Thai Fresh Crab & Corn Risotto

If you never change your mind, why have one? – Edward de Bono

As we say in Nova Scotia, "some good"!

Sometimes it’s good to surprise yourself. Especially when good means “tasty.” Restaurant tasty. That’s how I would describe this.

Not all surprises work out this well. And it was completely without any real forethought at the grocery store. The recipe came about because I changed my mind.

Crab “clusters” (legs and body) are on sale this week for 1/3 their normal price at the Superstore. Local corn is also making an appearance (3/$1). With such finds I usually am inspired to make Chinese crab and corn soup. So I bought some with that in mind.

But, as I said, by the time dinner rolled around I changed my mind. What I wanted to make had lost all its appeal for some reason. Now there’s nothing wrong with crab and corn chowder, but it’s my stomach and I (too often) listen to what it tells me.

Regardless of my stomach's inner voice, I was still stuck with 2 ingredients, crab and corn. Thank goodness for Google’s search function. A quick look gave me many hits – mostly for crab and corn soup! An alternate that stood out was for Italian corn risotto. It sounded pretty interesting. There was no reason I couldn’t add in crab. 

But Italian and crab really don’t spring to mind as a common combo. Perhaps time for an exercise in fusion cuisine?

Just add enough liquid every time so
the contents is covered slightly.

So I trekked across the Middle East, over India and into southeast Asia for my flavours: coconut, chilli and ginger. To really get coconut in this I double-dosed it. It’s in both the oil and the braising liquid for the rice. Don't be fooled – coconut oil imparts a coconut taste. Sometimes this is advantageous, sometimes not. This time it helped make everything quite nicely coco-nutty.

If you want to make something unexpected for company I say look no further. This is a drop-dead delicious meal and pretty on the plate to boot. Perhaps a little green salad on the side to round things out...

Thai Fresh Crab & Corn Risotto*

Prep: 20 min  |  Cook: 20 min  |  Serves 4

250 g fresh King crab meat, shelled

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp crated fresh ginger

1 hot red chilli, finely diced (or 2 tsp dried chilli flakes)

1 cup Calrose rice

1 can coconut milk, plus enough chicken stock to make 1L

2 ears corn, kernels removed

salt and pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Clean the pre-cooked crab, if purchasing in clusters, and discard the shells. You should have at least 250 g meat.

Combine the coconut milk and stock in a pot and bring to a simmer. Keep warm.

Heat the coconut oil in a wide sauté pan. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli. Sauté until the  onion begins to look transparent. Then add the rice and sauté for 2 minutes. Finally add the corn kernels. Reduce heat to medium high.

Begin to add the hot liquid to the rice/corn mixture, using just enough to cover. Stir while it cooks. Do NOT go answer the phone or the rice may stick and burn.

Add more milk and stock as the liquid is absorbed, stirring. Continue to cook until the rice is “al dente” (still has a slight resistance when bitten). This may take a little less than the 1L or a little more. If you need more liquid, use hot water. 

This is the amount of liquid that should be left. Some, but not much. You should
be able to drag the spatula across the bottom of the pan and it remains dry.

The risotto is dry enough when almost all the liquid is absorbed by the rice. You need to leave some “creaminess” with the rice so it isn’t completely dry.

Taste for salt and pepper and adjust. Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the crab and cilantro. Serve immediately.

* You can use canned crab and frozen or canned for kernels, but why would you if fresh is available and affordable?

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Lemongrass Chilli Shrimp

I can make more generals, but horses cost money. – Abraham Lincoln

I took my last bag of shrimp from the freezer for this recipe. I imagine it will be some time until I have shrimp again.

It’s not because anything was wrong with them. It’s because it is getting increasingly difficult to rationalize buying them. They’re too expensive.

Shrimp used to go on sale at the grocery store, periodically. Now it seems far less often. One pound of frozen shrimp was between $8.99 and $9.99 normally, and when marked down would be about $5. Now they’re $9-10 on sale. A little too rich for my blood. I used to have 3-4 bags always in my freezer. Currently the count is zero.

So when using your last bag of “gold” you have to make something good, right? This recipe falls into that category.

As I have pontificated before, certain flavours make certain dishes “signature” to a specific cuisine.

Today my sights are trained on Thailand. That means some very specific ingredients: coconut milk, Thai red “bird’s eye” chillies, lemongrass, and fish sauce.

