Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice

This dessert is a lot simpler to make than I thought. Who knew that there were specific rice grains meant to be sticky? (I didn't.) I think next time I make this, I'd want to add some toasted sesame seeds to the top as a garnish. That would give it a little extra something. As for the measurements in this recipe, the salt and sugar portions are guestimations. When I was making this, I kept adding pinches of salt/sugar and tasting the concoction til I got a good blend of salty/sweet. Keep in mind that you'll be pouring that coconut milk over the rice, so having a stronger flavor prior to the pour is good since the flavor will diminish slightly once the coconut milk is poured over the rice.

Ingredients:

1 mango, sliced

1 cup of sticky rice

1 cup of coconut milk

1 tsp of salt, to taste

2 tbsp of sugar, to taste

Instructions:

1. Soak the sticky rice in water for at least an hour. (My mom says this isn't really necessary, but we did it anyway since we were busy preparing the other dishes.)

2. Steam* the sticky rice for about 20-30 minutes until cooked. Water should just cover the sticky rice. When the rice is done, it should taste soft, and there shouldn't be any hard bits.

3. When the rice is almost done, prepare the coconut milk. In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk in a pot over medium heat. Stir constantly and let the coconut milk simmer, BUT NOT BOIL. Hard-boiled coconut milk will curdle. Add sugar and salt. Remove from the heat. Take the cooked sticky rice out of the steaming apparatus. Pour 3/4 of the hot coconut milk over the hot sticky rice. Let it sit for 5 min. (The sticky rice will absorb all of the coconut milk; it should be slightly mushy. Spoon the rest of the coconut milk on top of the rice at serving time.

4. Serve with sliced mango.

*Steaming: For me, I used a large wok, put a dim sum steamer at the bottom, and filled it with water til the water rose to seven-tenths the height of the steamer. If you don't have a steamer, you can use an overturned china bowl. I placed my bowl of rice on top of the steamer, and put a lid on the wok. You could also steam using the built-in steamer in most rice cookers or pasta pots.

Green Curry Chicken

For this one, you can add as many/few veggies as you want to it, but it still turns out great. Beware the type of green curry paste you buy; some brands are super spicy! My recommendation would be to taste a little pinch of it before you add any to the curry to determine how spicy it is, and then add the amount you're comfortable with to the pot. Unfortunately, I didn't take a look at the brand we used at our Dinner Meet, so I can't offer any specific brand recommendations there. However, if it does end up being too spicy, you can always add more coconut milk and sugar.

Ingredients:

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tbsp dark soy sauce (1 tbsp for the chicken at the beginning, the other for the curry)

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp cooking oil

2-3 tbsp green curry paste

2 green onions with tops, chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 can of sliced bamboo shoots (make sure to rinse them once you take them out of the can)

1 can of baby corn spears, cut in halves (make sure to rinse them once you take them out of the can)

1 can of pineapple chunks (we couldn't find any at the store, but I'm sure they'd be good in the curry)

1 bell pepper (ideally, half green, half red, but you can just use one whole one of any color)

2.5 cups coconut milk (have extra in hand in case you need to add more)

1 tbsp fish sauce

1-2 tbsp white sugar, to taste

Instructions:

1. Toss chicken first in 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, then in the flour, coating pieces evenly. Heat the oil in a large non-stick pot over medium high heat. Place chicken in the pot, cook and stir chicken until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken.

2. Reduce heat to medium and stir in curry paste. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then stir in green onions, garlic, and ginger; cook an additional 2 minutes. Return chicken to the pot, stirring to coat with the curry mixture. Stir the coconut milk, fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and sugar into the chicken-curry mixture. Add the vegetables (bamboo shoots, bell pepper, baby corn). Allow to simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes until the chicken is tender. Add pineapple chunks and let the pineapple heat up. Serve.

Pad See Ew

This is one of my favorite dishes to order whenever I go out to a Thai restaurant. Who knew it were so easy to prepare at home? I think the key to this one is a stove/wok that can get super hot so that you can get a nice charring on the noodles. The rest of the preparation is pretty easy; it's just a bunch of chopping, really. This serves 3-4 people.

