Khanom Jin Nomya

I think this recipe was intended to be mroe colorful, but I did use green Thai cillies instead of
dried chile de arbol, a decision I pass along for flavor, although red thai chillies might help the color out.

Don't be fooled, this neither tastes like a typical white sauce pasta, nor does it have the heaviness you may associate with alfredo.

Khanom Jin Nomya

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Coking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs catfish chunks (deboned)

1 anchovy, rinsed of oil

1 stalk lemongrass, with the outer layers removed and sliced into thirds

1/2 cup fingerroot, chopped

2 tsp galangal, grated

8 thai chillies, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup garlic cloves, peeled

1/4 cup shallots, peeled

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

2 tbsp fish sauce

4 bundles somen noodles

4 sprigs thai basil

Substitutions:

fingerroot - ginger (will be somewhat less fragrant)

galangal - ginger (will be somewhat less fragrant)

shallots - small onions

fish sauce - worcestershire sauce

somen noodles - angel hair pasta

thai basil - sweet basil

lemongrass - lemon zest or lemon balm

Cooking:

Place catfish in a pan with 3 cups boiling water. Cook around 15 minutes, or until the fish is done. Remove the fish, but keep the liquid. Add the anchovy, lemongrass, and chilli peppers and boil for ten minutes. Add the shallots and garlic and boil for another five minutes.

Remove all ingredients from the liquid (reserving the liquid) and place them all, along with the catfish, in a fod processor and grind into a paste, adding just enough reserved cooking liquid to make the consistency right.

Prepare the noodles according tot he directions on their package.

In a smal pot, heat the paste to warm, and add the coconut milk and fish sauce.

Mix the noodles and paste, and serve garnish with the Thai basil sprigs.

Thai Seafood and Squash Curry

This simple curry is absolutely delicious and colorful.

Thai Seafood and Squash Curry (based on this recipe)

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

1 14 oz can coconut milk

2 tbsp thai yellow curry paste

1 1/2 cups fish stock or water

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp curry

3 lemongrass stalks, cut into thirds and bruised

3 kaffir lime leaves

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 1/4 lbs butternut squash, cut into cunks

1 lb fish, cut into chunks

1 lbs peeled, de-veined raw shrimp

1 bunch bok choy, shredded

1 lime, juiced

cilantro, chopped

Substitutions:

kaffir lime - basil with a splash of lime juice

bok choy - kale

fish sauce - worcestershire sauce

Cooking:

Skim the coconut cream off of the coconut milk, and mix it in a pan with the curry paste.Bring it to a sizzle, then whisk in the coconut milk, fish stock or water, fish sauce, sugar, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and turmeric.

Bring to a boil, add the pumpkin, and then simmer for 15 minutes (or until squash is tender). Add the fish and shrimp, and simmer for five minutes.

Add the greens,and boil another three minutes. Squeeze in lime juice. Remove from heat, and sprinkle cilantro over the dish.

Serve with Thai or basmati rice.

Beef Rendang

Another one of Indonesia's more famous dishes is beef rendang, a spicy curry-like preparation of beef and coconut. Based on this recipe.

You may need to make some substitutions on this one- don't be afraid to. Tamarind pulp can be replaced by lemon juice mixed with brown sugar, kaffir lime leaves can be replaced with basil, and palm sugar can be replaced by white sugar, or preferably turbinado sugar. Galangal can be omitted if you can't find it. Toasted coconut can be made by dry roasting shredded coconut on a frying pan or wok.

Beef Rendang

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 2 hours

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb beef, cubed

5 tbsp cooking oil

1 cinnamon stick

3 whole cloves

3 star anise

3 cardamom pods

1 lemon grass, sliced and pounded

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup water

2 tbsp taramind pulp

6 kaffir lime leaves

6 tbsp toasted coconut

1 tbsp palm sugar

Spice Paste:

5 shallots

1 inch galangal
3 lemongrass (white part only)

5 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger

10-12 chilli peppers

Preparation:

Chop the spice paste ingredients and use a food processor to turn them into a paste.

Cooking:

In a medium pot, heat the oil and then add the spice paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, snd cardamom pods, and stir fry until aromatic. Add the beef and lemongrass, and cook for one minute.

Add the coconut milk, tamarind juice, and water, and simmer on medium heat until the meat is almost cooked. Then add the kaffir lime leaves, toasted coconut, and palm sugar.

Simmer on low heat 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender and the liquid is mostly gone. Add salt to taste.