It’s easy to always have lemongrass and chillies on hand. Buy them and freeze them. That’s what I do, and have been for several years. They keep for a very long time.

Coconut milk should be a staple in any pantry. Canned, it just sits waiting to be used. Fish sauce keeps for a very, very long time, unrefrigerated. Truth be told I’ve had bottles well over a couple years old. I haven’t died.

Fish sauce can be an acquired taste. Butt it’s a staple flavour in many Southeast Asian cuisines, including Thai. It’s made from the fermentation of fish. Believe me, it tastes better than it sounds. It’s also something that, if it’s not there, you will miss.

You can look up about fish sauce if you want, but it’s not very appealing. Do so at your peril.

Remember me telling you a few days ago to buy unusual ingredients and find out how to use them later? Fish sauce is a prime example. Another is coconut oil. I bought a big container of 100% organic at Costco for cheap. It’s a solid at room temperature.

If you have them in your pantry your Asian food will never be the same.

I added my red pepper before reducing the sauce. If you would
like crispier pepper add it at the end as in the recipe.

Lemongrass Chilli Shrimp

Prep: 15 min  |  Cook: 12-15 min  |  Serves 4

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 lb shrimp, peeled

1 med onion, chopped large

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 Thai red chillies, diced with seeds

1 stalk lemongrass, diced

1 can coconut milk

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp turbinado sugar (or light brown)

1 red pepper, seeded and sliced

1/3 lb snow peas, sliced in half

1 bunch green onions, sliced

salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare all the ingredients before-hand. Cook some white rice while you make the main dish. It will be cooked when the sauce is finished (20 min).

Heat the coconut oil in a wok. Add the onion, garlic, chillies and lemongrass. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Then add the coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar. Let cook until reduced to about half, 5 minutes. Then add the red pepper, snow peas, green onions and shrimp. Let cook until the shrimp are cooked through. This will take about 4 minutes.

Taste for salt and adjust. (Fish sauce is salty.) Add some pepper, stir and serve over rice.

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Phad Thai, the best recipe for it I know

I am easily satisfied with the very best. – Sir Winston Churchill

Photo: jay galvin, Flickr ccl

This is an old post of mine, stretching back to the early-ish days of 2011. I had only been blogging for a little over two months. It's even before I had a camera to take food shots! But it's so, so very good I had to repost. Because I currently have a craving for it. When you itch, I say scratch. So scratch we shall... with abandon.

Have you ever had a craving at home for Phad Thai, that amazing peanut-y pile of noodles that is such a staple of Thai restaurants? Well look no further for the solution. It’s extremely easy to make, and not too expensive if you have an “international” pantry. Like most Asian cooking, the devil is in the preparation. Prep for what seems like hours, and it’s ready in five minutes.

Tamarind. Photo: BBC World Service
Bangladesh Boat, Flickr ccl

You don’t actually chop for hours, just minutes. Finding the ingredients isn’t that difficult either. So what are you waiting for? I’m posting this recipe as much for me as for you. 

It’s an exceptional recipe for Phad Thai, and I always have trouble locating it because the basis is from a cookbook I don’t often use. In my opinion this recipe outshines most Phad that you get when you dine out, at least in Halifax…

The book in mention is “Hot Foods,” published in 2004 by Select Publications. It doesn’t refer to only spicy food, but any food brought steaming to the table. There’s many good recipes in it. 

I think I might have too many cookbooks. We used to run to Winners on weekends and buy marked-down cookbooks for about the same price as a food magazine. No ads, and far more informative and useful.

I have altered the basic recipe to more closely resemble one in a cookbook that I no longer have. It went away in a break-up, with many other things I valued. But they were only "things," not necessities. Apparently including the person who I told to leave...

My result is quite close to the one in my missing book, using the basics from “Hot Foods.” If you’re familiar with Phad Thai, and you look closely at this recipe you will see there are certain things that make Phad Thai, well, Phad Thai. 

This recipe has the balance “right.” An uncommon ingredient that brings it all together is tamarind. You can find it in blocks, or liquid form, in most grocery stores in the international section. So I tip my hat to the cookbook I do have that was the inspiration for this recipe.

