Category Archives: Food

Kinako Cerve Katz – きなこCerveכץ

This recipe is for an amalgam hot beverage recipe.
Fresh roast some soybeans as you would coffee. I use a heat gun in an uncoated tin can stirring with a very long implement.
I roast the bean meat to a traditional US light roasted color. I ignore the color of the skins.
Allow them to cool and grind them very fine in a coffee grinder. I do not use a bur mill, but one of those cheapo high speed mills I add one cardomom pod to about a 1/4 cup of the beans.

Using a #5 Cerve pot (AKA Turkish/Greek/Arabic/Israeli coffee pot) heat some water with 2 teaspoons of sugar.
When near boiling add 1.5 Tablespoons of fine ground kinako.
Bring to a boil and allow to froth up.
Let it sit 20 seconds and froth it up again.
You can do this a third time.
The Kinako settles more quickly than coffee so wait ten seconds and pour. Reserve some foam for each cup.
Top this off with coconut milk. I do not know if it is good with cream but most things are. It would be fine with me if you used butter.
The recipe is also good with a bit of cocoa added.

Tom Yum Kung ต้มยำกุ้ง

This is the Thai national dish. When you say something is Tom Yum Kung, you are saying that it is authentically Thai.  Its like saying that something is “as American as apple pie”. The Asian Monetary Crisis of 1997 which seemed to start in Thailand is often referred to as “Tom Yum Kung”.

This is the start of a post on a recipe for Tom Yum Kung. My sources are memory, Jennifer Brennan’s (Hot Pink) Original Thai Cookbook and Hot Thai Kitchens youtube video https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/tom-yum-goong/ and Thai Food Master https://www.thaifoodmaster.com/thai_food_recipes/thai_soup_recipes/320
My memories are scattered but as always include Umdang Ceramics and a certain little whole in the wall place in Korat that kept upping the peppers every time we went there.

This page says to add 4 shallots https://www.thaifoodmaster.com/thai_food_recipes/thai_soup_recipes/320 This page also says to fry prawn brains in oil until golden. They add them late in the process to the soup and it adds an orange color. I will probably get headless shrimp so no prawn brains.
I have had shallots in Tom Yum but have never included them in my recipe. I am gonna try some this time.
I really like the oil that has had shrimp shells fried in it so  I am going to use that part of the Hot Pink cook book.

2T vege oil I like the way it looks if it goes red.
8 cups quality chicken stock using skin and feet if possible
1.5t salt
1″ of galangal fresh from my garden sliced in rounds.
3 stalks lemon grass 1″ length. from my garden, bruise before cutting.
Kaffir Lime leaf 4 slivered from my garden
1/4 t kaffir zest but other limes OK from my garden, maybe fresh
2 green chili, serrano, or one polano slivered (bruise first). I will  throw in a few pequins.
4 shallots
2 pounds shrimp peel de-vein and reserve the shells.
1 slivered red chili slivered (bruise first)
2 limes juiced.
1T Fish Sauce. Louis uses a tad of shrimp paste.
2 T coriander leaves chopped coarse
3 green onions chopped coarse from my garden
mushrooms, I am going shitake this time I think.
a small amount of vegetable matter but this soup traditionally has little to none. I am not sure what, but maybe a few bits of slivered root veges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXaaZiMgvgI Hot Thai Kitchen says maybe to add some Nam Prik Phao it adds some nice color. I may put in some powdered dry  ancho chili early with the shrimp shells.

Fry shells in oil , add stock, galangal, leaf and rind of kaffir.  green chilli shallots. simmer the stock.
Bring to a boil add veges, mushrooms first, then shrimp. Slightly undercook the shrimp. Remove from heat add lime juice fish sauce sugar coriander and green onion. Check for salt, sugar, pepper, fish sauce.  serve. Guests that are late get it cold. Do not bring this back to a boil.

 

น้ำบูดูและข้าวยำปักษ์ใต้ Nam Bu Du and Kao Yam (Rice Salad and Southern Fish Sauce)

I am working on making KaoYam with Nam Bu Du น้ำบูดู a dish from the south of Thailand, really from Malaysia. I am going to at least start with the recipe on this page.
She Simmers Thai Cooking KaoYam
I have been told by an old friend HS9DEK with a glorious voice and welcoming warm personality that I should use Thai Bu Du sauce. I have not spoken with him for most of a year. Catching him online was great.
A friend gave me a small amount of homemade Bu Du….

