Each month i invite the Marketing teams (Blue Dragon and Pataks) to join me in the AB World Foods kitchen for a research and learning session. We look at our products, competitors products, and learn about the cuisines of the Far East and India.
This session we focused on regional Thai - i had been out in Thailand for a month, earlier on in the year, and i was keen to share with them some of the dishes i had experienced...
Prawns in a curdled yellow curry sauce – SOUTHERN
Naturally seafood is very important in the south and this dish is commonly made with crab. We however used prawns for their ease and it worked rather well. A touch of mild curry powder added the pop of yellow colour to the dish and the addition of eggs to the curry sauce base thickened and curdled the mixture. It was delicious and one of the favourites!
Pad Thai with Crispy Wontons– CENTRAL
I tried this fantastic dish in perhaps the best Pad Thai restaurant in Bangkok. They leave out the noodles from the dish, in favour of serving the bits in the sauce with a bundle full of deep fried crispy wontons – YUM! The secret ingredient in the best Pad Thais is the pickled radish. It adds a sweet vinegary flavour that just lifts the dish from great to fantastiche!!
Wood ear Mushrooms with egg and coriander – CHAOZHOU
This dish is great for texture – the mushrooms are kind of crunchy and rubbery at the same time, and the coriander adds a fantastic freshness to the eggs. All seasoned up with chillies and light soy sauce, it makes for a yummy vegetarian dish. Chaozhou (as I mentioned previously in my blog) is a style of cooking that comes from Chinese immigrants to Thailand – making use of Chinese recipes that incorporate some Thai influences/ ingredients.
Jungle Curry – NORTH
Jungle curry is a very hot curry for the north. It is traditionally made with a paste to start, and then cooked in a stock (rather than coconut milk) with pea and apple aubergines, chicken, thai sweet basil, coriander and many chillies and green peppercorns. It certainly cleaned out the sinuses!
Som Tam with Fruit (in silver bowl on left) – ISARN
This dish is popular among the dieters of Bangkok as it contains almost no calories! It traditionally comes from the Isarn or North Eastern part of Thailand and is made from green papaya and has a hot and sour flavour profile. The street hawkers of Bangkok like to change it up a bit and sometimes make it with fruits like rose apple (and salty crabs), which give it a pleasing crunch. We made ours with granny smith and pink lady apples, radishes, carrot and sugar snap peas for their crispness.
Happy cooking!
H
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