Phad Thai

Prep: 20 min  | Cook: 15 min  | Serves 4

This picture is pretty close. Photo: Manuel W, Flickr ccl

250 g dried flat rice stick noodles

1 tbsp tamarind (either sauce or from a pressed block, finely diced)

1 2" thai red chilli, finely chopped with seeds

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1-1/2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp lime juice

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

2 tbsp oil
2 eggs, beaten

150 g (1/3 lb) pork, diced

1/2 lb shrimp

100g (3 1/2 oz) fried tofu puffs, julienned (optional)

1 bunch spring onions, chopped in 1/2” pieces

1 cup bean sprouts

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/4 cup coriander, chopped

lime wedges, to serve

Soak the noodles in warm water for 20 minutes, or until they are al dente. Keep in cool water to avoid sticking.

Combine the tamarind, chilli, garlic, sugar, fish sauce and lime in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat a wok with 1 tbsp of oil and swirl to coat the sides. When hot, add the egg and swirl to coat in a thin layer. Let cook, undisturbed. Roll up in the wok, remove and slice into thin strips.

Hear the remaining oil in the wok. Add the Chilli mixture and fry for 1 minute. Add the pork and fry for 2 minutes. Then add the shrimp and cook until just done. Blend in the peanut butter.

Add in the noodles, egg, tofu, bean sprouts and green onions and toss together until heated through.

Serve immediately with the peanuts, coriander and lime wedges in bowls on the table.

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If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share using any of the links below. Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

Thai Bang Bang Chicken Bowl

Industry is fortune's right hand, and frugality its left. – John Ray 

I’m reminded of the Aesop’s fable of the Ant and Grasshopper. The ant labours all summer long gathering food for winter while the grasshopper plays and sings in the sun. When winter comes and the grasshopper realizes his folly he comes to a sobering conclusion:

“It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.” And then he dies. Nice fable for kids, eh?

We kind of did that with our garden this year – planned for the winter ahead. And I’m going to try to do my best to use the actual fruits of our labour. Some will be in beet form, some in carrots and some in squash.

We also have cucumbers, herbs and tomatoes (now in sauce). They will all be very helpful when the weather turns nasty. Waste not, want not.

It was with that in mind that I decided to use some of our bounty to make this meal. Thank goodness for the internet. It’s so easy to type in what you have and generate a list of recipes that answer your search.

My query was carrots, cucumbers and some chicken I had in the fridge. I was not disappointed. Too many to list popped up.

The thing about much Asian influenced cuisine is that it uses cilantro. I didn't have any fresh. I do want to grow it next year. It was an oversight this gardening season...

This recipe is sort of like a teriyaki salmon bowl, except there’s no teriyaki. It’s in a spicy peanut sauce. The similarity is that several of the ingredients are served raw, so it’s got to be a little healthier for you.

I know it tasted very good. The hot rice, chicken and sauce were just enough to elevate it from a “cold” salad. It’s also a dish where everyone assembles their own, so you can bring the ingredients to the table and let the family have at it.

It’s a great, fresh tasting way to enjoy some of the bounty you toiled so laboriously for during the summer months. Or scavenged from your local grocery... Hope you enjoy.

Bang Bang Chicken Bowl

Prep: 30 min  |  Serves 4

1 lb chicken pieces (legs, thighs or breasts)

1 cup long grain rice

1 medium cucumber, seeded and sliced

1 lg carrot (or similar small ones), julienned

1 medium onion, thinly sliced (or green onion)

chopped fresh cilantro, or dried

Sauce:

3 tbsp soy sauce (this is your saltiness)

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp brown sugar

1-1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

Boil the chicken pieces in salted water for 15 minutes, until cooked through. Drain and let cool. Then remove and discard the skin and cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Make the rice while the chicken is cooking. It usually is 1 rice to 2 water, simmer covered 15 minutes, let sit covered for 5. At the same time, prepare the carrots, cucumber and onion.

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 2.5 minutes. Stir well and set aside.

To assemble, divide the hot rice between 4 bowls. Top with some chicken, then carrot, onion and cucumber. Pour sauce over the top and sprinkle with cilantro.

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Seared Tofu with Thai Mango Salsa Fresca

We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their colour. – Maya Angelou

It’s supposed to be a full week of hot temperatures and sun in Nova Scotia. Time to get out of the kitchen, fire up the barbecue and invite friends to visit.

For grilling, it's best to marinate the
heck out of tofu to add flavour.

There’s one challenge many of us face when BBQ season arrives. How do we include our vegetarian friends? It can be difficult, notwithstanding the array of tofu this and soy that available in grocery stores. I don’t even know many vegetarians that like tofu hot dogs.