WoodKilnCoffee

Wood kiln brew recipe

First off if you don’t drink coffee or don’t fire with wood, don’t read this ceramic recipe if you don’t want to.

Wood kiln coffee cannot be wimpy. Drink water if thats what you need, but drink COFFEE when its what you need. Good coffee needs to be stiffly mixed. You need a thick unctuous brew. If you are going to do some sort of drip stuff, you need more grounds than water. If you are doing French Press you need too grind too fine and then press too hard. With French Press for wood kilns you need a large proportion of the grounds to blow by the filter

Cowboy coffee is fine. You can even do the thing with the egg shells if you don’t know how to filter with your teeth. It is especially fine if you grind the coffee fine. But good wood kiln coffee is done Eastern Mediterainian , ArabeoIsraeliTurkishGreekSerbiaCroationSorryIfILeftYouOutCoffee, thick, sweet, stand up and chew, coffee.

Here is my recipe.

Take a “six” pot, if you fire a large anagama with more than four side stokes use 12 and double the recipe, pots for this have numbers. If you don’t have a six pot it is OK to use a can from pork and beans. Eat the beans first. Rinse the can but do not wash it.. You can fashion a handle out of the lid if you don’t cut it all the way off, but it is too short and hard to use, you will burn your fingers and you need them tonight. I use small vice grips.

For wood kilns you want African Cardamom if you use cardamom. Its smoke dried. One pod is enough for several pots. I grind it with the coffee. Asian stores often have good deals on African Cardamom.

Grind the coffee as fine as you can get it. You can do this in a ceramic mortar with a wooden pestle or you can use your Turkish Grinder or even a Krups. Fine, 80 mesh is not quite fine enough. Don’t use a sieve.

Fill the pot up to just under the narrowest part of the neck with water. It can be hard water, it can be soft, and it can be rain water. Add 1 to 2 TABLESPOONS of sugar. Honey is OK, corn syrup will work. Don’t use any molasses unless you feel way way south of the Mason Dixon line and want to show it.
Heat the water to near boiling in one of the air passages of your kiln or over a side stoking port. Don’t pull coals out of your kiln for this, you won’t get enough woodash in your coffee this way. Don’t fake it by mixing woodash in, are you crazy? Woodash contains lye.

Take the pot off the heat. Add 3 T of coffee powder. Stir it in or not depending on your style. Do not get picky about it, you are firing a wood kiln. Set the pot in the heat again. When it boils up near the rim take it off and let it cool about 30 seconds. I am a barbarian so I do this boil up three times for wood firings.

If this were some fancy setting I would knock the side of the pot with a spoon a few times and let it settle. Its not that kind of setting, I just pour the ambrosia. If you are looking for caravan style add some yak butter. If you don’t have any yak butter a little salt and a little cow butter will do. It is one place where “sweet cream” butter is not wanted.

Don’t forget to stoke the kiln. Drink it. The grounds go into the stoking port.

Bai Krapow

Might have to cook this: https://www.khiewchanta.com/… or maybe this: https://shesimmers.com/…
Pork & Crunchy Basil ( Yum Mu Sam Chan Grapow Grob ) (Appon’s Thai Food Recipes)
https://www.khiewchanta.com
A typical gop-gam dish to eat as a snack or with alcoholic drinks. This one is f…See More
2 minutes ago · Like · Remove Preview
Louis Katz https://www.epicurious.com/…
Pad Prik Bai Kaprow Stir Fry with Basil Recipe by elaurance | Epicurious.com
https://www.epicurious.com
Find the recipe for PAD PRIK BAI KAPROW – STIR FRY WITH BASIL and other chicken recipes at Epicurious.com
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gai-Pad-Bai-Gaprow-14425

Green Curry Paste เครื่องแกงเขียวหวาน and Curry และแกง

Sweet Green CurryI am getting ready to make some Green Curry Paste แกงเขียวหวาน . I do not have much galanga to harvest but might harvest it all and use it up. After I return from Thailand maybe I can get some fresh from Houston. Making your own curry paste is not something you should do at the last minute. It is very time consuming. In a mortar it requires lots of work. Start it no later than noon the day you are serving. Generally I try and make it the day before. I store it tightly sealed in the fridge. It is great for a few weeks, after a few months it is no better than the store bought paste. The more ingredients that you can get fresh, the better, but it could be made from dry except for the basil and peppers.
The recipe I have been using for years is:

