Laab Gai for your favorite Guy or Gal

This recipe I've probably talked about many times but for those of you who may be unfamiliar it is a Thai spicy minced chicken salad that is usually served warm or cold with lettuce or cabbage. It's a go-to any time our family is testing the Thai waters at a new restaurant, along with the red curry, of course. And perhaps a papaya salad. If the restaurant makes tod mun (fish cakes) then we at least have a clue that it is authentic, at the very least.

One of the very first meals I ever made for Tsu when we first started dating was this. I made laab, papaya salad and red curry chicken, along with spicy nam prik just to show off a little. I mean, why not? If you can do it, flaunt it. He never misses an opportunity to blow my mind with his cooking and I'm so glad I opted to do the same the first time I ever cooked for him. 

Pretty sure it sealed the deal. lol! He was so impressed that I think it sparked an instant rekindling of his own food passions at a time when we were both feeling pretty low from our respective divorces. 

If you don't think food can bring some magic... you best think again. It became our love language before we knew like we knew we were a match made in Heaven. 

So when it came time for his birthday extravaganza this year, this was the request he made. He wanted exactly the same thing and I was tickled to oblige.

If you are in a pinch for time, any weeknight, this could be an easy, quick meal to prepare or even prepare a day ahead if you know your week is a bit tight. He asked me for a double batch and I ended up make nearly 3 lbs of laab. Hilarious, really, but it is an excellent salad served either warm or cold and we quite like it served chilled. Leftovers have time to meld and the flavors just become really wonderful.

Let's get to the magic, shall we? 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of minced meat of your choice (we like pork or chicken but beef is great, too)
• Juice of fresh lime
• Fish sauce
• 1/3 c of minced fresh mint leaves
• 1/3 c of minced fresh cilantro
• 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
• Dried chili flakes, to taste
• Toasted rice powder (It's just like it sounds, toasted Jasmine rice in a pan until just barely starting to color, put in a mini food processor and ground very finely. It's traditional and important and easy to make yourself if you can't find it or order it online.)
• Finely minced lemongrass (this is optional but it does add something special just make sure its the base of the stalk and as fine as you can slice or dice it)
• Cabbage wedges or lettuce of your choice

Magic sauce:

I call it magic because it is balanced and uses equal parts of these:

• Fish sauce
• Water
• Fresh lime juice

1. Add your minced meat to a cold pan and put the heat on medium low. You can raise the heat a bit later if you want but you are not browning the meat, you are simmering it gently in its own liquid along with the magic sauce below that creates its base flavor profile, which is salty, citrusy, but still very balanced and not overpowering. Unless you love it like that? And in that case, go nuts.
2. Add equal parts of magic sauce. This is your base liquid. Don't worry about too much liquid, initially. It's better to have too much than not enough as we don't want the meat to brown or to stick to the pan so use that as your gage. I start with 2 tbsp if each and continue to add more so the meat doesn't stick or overbrown. For 1 lb of ground meat, you may use 4 tbsp of each. I had 3 lbs of meat this time and just went with a 1/4 c of fish sauce, lime juice and water and that ended up being too much liquid once the meat cooked down. But not to worry if that's the case for you, too.
3. Gently simmer the meat until fully cooked. We want a little sauce, but not too much so you can play with this as you learn. Strain off excess liquid and reserve it until you get it how you like. I reserve it in case I strain off too much. You want it to be loose in the sauce but not swimming in it like mine was, but like I said above, better to have too much than too little. We don't want the meat to fry or stick to the pan.
4. Let your meat cool down quite a bit, strain off excess liquid if you haven't already, then really just toss in all the rest of your fresh ingredients and mix in well. I leave the chili flakes for last as this is entirely subjective. My household consumes so much chili that we make our own chili flakes. That's a recipe for another time but you can use dried pepper flakes like you would for pasta or pizza. Korean chili powder is also an alternative as it's not too hot but gives a good flavor as well if you don't enjoy the spicy heat like we do.
5. Serve immediately or you can refrigerate and serve it chilled with your favorite greens. I serve this family style with wedges of cabbage or iceberg because we like to eat it like lettuce cups or wraps.

We usually also make sticky rice or jasmine rice because that is traditional. But if you aren't into rice, it doesn't need it.