Main ingredients:

1 lb. fresh flat rice noodles

2 eggs

9 oz. of Chinese broccoli (or as much as you want to have in the dish)

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

2-3 tbsp cooking oil

1 tbsp of thick soy sauce (or light if you have that; thick's for color)

1 tbsp of fish sauce (add more to taste if you wish)

1 tbsp of rice vinegar

Meat marinade ingredients:

0.75 lb of meat (chicken, pork, etc. - we used beef flap meat)

1/2 tbsp of fish sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp dark sesame oil

Instuctions:

1. Cut meat into bite-sized pieces. Combine in a bowl with marinade ingredients. Set aside.

2. Wash and chop up the Chinese broccoli. Separate the stem parts from the leafy portions as they’ll require different cooking times. The leafs can be cut into big pieces as they’ll cook down quite a bit.

3. Heat the wok on the highest heat setting. When the pan is hot, add the cooking oil. Throw in the broccoli stems and toss quickly in the hot pan for a few seconds. Add the leafy parts and the fish sauce. Toss again quickly until the leafy parts are wilted. Transfer the broccoli onto a plate and set aside.

4. Set the wok back on the burner and let it heat up. Add more cooking oil, making sure to coat the wok bottom completely (to avoid burning the noodles). Throw in the noodles; stir to ensure the noodles are coated with oil. Add the thick soy sauce and a few splashes of fish sauce. Continue stirring to distribute the sauce. Add more oil if the noodles get stuck to the pan. Spread the noodles around the wok to maximize contact with the heat and to get some charring on the noodles. When the noodles are done, transfer them to a plate and set aside. Scrape the wok to get all the burnt bits out.

5. Set the wok back on the burner and heat it up. Add some more cooking oil followed by the garlic. Stir it around for a few seconds before adding the marinated meat. Stir it around to distribute the heat, and when the meat is done cooking, push the meat to a side of the wok and crack the egg in the cleared space. Let the egg set for a few seconds and then stir everything together quickly. (You could also scramble the egg separately before adding everything back in for the next step.)

6. Toss the broccoli back into the wok. Stir quickly to mix, then throw in the cooked noodles. Mix well. Add fish sauce and/or soy sauce to taste. Add the tablespoon of rice vinegar and some pepper. Stir well. Serve.

Laab with Ground Pork

This dish was amazing! The tanginess of the lime juice, the fresh crunch of the shallots/herbs, and the slight sweetness from the fish sauce all combined perfectly into this simple recipe. Enjoy. :)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of toasted rice

1-2 shallots, thinly sliced (to taste)

1-2 limes, to taste

½ pound of ground pork (we used closer to 1 lb. of ground pork)

¼ tsp of ground dried chili pepper (we used red pepper flakes)

1 tbsp fish sauce

5 sprigs of cilantro, chopped

3 sprigs of mint (optional – we omitted this)

1 green onion, chopped/minced (optional – we added this)

Salt and pepper, to taste (we didn’t add pepper, but Trang thinks pepper would be a nice add)

Lettuce leaves, to eat with the laab

Instructions (for close to a pound of ground pork):

1. Squeeze lime juice onto the ground pork. Mix well and let it marinade for a few minutes until you are ready to cook it. For ½ pound of meat, you can probably do with the juice you get from moderate squeezing of one lime, but for a pound of meat, you probably want to squeeze the life out of it.

2. Make toasted rice! Here’s how: Heat up a pan/wok and add 2 tbsp of uncooked rice. Lower the heat and keep stirring to prevent burning. Some of the rice will pop, so don’t be surprised/alarmed. The rice is done when the grains turn a golden brown color. Remove the toasted rice from the pan, and pour it into a mortar. Twist the pestle against the rice to crush the grains into smaller pieces. Alternatively, you can do what Trang did and Magic Bullet it. :-)

3. Wash some lettuce leaves, and use either a salad spinner or some paper towels to dry the leaves. Set aside til you’re ready to serve the laab. (You can spoon the laab into the lettuce to munch together. Delish! But I’m getting ahead of myself…)

4. Heat up a pan on high heat until it is very hot. (The primary recipe that I am adapting this recipe from suggests using cast iron pans because they can heat up super hot, retain heat well, and heat evenly.) Add four tablespoons (or splashes, really) of water, and immediately add the marinated pork. Stir the pork around, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Keep stirring until the pork is well done.

5. Transfer the ground pork to a large mixing bowl. Add the fish sauce, green onion, shallot, cilantro, the rest of the lime juice, red pepper flakes and almost all of the toasted rice into the bowl. (Save the rest of the toasted rice for garnish.) Mix well and taste. This is where you can adjust ingredient quantities if it’s not to your liking. You should be able to taste the tartness from the lime juice and the fish sauce. You can add a bit of salt and pepper, to taste.

6. Put the mixed ingredients in a serving bowl, garnish with the optional ingredients and the rest of the toasted rice. Serve with the lettuce.