  • 3 pieces dry galanga or equivalent Fresh or frozen (3 inches??) ข่า
  • 1 teaspoon dry lesser ginger กระชาย (Also available frozen)
  • 2 corriander roots รากผักชี (cilantro)  Sometimes you can by fresh cilantro with roots attached
  • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds เมล็ดยี่หร่า (this really adds character to this)
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds เมล็ดผักชี
  • 4 whole cloves กานพลู
  • 1 nutmeg pod ลูกจันทน์เทศ (everyone should buy nutmeg whole and grate it when needed)
  • 2 stalks lemon grass minced as fine as you can.  ตะไคร้
  • 12 black pepper corns พริกไทย (unless you have fresh)
  • 2 T shallots หอม
  • 2 T garlic กระเทียม
  • 1 t shrimp paste กะปิ (keeps years out of the fridge)
  • 1 t kaffir lime zest ผิวมะกรูด (freezes well, you can sub regular lime zest)
  • 8 whole green serrano chillies พริก เขียว (If you want less heat substitute a strong flavored but less hot chilli like mild poblano, but it takes a little more to get the flavor.)
  • 4 t vegetable oil น้ำมัน (this can be coconut, olive or whatever) Don’t worry about the taste, its gonna be covered.
  • I hav  in the past added basil to the paste but put it into the curry. It still needs fresh basil leaves at the end. I would leave this out. 1/2 Cup fresh basil leaves โหระพ
  • also some recipes call for fresh coriander ( why not) 1/4 cup ผักชี
  • 1t salt (OK to omit if you are going to use this fresh, if you are going to store this, include it)

The best way to get this all into a fine paste seems to be to:

  • Break up the nutmeg into small chunks, and if dry the break the galanga into pieces first.
  • Take the dry stuff and grind it in a blender, coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.
  • Peel the outside tougher green leaves off the lemon grass. As a group tie them in a big knot and reserve for Tom Yum stock if you are making it or discard, if you use outside leaves your paste will be hairy. Cut the lemongrass across the grain very VERY finely. Then chop. Do the same if using fresh galanga or frozen. If you do not get it fine enough your paste will be hairy.
  • If the lime zest is fresh, chop it.
  • Chop the peppers and any other fresh ingredients (lemon grass, galanga, lime zest) and grind or pound until smooth.
  • blend and/or pound until smooth. Its OK to add a little extra oil, but no water unless you are not keeping some of the paste.
  • After all the fresh ingredients are added add the dry ones and blend until homogenious

Sweet Green Curry with Chicken

  • 3 pounds chicken cut into chunks. Legs should be cut through the bone.
  • 3-4 cups coconut milk (make sure it is NOT sweetened)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil (other oil may be substituted)
  • 2 T fish sauce
  • 3 slices Galangal
  • 3 T green curry paste approximately
  •  a few basil leaves if using the above paste, otherwise 1/2 cup
  • 6 fresh Kaffir Lime leaves or other citrus leaves, frozen or dried are OK
  • 1-2 cups pea eggplants (one small purple eggplant cut or some Thai eggplant are OK too). I have been using Tomatillo in this because they are good, down here in Texas they are cheap, and they look right. มะเขือพวง
  • 6 Serrano peppers

Boil the chicken, 2 cups coconut milk, fish sauce and galangal until the meat is tender. Remove the meat. Add the oil. Boil down until the liquid thickens, add the curry paste (blend into some liquid) and cook while stirring 5 minutes. Pour in remaining coconut milk (and purple eggplant if you are using them) and return to boil. reduce heat and simmer 5 more minutes. Add basil (reserve a few for garni), citrus leaves, pea or Thai eggplant and chili peppers. Increase heat and bring to low boil for 5 minutes. Garnish with Basil and serve over rice.

 

 

 

Miang Kam

Gail’s Miang Kam เมี่ยงคำ

This is a fun appetizer. I think it should be sold in restaurants on a tray. The sauce can be made in advance and most of the other ingredients can be prepped ahead too.
Sauce

  • 1/4 cup ground dried shrimp กุ้งแห้ง
  • 1/2 -1 cup sugar น้ำตาล
  • 1/4 cup roasted grated coconut meat (can be roasted in a dry cast iron skillet on a burner)มะพร้าวเผา
  • 2 T fish sauce น้ำปลา
  • 1/2 cup water น้ำ
  • 1 teaspoon shrimp paste กะปิ

Roast coconut meat, add sugar until dissolved add fish sauce and shrimp paste and water cook 1 or 2 min., cool.