Here’s a dish that will satisfy your hungriest non-meat eaters. It's a great way to welcome non-carnivores over for a BBQ evening and may even convert a few carnivores to the “dark side.” Or perhaps I should say “light side.” There’s not a whole lot dark going on with tofu.

Tofu is a strange thing. People either love it or hate it. I believe that's because of the "blandness" it often has as opposed to a dislike of the flavour. For some people it’s a texture thing, but it’s not that much different than scrambled eggs, at least for me...

If you’re frying, searing or grilling, the secret is to impart as much flavour as possible into the tofu before you cook it. Luckily, since it has little distinctive flavour of its own that job is easily accomplished.

Tofu "steaks."

Most seared or grilled tofu recipes will use a marinade. My marinade has garlic and soy as its main flavours. The two hour marinating time is to ensure that the tofu is well permeated.

You can certainly try other combinations to flavour it. If desired you could use ginger, five spice powder, fish sauce, oyster sauce, etc. It’s quite easy to tailor your tofu flavour to complement whatever else you are serving.

This “salsa fresca” has the traditional two peppers/tomato/onion combo, but adds mango and a hint of fish sauce and lime to shunt it toward more Thai flavours.

I have a confession to make. This tofu was pan fried. I was going to grill the tofu but our Weber barbecue hadn’t made it through the winter in a shape I would trust. It was getting old.

Now buying a barbecue has moved closer to the top of the list. Sigh.

The salsa would be equally tasty served with grilled or broiled chicken or firm white fish such as halibut. So if you have a mix of veg/non-veg diners you can pass it around with the rest of the side dishes.

When making acidic foods, use a non-reactive bowl.

Seared Tofu with Thai Mango Salsa Fresca

Prep: 2 hours (includes marinating)  | Cook: 12 minutes  |  Serves 4

Tofu marinade:

2 blocks of extra firm tofu (454 g)

3 garlic cloves

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Salsa:

1 ripe mango

1 medium tomato

1 small sweet red pepper

1 medium jalapeño pepper

3 green onions

1/4 cup cilantro

1 tbsp fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

Cut each block of tofu horizontally into 2 thin “steaks.” (4 in total)

Chop the garlic and place it in a baking dish with the soy sauce and oil. Whisk with a fork. Nestle the steaks into the marinade. Pierce the top and bottom of each steak with the tines of a fork. Flip the tofu over so it is coated well the marinade.

I made coconut rice as an accompaniment.

Cover the tofu with plastic wrap and let marinate for 1/2 hour on the counter. Uncover, pierce the top side of each steak and flip. Cover and marinate for another 1/2 hour, then flip again. 

Marinate the steaks for a further 1 hour, flipping once more. Total marinating time is 2 hours with 4 flips.

While the tofu is marinating make the salsa. Peel and cut the mango into 1/4 inch pieces and place in a (non-reactive) glass, ceramic or plastic bowl. 

Chop the tomato into similar size. Seed and chop the red pepper to similar size. Repeat with the jalapeño, but chop the flesh very finely. Add to the mango.

Chop the green onions in thin rings. Add them, with the fish sauce, chopped cilantro and lime juice to the mango mixture. Toss well to mix. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit to combine flavours.

After the tofu has marinated, pour the marinating liquid into a frying pan large enough to accommodate all four steaks. Heat the pan until the garlic begins to sizzle. 

Add the steaks to the pan or grill and let cook until browned on each side. (If using a BBQ grease the grill well so they don't stick.) Cooking time should be about 5-7 minutes per side, depending on heat.

To serve, slice each tofu steak and arrange in a fan – or other artful display – on the plate. Place some hot coconut rice across from the tofu slices and spoon 1/4 of the salsa down the centre of the plate and on the tofu slices. Decorate with a cilantro sprig if desired.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Homemade Thai Turkey Sausage

He ne'er considered it, as loath to look a gift-horse in the mouth. – Samuel Butler

These are the sausages after being boiled for 30 minutes.

If you’re like me, a sale is always good to stumble upon. The other day I found ground turkey that was only half as much as it usually costs at a local grocery.

Most meats are ground in-store in Nova Scotia, and since this was on sale I shudder to think where the over abundance of turkeys may have originated. It’s now July. Were they frozen turkeys leftover from Easter and taking up storage space, or maybe even from last Christmas?