Ga Ga for Tom Kha Gai - Chicken and Coconut Milk Soup Soup

Tom Kha, one of my husband's long running specialties and a favorite disguise for his demure but deadly chili peppers, has long been one of my all time favorites. His generous addition of miniature firecrackers from our garden, tiny chilis meant to humble even the most boastful of our by now, well-prepared friends and family, has become a meal of worship converting even the most ethnically inexperienced among them. Amazingly enough, my Dad's deadly allergy to all things coconut magically disappeared as he devoured two heaping bowls right in front of my eyes. While he can't be fooled by my sister's cauliflower mashed potatoes (or he was until he was told it was cauliflower), he doesn't give one whit that the "deadly" coconut takes the place of honor in this masterpiece.

Luscious is about the only way I can describe it. It also has the four elements of good cooking: sweet, sour, savory and spicy. But it has something else to it's credit, it's creamy-dreamy. I've long been a fan of coconut milk since it's the base of most Thai curries. Here, however, it takes center stage and turns an ordinary chicken soup into a soup fit for, well, Dads. In addition to this sometimes risky feat, it can be made with ordinary canned chicken or vegetable broth. That's right, you heard me. I've saved the best for last because it truly is one of the quickest soups to make, even if you choose to make your broth from scratch. Hubby can reproduce this soup in a matter of minutes, literally, and it only gets better as the flavors have time to meld. More than a few rough days have been spirited away with this wonderfully soothing soup and it is worthy of a place of honor in your soup repertoire.

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 10 kaffir lime leaves, shredded or whole
• 1 lemon grass stalk, sliced lengthwise and cut in 3-4" pieces
• 2 chunks of galangal (roughly the size of a golfball), sliced thinly
• 8 tablespoons fish sauce
• 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 lb chicken breast cut into strips or bite sized pieces
• 2 14 oz. cans of coconut milk, recommended brand
• 2 12 oz cans of large straw mushroom, drained
• Small red dry Thai chili peppers, slightly crushed (to taste)

Garnish

• Cilantro leaves, chopped

1. Make coconut soup base. In a stockpot, heat the chicken broth on medium high heat. Add the lime leaves, lemon grass, galangal, fish sauce, and lime juice. Stir thoroughly, bring to a boil and add the chicken and coconut milk. Bring back to the boil, then immediately lower the heat to keep it simmering and cook for about 2 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the drained mushrooms to the soup just before serving. They are already cooked so only need to heat through. If you don't like 'em, leave 'em out.
   
2. Garnish. Garnish with cilantro and chilis, to taste. I love dried chilis in this recipe because they rehydrate and absorb so much coconut flavor that they really are lovely little zingers if allowed time to mellow with the soup.
   
3. Serve. We serve this soup bowled-up over jasmine rice but it can also be served family style at the table, allowing for each guest to serve him or herself rice, if they choose. An alternative to serving with rice would be to serve it with your favorite noodles instead.

***Note: Dried galangal is a great substitute for fresh but chances are good finding either could be a challenge and if you find one, you'll tend to find both. Dried galangal is an excellent staple to have on hand for when you need it and I quite like the more subtle flavor, which is a cross between a lovely, delicate ginger and citrus flowers. I believe it to be the real workhorse of the spices we use for this soup and together, with the lime leaves, brings a flavor combination that is hard to beat. It stores in an airtight container almost indefinitely and you can order it online.

One more thing, if you have leftover soup base, it makes an excellent curry sauce the following night. It's almost a given in my house that when we have hubby's Tom Kha, the following night will see heaping hot bowls laden with a luscious chicken or seafood curry and if I'm not in the mood to eat curry the next night, I will at least spend the 10 minutes to make the curry sauce and freeze it for later. Half the time, though, Tom Kha never makes it to Round 2...

Tom Yum Soup-So Yum, You Won't Believe You Made It

When most people think of Thai starters or soups, this sweet and sour medley almost always comes to mind and is found on virtually any Thai menu the world over. Being a creature of habit and as such, prone to ordering the same beloved favorites, I found myself wondering whether I needed to include this worldwide favorite if I myself, wasn't particularly in love with it.