  • 1 cup shredded coconut ( roast to bring out flavor) มะพร้าว
  • 1/4 cup shallot diced หอม
  • 1/4 cup small diced ginger ขิง
  • 1/4/cup peanuts roasted no salt ถั่วลิสง
  • 1/4 cup dried shrimp (not fresh) from asian gorcery กุ้งแห้ง
  • 1/4 cup small bits of lime with peel (1/4″x 1/4″x 1/4″) มะนาว
  • 1/4 cup small serrano chillies , seeded for the mild stomachs พริก
  • Lettuce leaves ใบ?? หรือ ใบผักกาด

Take the lettuce leaves and wilt them  by soaking in a strong warm brine. Rinse well.
Ito each leaf place a dollup of cool sauce a bit of Shallot, Ginger, 1 dried shrimp,1 peanut, 1 pit of lime a bit of coconut, 1/4 – 1 whole serrano chilli. roll up small enough to jam into your mouth in one bite.

Gaeng Mussaman

กำลังทำเครื่องแกงมัสมั่น มีข่าขมิ้นมะกรูดสดสด แต่มันฝรั่งกินไม่ได้ เป็นแพ้  จะทำ
มันเทศและหัวผักกาด
I am working on a meal, and am making Gaeng Mussaman แกงมัสมั่น . You can buy premixed curry paste and they make fine food. But, if I am going to go to the trouble of cooking, I am going to make it a real feed, fine food. My last shot at a meal like this included Gaeng Panaeng (the recipe for the paste is further down the blog). It was certainly one of the finest dishes I ever have made. I will vary from tradition and leave out the potatoes as my relationship with them is inverted. I was considering Taro as a substitute but am not because of oxalates. I don’t want any more kidney stones in my future. I am thinking about sweet potatoes and cooked daikon as substitues, I think I will use both.

Like the Panaeng I did my preliminary research on the web. I have fresh Kaffir Lime Skin, Turmeric, Bay Leaf, and Galanga. The turmeric galanga and kaffir lime are terrific. I favor complex recipes so I amalgamated a few to get to the recipe below. I also include lesser ginger everytime I use galangal. I made the start of the curry paste this evening. It is still without shallot cinnamon and hot pepper but is superb.

My two sources for the paste recipe are:

  1. https://honest-food.net/2012/03/15/thai-massaman-curry-with-venison/
  2. https://www.realthairecipes.com/recipes/massaman-curry/

I almost certainly fiddle with proportions as I make it depending and the taste of the peppers I use and freshness of the spices. As normal for me if the recipe calls for galanga I add a bit of lesser ginger.

  • 7-10 dried or fresh hot chiles, Thai, Serrano Piquin or combination
  • 6 cloves
  • 2-inch stick of cinnamon
  • Seeds from one black cardomom pod
  • 1 teaspoon corriander seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 4 bay leaves, crushed fine
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 8 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoon Kaffir Lime skin
  • 1/4 cup shallot minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced galangal,
  • 1 teaspoon lesser ginger if available.
  • 2-inch piece of fresh turmeric, or 2 teaspoons powdered
  • 1 lemongrass stalk, minced
  • 1 teaspoon shrimp paste

I am not sure if I will make the dish with poultry, beef, fish or seafood. I have had this curry paste with tofu before as well, and may leave out the shrimp paste and go vegan.  I will have to taste the paste and see.

Plants in the yard.

This is some of what I am growing in my yard. Lots of these were given to me by Thuy! Many Thanks.

  • Wild Hot PeppersIMG_0001
  • มะกรูด-Kaffir lime.  looks like a cross between ugly fruit and a lime. The leaf is used in many classic Thai dishes. The fruit is more fragrant than regular limes, but less juicy.

    Kaffir Lime

    Kaffir Lime

  • น้อยหน่า- Custard Apple aka soursop This is a SE Asian relative of the cherimoya and North American pawpaw.

    Custard Apple

    Custard Apple

  • ละมุดเม็กซิโก 1 ต้น ละมุดไทย 1ต้น Sapote aka Mamey 2 trees.  This one and its frontyard cousin both did not make it through the winter. Time to try again.

