Turn up the heat and surrender to the mouth watering flavors of Thai cooking with this cracking menu that combines the best of sweet, sour, hot and salty.
Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad)
Serves 4; 20 minutes
Moderately easy
Som tam is a spicy salad made with unripe papaya. The key flavors come from the sour lime, hot chili, salty fish sauce and sweet palm sugar. Traditionally the ingredients are pounded in a mortar but you can process them separately and toss together in a salad bowl as well.
Dark green papaya 400g, shredded and chilled
Garlic cloves 6, peeled
Green bird’s eye chilies 6
Long beans 40g, chopped and blanched
Palm sugar 40g + extra to taste
Dark soya sauce 1tbsp
Lemon juice 2 tsp + extra to taste
Fish sauce 1 tbsp
Cherry tomatoes 8, slightly sour
Peanuts 30g, dry-roasted and crushed
Put the papaya in a colander and pass it through running water, then drain.
In a mortar, roughly pound the garlic and the chilies with a pestle. Add the chopped beans and pound until crushed. Add the palm sugar, soya sauce, lemon juice and fish sauce and stir well. Add the tomatoes and press gently with the pestle. Add the peanuts and the papaya and stir until well mixed. Add more lemon juice and palm sugar, if required and serve cold.
Per Serving 130.5 kcals, protein 3.31 g, carbs 23.56g, fat 3.81g, sat fat 0.58g, fiber 2.9g, salt 0.6g
Prawn Tom Kha
Serves 4; 30 minutes + boiling
Easy
This lusciously creamy and aromatic soup made with coconut milk is a milder version of the more popular tom yum soup. Infused with galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, it is a fitting start to any Thai meal.
Lemon grass 4-5 stalks, sliced
Galangal 4, julienned + extra to garnish
Kaffir lime leaves 8-10, torn
Fresh red chilies 4-6, sliced + extra to garnish
Fish sauce 1 tbsp
Prawns 8, cleaned and deveined
Button mushrooms 4-5, sliced
Red curry paste 1 tsp
Coconut milk 150 ml
Lime juice 1 tsp
Coriander leaves 4-6, to garnish
The Kha Stock
Galangal 100g
Lemon grass 2 stalks
Coriander root 50g
Kaffir lime leaves 2-3
Fresh red chilies 2-3
To make the stock, boil all the ingredients in 2l water for approximately 30-45 minutes or until it is reduced by half. Strain the stock and keep aside.
To make the soup, boil the kha stock and add the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves and chilies along with the fish sauce and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Add the prawns and button mushrooms. Stir in the curry paste, coconut milk and lime juice. Remove from the flame and serve garnished with galangal, chilies and coriander leaves.
Per Serving 125.25 kcals, protein 2.75g, carbs 5.43g, fat 10.79g, sat fat 8.13g, fiber 0.88g, salt 2.1g
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