Mango and Sticky Rice

Sweet Mangoes are readily in Asheville this time of year. The best ones can be found at Smiley's in Fletcher. You can get a case of a dozen or so large mangoes for just $12. Just keep in mind that Smiley's is open only on weekends. My husband and I love to eat mangoes, freshly cut and sometimes chilled. We also love to make mango shakes and lassis. If we have leftover mango and/or they're ripening too quickly, we like to cut them into small chunks and freeze for later use. Now, by far, our greatest love is Mango and Sticky Rice, a sweet dish found all over Thailand. I made some the other night (photo below) for a dinner party at a friend's house. It topped off a wonderful meal. To learn how to make Mango and Sticky Rice, I would recommend you watch this video. Enjoy!

Stir-Fried Pork with Red Curry Paste

You might be familiar with Pork with Basil, which is a very popular dish among Thais. There's another basil dish that Thais also love very much. It's cooked with a different type of basil, and it has a wider range of vegetables. Also, unlike Pork with Basil, a red curry paste is added.



Ingredients

1 lb. ground pork (you can use chicken, turkey, seafood,tofu)
1-2 cups fresh Thai basil
1 medium can bamboo shoots
1/2 red bellpepper
4-6 cloves fresh garlic (finely chopped)
1-2 Tbsp. red curry paste
1/2 yellow onion
6-8 mushrooms (sliced)
2-5 Thai chilies
3 Tbsp. oyster sauce (depends on the flavor you like)
fish sauce (to taste)
seasoning sauce (brand Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce)
1 Tbsp. sugar

Directions

1. Smash chilies with a stone mortar & pestle if you have one, You can also use the side of knife to do the smashing. When finished with the chilies, go ahead and smash the garlic. Leave these to the side for now.
2. Pick the leaves and flowers off the Basil and discard the stems. Rinse the leaves and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a pan (or wok) until it's very hot. Toss in the chilies & garlic. Let the garlic get brown.
4. When the garlic is ready, add the red curry paste. Let it saute (perhaps two minutes) until you can really smell the fragrance.
5. Add the ground pork. Use your spatula to mixed it around, so that it cooks evenly. Cook until it's no longer red.
6. Add all vegetables, except basil. Let this cook a bit. Stir well.
7. Add sugar, soy sauce & fish sauce. Stir and let absorb.
8. When dry, add water and the basil leaves. Stir until basil is wilted, and serve on rice.

This dish is also excellent without the chilies (for those who don't like spicy foods). Also, in Thailand, it's common for this dish to be served with a fried egg on top. As you're cooking this dish, perhaps you can fry an egg on the side (slightly runny is best).

Shrimp with Garlic Chives

This is a simple dish, and one of my husband's favorites. I buy my shrimp and garlic chives (also known as chive flowers) at Fresh Seafood Market. This new Asian market is located in the River Ridge Shopping Center.



1 teaspoon sugar
1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined (I prefer heads on)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
3/4 lb Chinese chive flowers, cut

Heat a wok or a pan on high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil. After the oil heats, add the chopped garlic and stir a bit. After the garlic starts to golden, add the shrimp. Stir to get the shrimp somewhat cooked. The shrimp shoud start to get a little pink, but not fully pink or cooked. Next, add the chive flowers and stir well with the shrimp. Add fish sauce and sugar. The flowers shouldn't take long to cook. Don't overcook the flowers. You want them to retain their crunchy texture. When the color turns bright green, it indicates that they are cooked. Turn off the heat and serve the dish over rice. Enjoy!

Fried Fish

Last night I fried Pomfret and Red Snapper that I had purchased at Fresh Seafood Market, a new Asian-owned business in Asheville. They clean the fish the old-fashioned way, right after you make your purchase. The shrimp are exceptionally good as well. Of course, besides fresh seafood, you can make typical purchases that you make at any Asian grocer: noodles, fresh vegetables, soy sauce, etc. The prices on everything seem to be good, and the place is clean and spacious.

Anyway, back at the house, I fried these two fish the way it's done in Thailand: heads on, cuts in the sides, salt and pepper. I also prepared a vegetable stir-fry, using fresh mushrooms, snow peas (purchased at the Asian market), freshly-minced garlic and baby corn (canned). A bit of oyster sauce and Golden Seasoning Sauce added a nice touch. My husband made a fresh garden salad.

Kade's Thai Dishes

See me in Verve!

Here's a recent interview where I talk about tips on cooking Thai dishes.

Pad See-Ew

Pad see ew (sometimes spelled pad see iew, Thai ผัดซีอิ๊ว, IPA: [pʰàt sī:íw]) is a stir fried noodle dish which is commonly eaten as street food in Thailand. It is also quite popular in Thai restaurants around the world. It is made with dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, garlic, broad rice noodles (sen yai), Chinese broccoli, egg, and some form of thinly sliced meat — commonly pork or chicken. The name comes from the dark soy sauce, which is called "nam see ew", or "see ew" sauce, a loanword from Teochew. The literal meaning is "fried (with) soy sauce." This dish is similar to another Thai dish Rad na, however this dish is usually dry and does not contain gravy.

