# Making Thai food at home?



## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

I had posted in the thread about "How often do you eat out?" that I really miss Thai food living in the boonies. I've never had great success making it at home, but also haven't overly tried. 

I love curries and any thai noodles. I have green curry base in the fridge, but when I tried to make a curry it was too hot at normal strength and then had no flavor when I made it milder. Other ingredients I have on hand are fish sauce, coconut milk, cilantro and basil. Another problem is that I'm 1/2 an hour from a grocery store and it's a pretty basic store, no ethnic foods, don't think they even have basil 

Any of you have favorite home Thai recipes?


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2014)

I have a great restaurant close by, but have been looking over these recipes for a while, trying to psych myself into trying a couple. 

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/easy_Thai_recipes


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

I have a few, will try to keep it to the simpler ones. But truthfully, you'll have a hard time making any Thai food without basil! Maybe grow your own in a sunny window, along with some cilantro...? Best bet would be to stock up on hard-to-find ingredients whenever you're in the Big Smoke and can find an Asian specialty store.

*Pad Kee Mao (Spicy Ground Chicken and Rice Noodles)*

Ingredients:
1 (14-ounce) package wide rice noodles
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 2 limes)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 medium garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 pound ground chicken
2 medium red or green bell peppers, thinly sliced
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 medium jalapeÃ±o peppers, thinly sliced
1 cup loosely packed Thai basil leaves (or substitute regular basil)

Instructions:
Place noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for about 15 minutes, until loose and pliable but not soft; drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, combine oyster sauce, fish sauce, and lime juice in a medium nonreactive bowl, mix well, and set aside.

Heat oil in a large (12-inch) frying pan over medium-high heat. Once heated, add shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until softened but not brown. Add ground chicken and break into small pieces. Cook until chicken is white and almost cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add bell peppers and stir-fry just until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Push chicken mixture to one side of the pan and add eggs to the center. Scramble with a spatula until eggs are set and donât run, about 1 minute.

Push eggs to the side and add reserved sauce mixture. Once the sauce is boiling, add the drained noodles and toss to coat. Remove from heat, add jalapeÃ±os and basil, and toss to combine; serve immediately.

*Thai Style Chicken and Coconut Soup *

Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp oil 
1/2 stalk lemongrass (remove outer sheath and finely mince the bottom 3 inches) 
1 tbsp fresh ginger (peel and finely mince) 
1 clove clove garlic (finely minced) 
1/2 onion (sliced vertically to form thin strips) 
1 tbsp red curry paste (thai red curry paste i use maesri brand) 
1 tbsp tom yum paste (kha) 
3 cups chicken stock 
1 1/2 tbsps fish sauce 
1 TB sugar 
14 oz coconut milk (unsweetened) 
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 
1/2 dash chili sauce (asian chili sauce, I use Sriracha brand) 
3/4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (sliced into thin strips) 
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms (sliced) 
1/2 tomato (chopped) 
4 ozs baby corn (fresh baby corn about i buy this at trader joe) 
1 1/2 tbsps fresh lime juice 
leaf cilantro leaf (garnish) 

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large stock pot Add the lemon grass, ginger, garlic, and onion and stir fry for about one minute. Add the curry paste and Tom Kha soup mix paste and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, fish sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Slice the baby corn vertically into four pieces so that the corn resembles small strips. Add the corn to the pot and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, chicken, mushrooms, tomato, lime juice, hot sauce, and pepper flakes. Simmer until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Taste the soup and add more sugar, lime juice, or hot sauce, depending on your taste.

Serve the soup garnished with cilantro leaves.

Note: If you have leftovers, the coconut milk will separate from the chicken broth when chilled. Simply warm the soup back up and stir to blend.

*Gkai Pad Gkaprow (a hot one!)*

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless chicken thighs, coarsely chopped, or cut into small bite-size pieces 
4-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
2-3 shallots, thinly sliced (or substitute with 1/2 cup sliced onion) 
2-3 Tbs. peanut oil for stir-frying 
2 tsp. black soy sauce (the semi-sweet kind) 
1-2 Tbs. fish sauce (nam bplah), to taste 
1 cup fresh Thai holy basil (bai gka-prow), or substitute with regular fresh basil 
2 small keffir lime leaves (bai ma-gkrood), very finely slivered (optional, I buy these frozen) 
2-3 fresh jalapeno or fresno peppers, cut into large slivers; or 5-10 Thai chilies (prik kee noo), chopped and pounded with a mortar and pestle 
Dash of ground white pepper

Instructions:
Prepare the ingredients as indicated. Leave the fresh basil leaves whole; the flowers may also be used. Pull off and discard the hard stems.

Heat a wok until the surface is smoking hot. Swirl in the oil to coat the wok surface. Wait a few seconds for the oil to heat, then stir in the garlic, followed a few seconds later with shallots. Stir another few seconds before adding the chicken. Stir-fry a minute or two, or until most of the chicken has started to change color on the outside and is no longer pink. Toss in the chilies and slivered keffir lime leaves. 