A few nights ago I realized that I wasn't exactly in love with Tom Yum soup because admittedly, I couldn't do it well. Also, it had been quite some time since I had ventured to try this one myself and I was feeling my confidence waiver. Knowing full well that I can't afford a ghost writer, I decided to buck up and try it again after Ketsana reminded me during one of our soup sessions that I already knew what to do. "What's so hard about adding Tom Yum paste to chicken broth?" she teases. "If you know chicken broth, you know Tom Yum soup." With that, she had my full attention and delivered yet another epiphany. Unbelievable. Notably, I'm a little shocked that I couldn't have guessed this tiny, yet monumental detail. It's all over my face. "It's not rocket science," she chuckles, "and yes, I buy it in a jar, too much trouble to make." I'm skeptical but intrigued and determined to try again. Fully armed with my newfound confidence and secret weapon: Tom Yum paste, I endeavor to conquer this soup.

Knowing what I know now, to exclude Tom Yum from our list of revered lickety split soups would be tantamount to kicking Bart Simpson out of the family. And after my recent experience in which I truly did victory laps around kitchen stadium (ok, maybe just a few high-fives), I can honestly say that I was blown away by how good this soup turned out. It was a true slurping concert. How could I have missed a recipe so easy and forgiving and best of all, a true candidate for the Valhalla of Leftovers? An equivalent to southern gumbo, this soup has the capacity to be all things to many and really can be a meal in and of itself, with whatever you may have on hand. Not to mention, it has the perfect balance of the sacred four virtues of cooking: Sweet, Sour, Spicy and Savory. How can one possibly go wrong?

Soup
4 c. chicken broth
2 tbsp Tom Yum paste (recommend brand Por Kwan-Hot and Sour Paste)
1/2 lb Rice Vermicelli Noodles, uncooked
1/2 lb cooked chicken
1/2 lb cooked crab or imitation crab/haddock
1 c. carrots, sliced
1 c. frozen or fresh Chinese cabbage, chopped

Garnish
Green onions, julienned
Cilantro, chopped

1. Heat broth. Bring broth to a boil in a medium stockpot over high heat. Once it comes to boil, lower the heat to medium-high and continue to simmer, lowering the heat if it's boiling too vigorously. Add Tom Yum paste, stirring well to disolve and incorporate into the broth. When the broth is ready for the next step, you will see the oil of the paste separate or pool on the top of the broth. This is an ideal indicator that you are ready for the remaining ingredients and is a good sign the paste has been incorporated well. Don't worry about skimming off the oil as it does add to the flavor and won't be worth the effort to remove. This is the Tom Yum base for our soup.
2. Add noodles. Add noodles to the Tom Yum base and cook for 6-7 minutes or according to the directions on the package. If you can't read Thai, that's understandable. However, it's easy to know when it's done by lifting out a noodle and tasting it for doneness, just like you do with other pastas. It doesn't take more than ten minutes so don't boil the life out of the noodles before checking their readiness.
3. Add the rest. Add the carrots, cabbage, chicken and crab. Heat through for 1-2 more minutes. I slice carrots rather thinly so they don't require a very long cooking time. Another way to ensure carrots cook quickly is to julienne them or have them pre-cooked and ready to add at the last minute before serving. I think carrot done-ness is a rather personal issue, just like how much curry or tom yum paste to add. Try this way first and then experiment to see what works best for you.
4. Ladle, garnish and serve. Again, as with all soups, you can ladle and serve this soup family style or already bowled-up. It's really a matter of personal choice and whether you want to impress your friends and family with a little dinner time theatrics. To keep it simple, just ladle everything into serving bowls and garnish.

Note: Tom Yum paste and amounts to use, as I mentioned before, is a relatively subjective topic, like the done-ness of veggies, say. I usually start with the recommended measures and then, as is my nature, continue to add and taste until it is just right for me. It's hard to anticipate and cook for everyone else's taste so start by just trying to please your own palate. In time, you'll know whether you're off your culinary rocker and more importantly, how to cater to those picky eaters you cook for on occasion. Just don't forget to please your own tastebuds for this, dear reader, is how you can become addicted to your own culinary explorations.

By the way, this dish is so quick and easy that it can be completed, broth to cloth, in under 30 minutes. One really has no excuse now not to try.