Tom Yum Kung (Thai sour and spicy shrimp soup)

Who has ever come to Thailand can't ignore the meaning of 'Tom Yum Kung'.

'Tom Yum Kung' is simply one the most, if not the most, famous Thai soups. Its delicious spicy taste and its unique fragrance is due to the presence of galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. All of this contributes to the fame of this soup among foreigners visiting Thailand.

Now, I hope you guys are ready to learn because I'm going to teach you how to cook Tom Yum Kung easily and fast.

Here we go !

Ingredients

-  1 pack of Tom Yum  Paste (it can be easily bought on the internet)

-  12 medium shrimps (peeled, cleaned)

-   Mushrooms (preferably straw mushrooms)

-  1 bunch of lemongrass, 3 kaffir lime leaves, 4 chopped pieces of galangal (Don't add them into your preparation in case you already have the Tom Yum Kung powder)

-  1 tsp (teaspoon) of salt

-  2 tbsp (tablespoon) of fish sauce

-  6 chopped peppers (red or green)

-   1 tbsp of lemon juice (if you really like sour taste)

-  4 cups of water

-     ½ cup of parsley (roughly chopped)

-  1 small cup/ glass of coconut water

 

How to cook 'Tom Yum Kung', step by step

-  Peel the shrimps but keep their tails (for a more attractive presentation).

-   Remove the intestine (the one that looks like a black 'vein').

-  Wash the mushrooms and chop them into 4 pieces (it obviously depends on the kind of mushrooms you have).

-  Boil water in a saucepan. Then, add the lemongrass, the kaffir lime leaves and the galangal chopped pieces (in case you have them).

-  Put the Tom Yum Paste  in the water. Stir well.

-  Now put the shrimps into the hot water. Wait for them to turn into a pinker colour.

-  Add then the rest of the ingredients as follows :  coconut water, mushrooms, salt, fish sauce, lemon juice, pepper, parsley

-  Stop cooking the soup when you're satisfied with its taste.

Tips

-   Add more lemon and peppers if you really like sour and spicy taste.

-    If you don't like the taste of coconut water, you don't have to put it. But, in this case, the name of your soup will change into 'Tom Yum Kung Num Sai' (light soup).

-  To simply make the soup more colorful, add some Thai chili paste in it.

Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango (khao niao ma muang)

Sticky Rice with Mango, or more commonly called  khao niao ma muang by the locals, is a very simple, affordable and delicious Thai dessert that will please all of your guests.

The only hurdle that you could possibly face before preparing this dessert is the absence of the following ingredients at your closest supermarket : sticky rice (not to be mistaken with normal rice), coconut milk, mung beans (optional) and mangoes .

Alright, that's it! Hope you're ready to cook now. Let's get started !

Ingredients

-  3 ripe mangoes

-  sticky rice (1 kg)

-  coconut milk (2 cans)

-  salt (3/4 tbsp)

-  sugar (550 g)

-  roasted yellow mung beans (1 tbsp)

Preparation

-  Wash the rice and soak it in water. Let it stand for one night.Then, drain it.

-  Most Westerns don't usually have the appropriate equipment to cook sticky rice. Therefore, I recommend that you simply put the rice in a bowl and that you pour as much water in the bowl as there is rice.

-   Heat it up in the microwave oven for about 3 mn at maximum temperature.

-  Bring it out and sprinkle some water on the rice until it is wet enough.

-  Flip the rice with a spoon and, once more, heat it up for 3mn (do as before).

-  Take the rice out of the oven and sprinkle some water on the rice once again.

-  Stir the rice with a spoon. Then, heat it up for one and last minute (the rice should be sticky)

-  While waiting, mix coconut milk, sugar, salt in a pan. Gently heat up all the ingredients.Stir the mixture over low heat until it gets homogeneous.

-  In a medium bowl, put the freshly prepared sticky rice to which you'll add the coconut milk mixture. Stir and let it stand for about 15 mn.

-  Peel mangoes and chop them.

-  Finally, place the pieces of  mangoes and the sticky rice on a plate. Add the beans and the coconut milk mixture. Enjoy !

Tips

-  You should boil coconut and cook the sticky rice at the same because it's easier to mix them when they're both hot.

-  Don't wait too long before serving this dessert.It is usually made to be eaten 'relatively' hot.

Thai-Style Omelet (Kai Jeow) Recipe

Hey guys, today I'm going to write about one of the easiest and most unexpensive dishes that you can prepare when you're starving. You know, there are times when you really want to eat but you don't really know what to cook or you're too lazy to spend hours cooking in your kitchen.

Don't worry !I've got the solution for you. It lies in two words : Kai Jeow.

Even if you don't have any notions of Thai or cooking, it doesn't matter at all. Basically, Kai Jeow is a type of omelet that is very commonly prepared in Thailand. This Thai Style Omelet is served with hot rice ...and that's it. Simply delicious ! You won't be disappointed !

Let's get started.

Ingredients :

–     2 eggs/1 person

–      fish sauce

–      some sugar (to make it crispy)

–       vegetable oil

Preparation :

1)   In a bowl, blend the eggs. Add fish sauce (1 tbspn) and sugar (1 pinch). Whisk until the mixture gets homogeneous.

2)    Heat the oil in the pan until the oil boils.

3)     Pour the mixture into the hot oil.

4)      Once the omelet gets puffy enough and slightly brown (generally after 30 seconds or 1 mn), gently flip it and wait for the same amount of time as before.

5)      It's done. You can now serve it on hot rice.

6)     If you like it, you can eat this omelet with some tomato sauce.

Tips for a tastier preparation :

1)      The eggs shouldn't be kept in the fridge before cooking them.

2)       To efficiently make the omelet crispy, make sure that the oil is very hot and boiling (wait until you can notice some kind of hot 'smoke' coming from the oil)

3)      You can make your omelet crispier and more appetizing by pourring the eggs through a long-handled strainer.

4)       Add the vegetables you like (coriander, parsley...)

5)        If you like onion or garlic, chop them and put them in the mixture, directly in the bowl before cooking it.