January 30, 2010

Tom Kha Gai (Thai chicken coconut soup)

I love this soup... Slightly spicy, slightly sweet, all around tasty - what Thai food is all about. While this recipe probably isn't truly authentic Thai - it's a decent version with ingredients you can find at many larger grocery stores. Items like lemongrass, fish sauce, and Thai chiles have become much more accessible over the last few years. You may have had this soup as a started at a Thai restaurant as it tends to be pretty popular. The broth takes some time to get really flavorful, but otherwise the soup is pretty simple to make.

This recipe serves two as a main dish or four as a starter.

Tom Kha Gai
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 can (14 oz) unsweetened light coconut milk
2 stalks lemongrass (sliced into about 1 inch pieces)
1-2 Thai chiles (or other small red chiles)
about 6 slices of ginger root (about 1/4 inch thick)
about 1 tablespoon cane sugar
juice of 1 lime
1-1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 chicken breast thinly sliced
about 2 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
3 scallions, thinly sliced (whites and greens, but keep separated)
about 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
thin rice noodles (optional)

In a large soup pot, add the chicken stock, coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger root, chiles, cane sugar, and fish sauce. If you want a mild soup, use only one chile. For a hotter soup, use one-two chiles and pierce the skin. Cook over medium heat until the broth comes to a boil. Then, reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour. 

Remove all the lemongrass stalk, ginger root, and the chiles from the broth and discard. Add the chicken, mushrooms, and whites of the scallions. Bring to a low boil and cook until the chicken is cooked through. Add noodles, if using (they will cook in only a couple of minutes) and the lime juice. When the noodles are soft, serve immediately. Top with the scallion greens and cilantro. You can also top with thinly sliced chiles (if you want a spicier soup), extra fish sauce, and/or fresh basil leaves.

January 19, 2010

Matcha tea leaf shortbread cookies


Plate of matcha tea leaf shortbread cookies.

I've wanted to make matcha tea shortbreads for a while and had a little birthday gathering where I thought they would be perfect for a fried of mine. I was looking for a recipe and found this one which I've cut in half and modified as written below. 

January 10, 2010

Thai sweet pumpkin

Bowl of Thai sweet pumpkin.I never ate or even saw this dessert when I visited Thailand. I had this at a Thai restaurant near home as dessert for a New Year's Even dinner last year. It was really tasty. 

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I came across a recipe for this dessert while looking on the internet and it called for using a kabocha squash. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find that squash and sort of put the thought of making it out of my head for a while... Then I went to the market yesterday and sitting in this large display in the produce section was a whole box of organic kabocha squash. So, of course, I had to pick one up and get right to trying this dessert.

The squash was very difficult to peel! It was very bumpy. After that part though, this rest of the preparation is ridiculously simple and it has a great Asian flavor that I absolutely love - coconut milk. Coconut milk just screams Thai food to me.

Thai sweet pumpkin
One small-medium kabocha squash, peeled and cut into bite-sized strips
1 (15 oz.) can coconut milk
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons cane (or turbinado) sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

In a medium sauce pan add the coconut milk, honey, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add the squash and stir. Cover and cook over low heat until the squash is tender (about 10 minutes). Serve hot.

January 5, 2010

Tomato-basil soup

I've been soup-obsessed lately. This is likely due to the fact that it's been snowing and snowing and about 12-20 degrees outside for the past few days...also maybe because I love my new immersion blender. Anyways, this tomato-basil soup is a yummy, comforting lunch or dinner. It's easy to make and can be easily adjusted to your specific tastes. For example - if you like really creamy soup, add more cream. Or, if you don't like creamy tomato soup, then leave it out. This is the basic recipe I use. I like to use organic tomatoes, but it's not a requirement. This will make about four bowls of soup. 

Tomato-basil soup
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
28 oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes
about 1-1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending on if you like heat and spice)
1 cup vegetable (or chicken) stock
about 1 teaspoon sugar
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
a couple of handfuls of fresh (must be fresh) basil
1/2 cup heavy cream (or half and half or milk)
olive oil

In a large soup pot or dutch oven cook the onions and garlic over medium heat until the onions become translucent. Add stock, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Heat until it begins to boil then reduce heat to simmer. Tear basil and add to the pot, reserving a few leaves for garnish. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender (or you can puree in batches using a regular blender), puree until smooth. Add the cream and simmer until warmed through. Be sure to not add the cream when the soup is boiling. Serve immediately topped with reserved basil and some fresh ground black pepper.

January 3, 2010

Sweet potato pie


Sweet potato pie with a slice on a serving plate.

This sweet potato pie recipe was one of my first blog posts. My husband wanted a sweet potato pie for his birthday, so I took the opportunity to update this post and the photographs. 

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I know I'm still not amazing at posts and photography, but I'm certainly better than where I was with this post originally (see below for the original photo). I'm going to try harder to do this for more of my older posts.

I didn't have sweet potato pie until I was a teenager when someone gave it to my family as a gift around Thanksgiving. I thought it was so weird, until I tasted it and was completely blown away by how delicious it was. My mom and I still remember that as it was her first taste of sweet potato pie, too. It's somewhat similar in concept to a pumpkin pie, but has it's own sweeter flavor that I really love. Sweet potato pie is perfect for Thanksgiving and through all of fall and winter.

Love this Sweet Potato Pie? Check out all my other pie recipes!

Fnished sweet potato pie.