Sprinkle black soy sauce over the mixture and stir-fry another 15-20 seconds. Then add fresh basil leaves and fish sauce to taste. Stir and mix well. Stir-fry another half a minute, or until the basil is wilted and the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with white pepper. Stir and transfer to a serving dish, or spoon directly over individual plates of plain steamed rice. 

Hope these get you started!


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Thank you Raeven! But that is a bit what I mean about Thai food at home  Lots of ingredients and ones I don't have on hand. But I can get lemongrass and basil next time I go to the co-op in town (an hour from here) and I have fresh cilantro at the moment but it's going to frost soon. I picked the last of the basil today. Pretty rough looking stuff. 

I'm salivating at your recipes, I guess going all the way to the evil city would be worth it! 

FYI anyone, Amazon has green and red curry chili paste.


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## BlackFeather (Jun 17, 2014)

All recipes had this in 2010 I can't find it on the site now so here it is:

Thai beef noodle salad:

the sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tbs orange juice
3 tbs canola oil
1 tbs sesame oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp peanut butter
3/4 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Wisk together all the above ingredients till well mixed

12 ounces uncooked spaghetti
Cook spaghetti

1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen snow peas 
1 cup julienned sweet red pepper
1 cup julienned zucchini
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak cooked and cut into thin strips

2 tbs sesame seeds


mix spaghetti and above vegetables and meat together in a bowl, then pour over salad the above sauce, refrigerate for a couple of hours or over night to let the flavor of the sauce soak in. When serving top with sesame seeds

My changes: I don't have rice wine and use regular vinegar but only 1/4 cup
I use orange juice or any other juice I happen to have
I use powdered garlic if out of cloves
I put in a heaping tsp of peanut butter (about 2 tsp)
It has enough salt from the soy sauce so I add no extra salt
I use any hot pepper powder I happen to have, I am currently out of cayenne but have ground red pepper.
I use what ever vegetables are available, 
I usually make the salad with left over roast beef.
It is very popular with the family I made it about a half dozen times this summer.


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## mamawojo (Aug 10, 2010)

I've been making this lately and it's such a hit that my son leaving for boot camp next month has asked for it as his last home cooked meal. I add whatever veggies I have on hand to bulk it up but it is good as written too.

http://foodloveswriting.com/2012/11/20/crockpot-thai-chicken-curry/


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## Mrs. Jo (Jun 5, 2007)

the most amazing stuff I've ever tried has been Big Bowl recipes. You can get this book online or at a library for very cheap. I LOVE this style of cooking and actually we make it almost weekly. Tonight we tried Hunan chicken which was delicious, it has been an amazing recipe. 

So I always buy cilantro, fresh ginger, and Fresno hot peppers on hand every week. We make a lot of stir fry type dishes and sauces so these are great staples. Sometimes I can freeze the cilantro and basil but it can also be bought fresh. I found that washing cilantro in cool water and letting it soak will prolong it's life-it's also quite dirty so wash well. Same goes for Basil. 
I also always have tamari, seseme oil, Rooster sauce (Sirachi), and rice wine or sherry on hand. It's very easy to make tasty sauces with these. 
In the summer you might be able to grow these but cilantro has been hard for me. Basil somewhat easier.

I also make a lot of curry dishes so I have learned to have whole spices on hand like fennel, star anise, cumin ect and use a variety of available vegetables and protein. 
I have found lemon grass before but often forget to use it. It can probably be frozen to preserve flavor.


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## semimoonman (Oct 31, 2012)

Good ethnic food. I miss that so much. Whenever the DW and I go down to the city, we stock up on noodles, dumpling wrappers, and other ingredients.

I'm terrible at cooking Thai noodle dishes--they're either an oil slick or stuck to the pan (the noodles are for Korean and Vietnamese soups)--but curries are great and easily preserved. You can buy the ingredients, make a curry paste, and freeze it for months. You can also freeze basil. Just put the basil in the blender with an oil that you'll use in the dish (nuetral oil or coconut milk for Thai dishes) then free it in an ice cube tray.


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## Janis R (Jun 27, 2013)

You can freeze basil and cilantro in ice cube trays so you can have "fresh" anytime. I bet you can do that with lemongrass and other food.
I keep my ginger in the freezer unpeeled, cut off a chunk and grate when needed.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

Look up a recipe for Larb Gai, or any Larb. It is easy and Oh MY! My favorite food in the whole wide world! You need to go to a city with a good asian ethnic food market and get a few necessities, like fish sauce, but they will last a long time, as a little goes a long way. While you are there, get a mortal and pestle  Oh!, and a asian style cleaver.


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## maddy (Oct 30, 2010)

You'd be surprised how many ethnic food items Amazon has.


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