    Sapote

    Sapote

  • Amaranth. I am holding back on eating until I identify this as actual amaranth. (gone already)
  • มะม่วง ปลูกจากเมล็ดแบบลอตเตอรี่ .Mango Trees, multiple. These were planted from seed. I will be luck to see mangos from them. 7 come 11.

    Mango, Dragon fruit, Kale

    Mango, Dragon fruit, Kale

  • แก้วมังกร Dragon Fruit plants, multiple. I have two different starts. This is a succulent and seems easy to grow but hard to keep the squirrels away from.
    Dragon Fruit

    Dragon Fruit

    Mango, Dragon fruit, Kale

    Mango, Dragon fruit, Kale…Third year transplanted kale is dead.

  • ใบกระวาน Bay tree. I am told that this is a genuine Bay and not the Texas Bay tree. Its doing well. Galangal is doing well. Turmeric looks GREAT.

    Bay, Turmeric, Galangal, Rosemary,etc.

    Bay, Turmeric, Galangal, Rosemary,etc.

  • มะละกอ Papaya has seen better days.

    Papaya

    Papaya

  • Rosemary (in the Bay Tree photo above)
  • Sweet Basil.
  • โหระพา Thai Basil.(gone)
  • กะเพรา Holy Basil.Hybrid basil is everywhere.

    Holy Basil

    Holy Basil

  • มะเดื่อ-Fig  This needs more light. Probably have to trim back the prickly pear.
  • เงาะ-Rambutan seedlings. This would be great if they work. They are like big hairy lychee

    Rambutan, Tomato, and Butterfly bush

    Rambutan, Tomato, and Butterfly bush

  • สะระแหน่ Mint.Having trouble with the mint.(brown thumb syndrome)new plants
  • ตะไคร้ Lemon Grass.Planted from routed stock from the grocery. Needs bigger planting

    Lemongrass

    Lemongrass

  • ขมิ้น-Turmeric planted from roots from the grocery. This is doing GREAT this year and is crowding out my galanga. (bay tree photo above)
  • ข่า-Galangal. A relative of ginger like the turmeric above. Galangal AKA ka and laos is not doing that well. It will get its own pot. (bay tree photo above)
  • ส้ม-Orange. This tree came with the house and produces large oranges that taste a bit like navel oranges.

    Orange

    Orange

  • ส้มอื่น  Kumquat

    Kumquat

    Kumquat

  • Small sour oranges. These are useful. I threw one at Tegarden today. They replace limes sometimes. They also make great orangeaid. I try to get at least one into very batch of som tom.
  • ส้มโอ (คล้ายๆ) – Grapefruit This is a recent transplant and came with little root. It appears to have died. Since it was originally planted from seed we may have some luck if it comes up again from the root. Gone,, bad transplant.
  • Prickly pear cactus fruit and leaves. I have stopped eating these because of concerns over oxalic acid and kidney stones กระบองเพชร
  • มะขาม- Tamarind seedlings  in the ground. The seed pods are sour tasting and can be used in a variety of cooking or eaten a few at a time raw. Too much and จุดจุด.
  • Lychee seeds in soil. Did not make it.
  • Acorn (Live Oak) ลูกโอ๊ก Our live out seems to produce about 200# a year. I am told that Live Oak produce little tannin in the acorns. This year I hope to harvest and make something; soup?bread?pancakes?
  • celery . This may just be a replanted heart. It is developing a big root. I will have to read up and make sure celery root is actually celery root. died.
  • Loquat are small ละมุด sized fruit, but probably not related. They are very juicey and sweet but do not store. They require almost nothing to grow down here.

    Loquat

    Loquat

  • Texas Ebony. I am told that the seeds can be roasted to make a coffee substitute. It has no caffeine. I would verify this before trying it. It is a relative of the tamarind, mesquite and locust trees. It is a beautiful and very hard. Like other members of the family it is hard on saw blades. Benny is cultivating a Texas Ebony Bonzai.
  • ขนุน Jackfruit, I was given some seed by Sebastian. August 25, one  sprouted. I have two in the ground now and have given a few away. Jackfruit Carnitas (have not tried hem) .These jackfruit did not winter. I have one left in a pot.

  • Jackfruit

    Jackfruit