Cooking from "Simple Thai Food" by Leela Punyaratabandhu

(spinning this off from the Fish Sauce thread where everyone was me-too-ing about buying it)

I wondered initially why I bought this: after all, many of the recipes are provided on the http://www.shesimmers.com website, and often with more detail, videos, and history of the dish. But I'm glad I did: It's a beautiful book, as all the 10 Speed Press cookbooks I've seen have been (no dust jacket, but high quality graphics on the cover). It's got recipes for things that Thompson's masterwork doesn't, such as Pad Si Ew (spelled Phat Si-Io - Rice Noodles with Chicken and Chinese Broccoli).

The contents are divided into "Noshes and Nibbles," "Rice Accompaniments" (which includes salads, curries, soups as well as stir- and deep-fried dishes), "One Plate Meals" (noodles and rice-based dishes), "Sweets" and "Basic Recipes and Preparations." There's 20 pages of glossary beyond that, and some other reference stuff. Generally, there's a full-page photo for every three recipes, making it a very food-porny book (no-bake almond cookies are particularly seductive looking, as are the son-in-law eggs which I may try to turn into a deviled egg dish).

But last night was Panang (Phanaeng) Curry, based on what I had on hand. The book (p107) makes it with kabocha squash, which I did not have, but I had a bag of random root veg in the freezer that I'd cut up for a dish I did last winter, and while not as sweet I balanced them with a little red bell pepper, which worked quite nicely. If you scoop the creamier parts of a can of coconut milk off the top, you've got pretty much what you need in coconut cream, leaving the rest for the needed milk in the recipe. Red Curry Paste was also from the same party, and had been sitting in my fridge probably a bit too long, so it was enhanced with a couple chiles and slices of galangal I stash in my freezer. Fish sauce, brown sugar, a little broth, a chile, and kafir lime leaves from my best xmas gift ever are all that's needed (oh, and chicken, duh).

It came out delicious, similar in flavor profile, sweet-vs-spice, and richness to what you'd get in most restaurant versions. I would like to try it again with a winter squash, as that sounds like an excellent winter dish. Overall, very easy to make, with good results. The similar recipe in Thompson is more complex, a lot more coconut cream, with a panang-specific paste including peanuts (which I didn't miss at all in Leela's version), and more steps including a long braise (of beef), while this one merely just cooks the chicken through.

This is a recipe I'll use frequently due to its ease (need to make another batch of red curry paste first), and I'm looking forward to exploring the book some more. Herb-baked cashews may be made this weekend for a get-together on Saturday.

Another dish tried: Crying Tiger Steak. Basically a salsa and a grilled steak (marinated in soy, oyster sauce, white pepper and oil), accompanied by rice and salady things. Outstanding. Not as light and bright (due to the rice) as a larb or nuea nam tok, but definitely a keeper.

The salsa is charred tomatoes, garlic and shallot, cilantro (both regular and sawtooth, which I didn't have), lime, fish sauce, chile flakes and brown sugar. If not for the fish sauce, you'd think it was a basic Mexican salsa (except that the chiles weren't toasted and soaked). One taste and you know it's Thai, with that sweet, heat, salt, sour and funk.

I know I've had dishes labeled Tiger Cry at Thai restos, but I thought they were stir-fries, not grilled meats. I made a full batch of the sauce with a smaller dose of steak for the two of us, so now I've got a great condiment in the fridge.

Now I need to engineer Thai-cos: Flour tortillas, grilled meat, the salsa... what else? There really isn't the creamy cheese/guac element to Thai foods except for curries.

Now I need to engineer Thai-cos: Flour tortillas, grilled meat, the salsa... what else? There really isn't the creamy cheese/guac element to Thai foods except for curries.

I do this frequently. I chop the grilled meat (usually pork t-loin or chicken) and roll it up with chopped romaine, cilantro, mint, and a Thai cucumber salad, sans the sugar. You really don't need anything else. Leela's condiment will work very nicely with this combination.

Tried another dish, Clams with Egg Noodles, Chile Jam and Basil, but less than satisfied.

Loved the flavors, intensely spicy and with the fish sauce and nam prik pao it definitely brings da noise and da funk.
But it came out very watery. At the very least it probably needs cornstarch in the sauce, or something else to give it some body.

I did her squash curry with the actual squash she recommends (thank you Atwater Market, Montréal!),and it was an amazing taste+texture revelation.

Geo

JoelF wrote:Tried another dish, Clams with Egg Noodles, Chile Jam and Basil, but less than satisfied.

Loved the flavors, intensely spicy and with the fish sauce and nam prik pao it definitely brings da noise and da funk.
But it came out very watery. At the very least it probably needs cornstarch in the sauce, or something else to give it some body.