Perhaps some secrets are best left undiscovered. So not looking this particular gift horse in the mouth I decided to take a couple packages and make something interesting out of it.

Since it’s barbecue season something to cook outside would probably be a good idea, right?

If you’re like many folks, you’re probably starting to get a little tired of the usual slabs of beef or pork, hamburgers and hot dogs. So something a bit more “eclectic” might be a good thing.

This sausage meat falls into that category: Thai turkey.

It doesn’t really spring to mind when you look at ground turkey meat, does it? But they’re very good. The Thai flavours really do make for interesting eating.

This recipe can be stuffed or used for patties. Either way will work well. And you don’t need a food grinder to make it. The turkey comes pre-ground, and it only takes a minute to reduce bacon to “ground” in a food processor.

It may seem odd to include bacon in turkey sausage, but it’s there for a good reason. Turkey can be notoriously dry. If you don’t add fat in some form you will be in trouble. There’s nothing worse than biting into a dry, dry sausage.

There is sodium nitrite in the recipe. This is used for longevity in the refrigerator, in case you want to keep the sausages for a week or so before use. If you don't, it's not necessary. It also helps the meat keep pink coloured.

There was one other hurdle to overcome in putting these sausages to plate. What on earth do you put on them?

I searched high and low for any kind of Thai condiments that might do the trick, and finally settled on something I already had in the refrigerator. Sweet Chilli Sauce. You can purchase it at almost any grocery in the International section.

These were a nice break from traditional barbecue fare. Try your own toppings to see what you may like. I did find that hot/sweet paired very nicely with the cilantro and jalapeño. But feel free to break out into the unknown!

You never know what path a gift-horse may lead you down.

Thai Turkey Sausage

Prep: 30 min  |  Yield: 2.8 - 3 lbs/8-10 sausages

1 kg turkey meat, ground

300-500 g smoked bacon, or pork fat

1 tsp sea salt

1-1/2 tsp dried basil

1-1/2 tsp dried mint

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp curing salt (sodium nitrite), optional*

make a paste from

4 garlic cloves

2 tbsp onion

1 jalapeño, with seeds

1 tbsp ginger

1 cup fresh cilantro

2 tbsp fish sauce

Place the bacon in a food processor and pulse until well ground. Remove to a bowl with the ground turkey.

Make the paste by combining the last 6 ingredients in the food processor and pulsing until ground. It shouldn’t be completely smooth, but well ground up. Add to the meats.

Add the remaining spices and sodium nitrite. If using the meat immediately for patties, the sodium nitrite can be omitted.

Mix well with your hands, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight.

Shape into patties or stuff into casings. If stuffing, boil the sausages in enough water to cover for 30 minutes. 

If the sodium nitrite has been used they will last at least 1 week in the refrigerator.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Pantry Surfing: Thai Shrimp and Shiitake Bake

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

10% inspiration, 90% interesting pantry contents.

I'm pre-emting the bread recipe I promised for today to post this recipe. The bread will be tomorrow's post. I promise.

I love a challenge – especially in the kitchen. We are still unpacking after our move, and we didn’t have time yet to go to a grocery store. So we’ve been relying on the pantry and freezer.

The night I made this I did some pantry foraging. What I found was a bit disappointing. Frozen shrimp and a can of soup. It was the most obvious combination that sprang to mind from what I initially saw.

That was my departure point. The inspiration for this dish came from a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup.

I really dislike using canned soups in dishes if it’s avoidable. This time it seemed I was destined to have something like mushroom soup bake.

While I was bemoaning the fact I had no mushrooms to make my own "soup base" it dawned on me I actually did. They just weren’t fresh. I had dried shiitake.

That changed the water on the beans. Shiitake mushrooms would not sit too well in a normal cream sauce. But what about a coconut cream sauce? I did have canned coconut milk. (Thank goodness.)

The dish swiftly started to veer towards Thailand. Chilli flakes, cilantro, lemon, fish sauce, ginger... The preparation could even stay the same as mushroom rice bake. Just switch out what goes in it to Thai flavours.

The baking directions came straight from Campbell’s (regarding time and temperature), but the rest of this recipe is completely re-imagined. This is essentially a Thai version of that awful cream of mushroom soup rice bake.

This delivered more than success. This will now be among the go-to recipes for whenever we have company and want to sit with them rather than fuss in the kitchen. 

