
• 1 tblspn seasoning sauce
• 1 tblspon soy sauce
• 1/2 red capsicum
• 1 cup green beans
• 1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 Kaffir lime leaves very thinly sliced

Method:

1. Heat oil in wok on medium heat
2. Add curry paste, stir and cook for 2 minutes
3. Add chicken and stir through the sauce
4. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often
5. Add sugar, chicken stock and the sauces and stir through
6. Add the vegetables, cook for 5 minutes stirring often
7. Add kaffir lime leaves, stir through just before serving
8. Serve over a bed of jasmine rice

This dish is also lovely with lean pork. D-E-L-icious  XD

Slow Cooked Massaman Beef

This is one our favourite Thai dishes. It is so simple, it's not funny! You place half the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and when you get home from work you add the rest about 20mins before serving...simple!


Ingredients:

• 1kg blade or chuck steak, trimmed and diced
• 1 x 114g can massaman paste
• 1 cup water
• 350g chat potato, peeled and halved
• 1 tablespoon lime juice or juice from one fresh lime
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons low fat natural Greek yoghurt (you can use 1 400g can coconut milk instead)
• 1 tablespoon fresh coriander for garnishing

Method:

1. Place meat into slow cooker and stir in the massaman paste. Make sure it's all well coated
2. Add potatoes and water. Stir and leave the slow cooker on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours
3. After the desired time, add the lime juice, tamarind paste, brown sugar, fish sauce and yoghurt to the slow cooker and stir thoroughly
4. Cook on low for another 20mins to warm through the yoghurt
5. Serve on jasmine rice and garnish with chopped coriander.

D-E-L-icious  XD