From my interactions with her on line, she is terrific about getting and giving feedback--I'd recommend mentioning it and asking if she has a suggestion for an improvement. First editions sometimes need those contributions.

JoelF wrote:Tried another dish, Clams with Egg Noodles, Chile Jam and Basil, but less than satisfied.

Loved the flavors, intensely spicy and with the fish sauce and nam prik pao it definitely brings da noise and da funk.
But it came out very watery. At the very least it probably needs cornstarch in the sauce, or something else to give it some body.

I haven't tried that dish, but it looks like there's a fair amount of liquid in the picture. I'm personally never a fan of cornstarch in such dishes. You might wish to strain out all of the non-liquid ingredients when it's about finished and either: 1) further reduce the liquid (perhaps adding water or sodium-free clam/fish stock if needed to address salt content, or 2) after straining, just don't incorporate all of the sauce . . . save it for another use.

BR wrote:

JoelF wrote:Tried another dish, Clams with Egg Noodles, Chile Jam and Basil, but less than satisfied.

Loved the flavors, intensely spicy and with the fish sauce and nam prik pao it definitely brings da noise and da funk.
But it came out very watery. At the very least it probably needs cornstarch in the sauce, or something else to give it some body.

I haven't tried that dish, but it looks like there's a fair amount of liquid in the picture. I'm personally never a fan of cornstarch in such dishes. You might wish to strain out all of the non-liquid ingredients when it's about finished and either: 1) further reduce the liquid (perhaps adding water or sodium-free clam/fish stock if needed to address salt content, or 2) after straining, just don't incorporate all of the sauce . . . save it for another use.

I'd tweeted my blog post, and she already responded to it, with that suggestion.
I actually like the quantity of sauce, it's just the lack of clinginess I'm missing. A chewier noodle, tossed/sauteed with the sauce, may be all the dish needs.

I love that she's so great about responding--it's like having a live action cookbook!

My copy arrived today. I can't wait to try some of the recipes.

JoelF wrote:

BR wrote:

JoelF wrote:Tried another dish, Clams with Egg Noodles, Chile Jam and Basil, but less than satisfied.

Loved the flavors, intensely spicy and with the fish sauce and nam prik pao it definitely brings da noise and da funk.
But it came out very watery. At the very least it probably needs cornstarch in the sauce, or something else to give it some body.

I haven't tried that dish, but it looks like there's a fair amount of liquid in the picture. I'm personally never a fan of cornstarch in such dishes. You might wish to strain out all of the non-liquid ingredients when it's about finished and either: 1) further reduce the liquid (perhaps adding water or sodium-free clam/fish stock if needed to address salt content, or 2) after straining, just don't incorporate all of the sauce . . . save it for another use.

I'd tweeted my blog post, and she already responded to it, with that suggestion.
I actually like the quantity of sauce, it's just the lack of clinginess I'm missing. A chewier noodle, tossed/sauteed with the sauce, may be all the dish needs.

I find that the lack of cling is always an issue when the noodles are not tossed with the rest of the dish towards the end of cooking . . . maybe that solves the problem (along with possibly reducing the sauce just a bit.

Jewel had pre-peeled shrimp on sale, so I decided on Pad Thai (after thinking about aglio e olio pasta).
For years I've been using a photocopied recipe -- it came from my mother, I don't remember what book it was from. But I thought I'd try the @shesimmers version.

I liked the flavors, and the process is better detailed, I feel like overall it worked better... but something seemed a little weak. I went back and compared the recipes. Down the line, most things were the same except Simple Thai Food called for half as much noodles, and used tamarind paste where the old recipe uses vinegar and paprika. The sourness is probably what I'm lacking: The tamarind I used is from a jar of SWAD Tamarind Concentrate, and I didn't find it especially sour. Perhaps I just didn't use enough -- it's more liquid than tamarind paste would be. Definitely worth trying again, and some lime juice brought it just about to the right spot.

One thing I would skip on this version is the dried shrimp, unless I find much smaller ones, or chop them first. The fishiness isn't a problem, but texturally they're pretty nasty, sort of leathery and hard without being crisp. Perhaps frying them separate from the shallot, garlic, preserved radish and tofu, instead of all at once. Interestingly, the online version of the recipe includes both shrimp paste and dried shrimp. Perhaps I'll try the shrimp paste instead.

SheSimmers has been posting about Fried Dace with salted black beans. Typically with jasmine rice or congee, I made the following recipe she posted for dinner tonight. #countmeafan #lowslowbbq #homecooking
Cult of the Dace




Fried Dace, count me a Fan!

On a bit of a @SheSimmers for dinner kick. tonight, Chrysanthemum with Ground Pork #shesimmers #lowslowbbq #countmeafan #homecooking


SheSimmers, count me a fan!