The sauce could easily be made ahead and then combined with the rice and baked with little to no fuss. (Almost like a can of soup!)

It’s amazing what you can pull off with hardly any effort and a little inspiration. Always go where there is no path. Blaze a trail!

Thai Shrimp and Shiitake Bake

Prep 10 min  |  Bake 50 min  |  Serves 4

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 lg garlic clove, chopped

1 tbsp fresh ginger, diced

12 dried shiitakes, reconstituted (reserve 1/4 cup liquid)

1 cup long-grain rice

400 ml can coconut milk

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp dried cilantro

salt and pepper

1/4 cup fish sauce

juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Heat the sesame oil in a skillet. Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger until softened.

Slice the shiitakes and add to the pan with the reserved soaking liquid and the chilli flakes. Cook on high until the liquid has evaporated. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms start to brown slightly.

Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the coconut milk and milk. Then add salt and pepper to taste.

Place the rice and cilantro in a 9” x 9” x 3” baking dish. Pour the mushroom sauce on top and mix well. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 35 minutes. 

Meanwhile, peel and clean the shrimp. Toss with some salt, the fish sauce and lemon juice and let marinate while the rice finishes its 35 minutes baking.

Uncover the rice, stir in the shrimp, fish sauce and lemon. Recover and bake an additional 12 minutes.

Let sit, covered for 2 minutes. Serve with a sprinkling of cilantro on top.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer as best I can. If you like this post feel free to share it using any of the links. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Quick Thai Chicken with Grapes

When you are at home, even if the chicken is a little burnt, what's the big deal? Relax. – Jacques Pepin

I have an eggplant on my counter. That’s what I was going to have for dinner. I had bought two large chicken breasts that were on sale ($4 for two at Superstore this week – good deal) to have with it. Marry those with the already opened tomato sauce in my refrigerator and you have a good start on something tasty.

So yesterday my intentions were clear. But lunch intervened. If you remember, a few days ago I made moussaka. I took some for my noon repast yesterday. It was excellent re-heated.

Unfortunately that took the edge off my wanting eggplant for dinner as well. So the eggplant is still on the counter. And the sauce is still in the fridge.

That left me with chicken. You would think that something pretty simple would be on the menu, and relatively “normal.” This is where a well stocked cupboard can be a godsend. 

Readers of my blog well know that I refuse to be normal, for the most part. With a good pantry you don’t have to be. There are many international staples that can be purchased and stored unrefrigerated to pull out on just such occasions.

Fish sauce, curry powder, coconut milk, onions, garlic... All things that are easy to get and most of us already have. A diverse cupboard lets you cook from pretty much any cuisine you want if you know what to combine. To me the ingredients I listed spell Thai. A quick run to the grocery easily rounds out anything missing.

This is a fast recipe. It’s quite similar to the delicious duck curry that they serve at Talay Thai Restaurant. If you’ve never had it you should. The restaurant is right across from the Waverley Inn (a great place to stay when in Halifax) on Barrington Street.

We’re less than two weeks away from our move so it’s imperative that I use up whatever I can from the cupboards so buying curry pastes and the like just isn’t in the cards. Why haul additional things across the province? Especially things that need refrigeration.

I will have to (shudder) plan my meals ahead much better than I do now once we move. There will be no quick trips to the grocery store to pick up a red pepper. The nearest large grocery will be about 25 minutes away. That will be an interesting development... But it’s a worry for another day.

This is a very Thai tasting curry, with mostly common ingredients. Honestly, if you don’t have fish sauce, buy a bottle. It’s that “mystery” taste in many Asian dishes. You’ll wonder why you never had it in your pantry before.

Quick Thai Chicken with Grapes

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook: 25 min  |  Serves 4

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

1 medium red onion, sliced

3 garlic cloves, diced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 tbsp curry powder

1 can coconut milk

1/4 cup fish sauce

grated rind of 1 lime

juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

16-24 seedless red grapes

salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a wide sauté pan or wok. Salt and pepper the chicken and fry in the hot oil on both sides until browned. It will not be cooked through. Remove and let cool.

Add the red onion, garlic and red pepper to the pan. Sauté until slightly softened. 

Sprinkle with the curry powder and stir in the coconut milk. Let the mixture simmer for 6-8 minutes. The coconut milk should be reduced a little. Add the fish sauce, rind and lime juice.

