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