Vegetarian Thai

For those interested in Vegetarian Thai dishes, this article might interest you.

Cooking in Moscow

On a trip to Russia last year I made a Thai dish to complement the amazing meal we had at the home of my husband's friend. The plump cherry tomatoes were perfect for the Coconut Soup with Chicken.

Harvesting Basil

I dropped by a friend's house to gather some lovely basil they started growing earlier this summer. Basil grows very well in this climate.

Stir-fried Chicken with Ginger (Phat Khing Gai)

Ingredients

• 3-4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 15 g dried black fungus, soaked and drained
• 25 g fresh ginger, julienned
• 1 lb chicken breast fillet, sliced
• 4-5 Tbsp. chicken stock or water
• 1 small sweet onion, cut into 8 wedges
• 2 green onion (scallions), diagonally sliced
• 1 Tbsp. sugar (to taste)
• 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp. fish sauce (to taste)
• 1 Tbsp. thin light soy sauce (to taste)
• ground white pepper, for spinkling
• a few cilantro leaves, for garnishing
  

Preparation

• Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan and stir the garlic over a medium heat until light brown.
  
• Add the meat and stir until the meat is cooked.
  
• Add oyster sauce, fish sauce, thin light soy sauce and sugar and stir.
  
• Add ginger, black fungus, sweet onion and chicken stock or water. Stir for a few minutes.
  
• Taste, then adjust the seasoning if necessary. Stir in the green onion.
  
• Sprinkle with ground white pepper and cilantro leaves before serving.

Makes 3 to 4 Servings

Thai Dinner Party in Highlands, North Carolina

Rimson and Charlotte Solomon get their mountain home ready.

My Thai spring rolls and homemade sweet chili sauce were a hit! A great recipe awaits if you simply scroll down the page.

Wine, Spring Rolls, Conversation

Glass Noodle Salad was course # 2. This dish is a combination of bean thread noodles, shallots, green onions, Chinese celery, cabbage, ground pork, dried shrimp, peanuts, lime juice, fish sauce, chillies, sugar, lettuce, and shredded carrots.

The big dishes of the evening were Chicken Coconut Soup and Stir-fried Chicken with Ginger. My recipe for the chicken w/ ginger dish will be added to this site within a couple of weeks.

"I'm finished. Now it's time for Charlotte's Coffee Toffee Surprise!"

Seated L to R: Fran, Kathy, Fred S., Elizabeth, Standing L to R: Dennis, Charlotte, Kade, Rimson, Wiley, Sarah, Mary, Fred M.

Easy Appetizer

For the vegetarians out there, this is a great appetizer: deep-fried tofu with spicy chili sauce. Just cut the extra-firm tofu into bite-sized chunks and drop in oil that is 375 degrees. Once the tofu turns a light brown, take it out and place on a paper towel to cool a bit. Then, take the fried tofu and your favorite dipping sauce and "go to town." Even if you're not a vegetarian, this snack will truly surprise your taste buds. Give it a shot!

ChefCargo.....Mission Accomplished

ChefCargo is in the beautiful (but parched) Biltmore Village. Keep scrolling for more photos.

Class time!

With Matt, co-owner of ChefCargo. Matt and his wife Alex have operated ChefCargo for three years.
The students will arrive any minute!

They did want it to be hands-on!

Spicy Fruit Salad, coming up!

A success!

More photos way down the page....just scroll

Thai Cooking this weekend! Double-Click Images

To learn more about this weekend's programs, double-click these images and enlarge. Contact Matt at Chef Cargo to reserve your spot. 828-277-7994

Thai Spring Rolls

Here's my recipe. It was published in WNC Magazine's May edition. Double-click to enlarge.

Wedding Party

I had the pleasure of preparing dinner for Laura's lovely wedding party. The menu: Spring Rolls, Chicken Green Curry, Shrimp with Basil and Spicy Fruit Salad. You can see the recipe for the fruit salad below. It combines the four flavors that are essential to Thai food: sweet, spicy, sour and salty.
My assistant: Andi Smith, from Atlanta, GA

Spicy Fruit Salad (Yum Phon-la-mai)

Ingredients

3 cups mixed fruit, cut into small chunks*
2-3 Thai chillies, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. dried shrimp (miniature)
2-3 Tbsp. toasted peanuts or cashew nuts (lightly salted)
1-2 Tbsp. lime juice (to taste)
1-2 Tbsp. fish sauce (to taste)
1-2 Tbsp. sugar (to taste)
a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

*apples, mangoes, cantaloupes, grapes, pears, and stawberries work best

Preparation

Put everything into a salad bowl. Mix very well.

4 Servings

EarthFare Cooking Demonstration

See more photos below

Dinner Party, Thai-Style

Amanda (with her baby), Erin, Mary, Valerie, Natalie, me, Katie, Amanda

Scroll down for more fabulous photos from that night

"Okay, time for spring rolls!"

Tom Khai Gai (Chicken in Coconut Soup)

Pad Thai with Tofu

Saturday Night Cooking Class Blast!

(L to R) Lynn, "Alley Cat" Georgia, Jim, "Hill Tribe" Chris, Paul, me, "Judge Judy" Lainie, Leslie