Thinly slice the chicken and add to the curry sauce. Toss in the cilantro and grapes. Let the mixture cook only long enough so that the chicken is no longer pink.

Serve on steaming white rice.

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Recipe: Scallops with Thai Mango Sauce

There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it. – George Bernard Shaw 

You can't tell me this doesn't look tasty.

This recipe came about because of two separate grocery store shopping trips. One made me desire something, the other was a lucky find. 

The first came about on an evening run to our local grocery. I spotted 30 oz cans of mango pulp on sale. I had never seen 30 oz cans of mango pulp before. They’re big. I wanted one, but passed it by because I couldn't think of a use for it.

The second was a happy coincidence the next day. I went to our grocery close to work and found previously frozen sea scallops on sale. They’re the big ones – at big cost.

Usually they will set you back $16/lb. This day they were the relatively inexpensive $10/lb. Still too much but it had been a long time since we bought scallops. No wonder, with the usual cost what it is.

Scallops are best simply seared with salt and pepper.
Don't crowd them in the pan. That's a common mistake.

So I decided that scallops would be it. Although that left my craving for the mango unabated.

Simple answer? Do a nice little Thai sauce with mango. But could I find that can of puréed mango at the grocery close to work? No.

That’s three times recently that particular store has failed me. No daikon, no fresh okra and now no canned mango purée. I don’t really understand the last one, because it was for sale (a large display of them) at the same store just 6 km away.

So I had to settle for a smaller can of mango slices. More expensive canned mango slices. I guess I should be thankful I found them at all.

You can use fresh mango, of course, but they’re notoriously difficult to peel and pit. I also thought that puréed would save me from having to break the mango up in the sauce. At least canned slices are already soft.

I also chose canned because I could be pretty certain the fruit was completely ripe. Under ripe mango can taste a little like pine and if you don't know mango well it's easy to pick one up that's still green.

Signature flavours of Thai cuisine

Thai food has some pretty identifiable flavours. It has four fundamentals that balance each other in most dishes: hot, sweet, salty and sour. 

Luckily these can be found in some pretty easy-to-find ingredients. Hot – chillies, sweet – sugar and/or fruit, salty – fish sauce, and sour – citrus.

There are usually a lot of ingredients in Thai dishes which can be daunting to home chefs. But it’s the harmonious mingling of all those ingredients that make Thai food so special.

Thailand certainly punches above its weight class in worldwide representation. I doubt there are many who haven’t experienced at least one Thai dish, two of the most common being Pad Thai or Tom Yum Soup.

Why not try a little Thai in your own kitchen? Although probably not completely authentic, this one's pretty easy. And it hits all the signature notes you look for in tasty Thai food.

It’s also pretty fast. The scallops are quickly seared first, and then the sauce is made in about 6-8 minutes. This one will be on my stove again, to be sure.

If you’re looking to step gently outside of the familiar give this recipe a try. It’s definitely a keeper.

Simmer the sauce ingredients until nicely thickened.

Scallops with Thai Mango Sauce

Prep: 2 min  |  Cook: 20 min  |  Serves 4

1 lb scallops

1 or 2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1” ginger, diced

2 or 3 thai red chillies

15 oz can mango slices

400 ml can coconut milk

1 tbsp fish sauce (more if desired)

2+ tbsp sugar (depending on mango)

juice of 1/2 lime

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

rice vermicelli for four

Heat the vegetable oil in a wide sauté or deep frying pan. Place the scallops in the hot oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Sear on one side until they let go of the pan and are browned. Turn and sear the other side.

Do not crowd the scallops in the pan. Cook in batches if you must. Crowding will steam the scallops and not sear them. Remove the scallops to a pan as they cook and keep warm.

Add the garlic, ginger and chillies to the pan. If necessary add the additional tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sauté for about 1 minute.

Add the drained mango slices, coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar. The amount of sugar will depend on the sweetness of the mango slices. I used 3 tablespoons of sugar.

Let the mixture cook until it is a sauce consistency. The mango will break up as it cooks, but help it along with the edge of a spatula or spoon. It’s best to have very few mango pieces in the finished sauce.

Remove the sauce from the heat. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Taste for sugar and fish sauce. Adjust if desired.

Serve the sauce on top of rice vermicelli, with scallops on top of the sauce.

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If you like this post feel free to share it using any of the links. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask!