Fresh Thai Orange Salad

The final dish that was in the Thai dinner we had last night was a Thai Orange Salad. Fresh, colourful, crunchy and with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts.

An old favourite: Thai Orange Salad

Ingredients:

thinly sliced cabbage (about a quarter)
1 small carrot, grated
2 inch piece mooli, sliced thinly
3 spring onions, sliced
25g fresh coriander, chopped
2 large oranges, pith removed & segmented

For the dressing:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 clove garlic, minced
1 inch piece fresh ginger, chopped finely
2 tbsp. sesame oil

Add all the salad ingredients to a bowl. Whisk the dressing ingredients together and dress the salad just before serving. Top with chopped peanuts and serve.

Thai meal all together. Was delicious!

Thai Chicken Satay

Not a dish for those allergic to peanuts!!! But if you're not - what luck. This is just such a nice comforting taste. I only had my first chicken satay (long story) a few weeks ago. I loved it so much I had to make it myself. Which was difficult in a way because I wasn't exactly sure how it was meant to taste exactly, or whether to serve it hot or cold?!

I made the dish adding bits here and there and served it hot with chicken that had been marinating all afternoon, simply grilled quickly. It was lovely.

For the chicken:   (makes 5-6 skewers - serves 2)

2 medium chicken breasts
1/2 cup (125ml) coconut milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ginger, chopped finely
1 tsp. garlic, chopped finely
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Slice the chicken lengthwise into about 5 strips. Put into a zip lock bag along with the rest of the ingredients and chill for about 2 hours.

When about to cook, soak wooden skewers in cold water for about 1/2 hour and then thread the chicken strips onto them in a zig-zag motion. Set grill to its highest setting and grill for about 7 minutes turning frequently.

For the satay sauce:

3/4 cup (200ml) coconut milk
1 tbsp. Thai red curry paste
1 tbsp. fish sauce
4 tbsp. peanut butter
3 tbsp. caster sugar
2 tsp. tamarind paste
1 tbsp. soy sauce.
2 tbsp. chopped peanuts

In a small pan, heat the coconut milk with the curry paste until dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir on a low heat as it thickens. Serve HOT over the chicken skewers and top with chopped peanuts. Delicious!

Thai Prawn Cakes & Coriander Dip

Last night I cooked Thai food. One of my favourite foods to cook and eat. I tend to change the recipe (and the size) of the Prawn cakes every time I make them - but these were my favourites.

I wrote it down quickly. You need to make a note of everything when cooking Thai food because its a little bit of this, a little of that (taste)...more lime, a touch more sugar.. and its easy to forget while you are getting that perfect Thai taste. This was what I did.



Thai Prawn Cakes

Ingredients:  (makes about 10)

225g raw large prawns
1/2 onion
1 slice bread
1/2 beaten egg
pinch cayenne pepper
1 green chilli
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp. oil (for frying)

Method: Put all of the above ingredients (apart from the oil) into a food processor and blend well. Put in a bowl and leave in the fridge until ready to cook.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and take small amounts to make a 1 1/2 inch patty. Fry on both sides and then drain on kitchen paper. Keep warm in the oven while you make the rest.

For the dip:

2 cloves garlic
1 large green chilli
1 tbsp. palm sugar (normal sugar is fine too)
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp. fish sauce
25g fresh coriander
1 tbsp. water

Using a hand blender, blitz all of the ingredients until combined to make a loose dip. Put into serving dishes and serve with the prawn cakes. Delicious!

Thai Prawn Cakes with Coriander Dip