Tom Yum Pla - Hot and Sour Fish Soup

Recently, my husband came home from work looking like death warmed over. He collapsed onto the chaise, cough drops and box of tissues in hand.

"What would you like for dinner?" I asked. "Nothing", he responded between coughing fits. After thinking a moment he added, "Unless you're making something tasty."

Tom yum pla fit the bill (more like tom yum yum!)...with good protein, leafy greens, and a nice spice, I hoped to feed his cold and kick the nasty virus out of his body.

This recipe is fast and easy. You can even shorten the broth simmering time to 10 minutes if you need to.

Broth Ingredients and Directions:

2 cups fish stock
2 cups water
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn (use zest of one lime if no lime leaves are available)
4 bird's eye chilies, stem removed and cut in half lengthwise
3 pieces of dried galangal
3 stalks of lemongrass, halved lengthwise
2 shallots, chopped

1. Put all ingredients into a pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Strain the broth through a sieve into a saucepan.

Soup Ingredients and Directions:
12 ounces of fish (white fish like halibut, sole, etc), skinned and filleted
1 lb green leafy vegetable, chopped (ex. water spinach, baby spinach, baby bok choy)
1 package beech mushrooms
1 package straw mushrooms
2 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs lime juice
Cilantro, a handful, chopped

1. Bring the broth to a boil.
2. Add the fish and the mushrooms to a pot. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 4 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for one or two minutes, just long enough for the greens to wilt or soften.
4. Divide into bowls and serve.

Dinner Snapshot - Quacky Red Curry

Having planned to fail miserably at my first coriander duck attempt, I had bought two extra duck breasts. We love cooking with duck. People who haven't had it before usually say it tastes like lamb or very tender beef. It was easy to figure out what to do with the leftovers...duck curry!

Note: This recipe requires marinating time.

Ingredients:

2 duck breasts, skinned and sliced thinly on a diagonal

6 tablespoons/cubes of red curry paste (or store-bought but watch the sodium!)

1 cup coconut milk

2 cups hot water

2 cups pineapple slices (fresh or canned), cut into smaller pieces

1 cup Thai basil leaves

Jasmine rice, cooked according to instructions

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, coat the duck slices with 2 tablespoons/cubes of red curry paste. Marinate for three hours (or up to 24).

2. When duck is done marinating, cook the remaining four cubes of curry paste over medium-high heat until fragrant (about 2 minutes).

3. Add the duck and cook, stirring constantly, for two or three minutes.

4. Add the coconut milk and two cups of water.

5. Bring mixture to a gentle boil and cook for three minutes.

6. Reduce heat to low. Cover pan. Simmer duck for an additional 10 minutes.

7. Stir in the pineapple and basil leaves and cook for an additional two minutes.

8. Serve over rice.

Dinner Snapshot - Ticked Off Crabs in Chili Coriander Sauce

The old adage, don't play with your food, went out the window yesterday when we brought home six very angry blue crabs. After putting them in some fresh water in the kitchen sink, we delighted in swinging our hands just out of reach of their mighty claws.

By cooking time, they were docile and went willingly, resigned to their important role as our tasty dinner. The chili coriander sauce brings David back to eating crab cooked by our friend Man's mother-in-law on the island of Koh Yao Noi, quite possibly the best compliment he has ever given my cooking.

Blue Crabs in Chili Coriander Sauce

Sauce Ingredients and Instructions:

3 tbs nam pla (fish sauce)

juice of 1 lime

1 tsp white sugar

2 tbs cilantro, chopped

2 Thai red chilies, diced
3 spring onions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced on a diagonal

2 stalks lemongrass, rough outer layers removed, white and pale yellow soft parts finely chopped

1. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Refrigerate until serving time.

Crab Ingredients and Instructions:

3 blue crabs per person, alive and kicking

4 stalks of lemongrass, sliced in half

4 cloves garlic, diced

Jasmine rice, cooked according to instructions

1. In a large stockpot filled with water, bring the garlic and lemongrass to a boil.

2. When roaring, add the crabs. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes.

3. Remove crabs and place in a large bowl covered with a lid.

4. Serve crabs.

5. After cracking the crabs, place the meat on top of the cooked rice, dishing the chili coriander sauce over the top.

Dinner Snapshot - Thai-Style Whole Fish

The Crazy Monkey House motto is: If it has gills, eat it. Our favorite method for eating fish is to cook one whole. If you've never ate the "cheek meat" of a fish, boy are you in for a treat! Cooking a fish this way inevitably leads to chopstick wars as we fight for every last remaining flake. The fish pictured in this picture is a Mandarin fish but any meaty fish will work well. This method involves cooking it in banana leaves, an inexpensive ingredient found at almost any Asian grocer.

Thai-Style Whole Fish

Ingredients:

1 large, meaty whole fish (have the fish monger clean and descale the fish)

1 lime, sliced

8 kaffir lime leaves, torn in half

10 Thai basil leaves

5 Thai peppers, whole

banana leaves

Directions:

1. Line the bottom of a fish pan (or any deep baking dish) with banana leaves.

2. Place fish on leaves.

3. Spread the lime slices, lime leaves, basil leaves, and Thai peppers out inside the fish cavity.

4. Cover with banana leaves, tucking the top ones under the bottom ones.

5. Bake in a 350(f) oven for 30 minutes or until fish is cooked through and flaky.

6. Serve with rice, using optional garnishes like nam prik, sriracha, or a bit of soy sauce.

Dinner Snapshot - Prawns in Red Curry

This is a very quick, simple meal if you have frozen curry paste on hand. Cooking a batch of curry paste takes time but is very rewarding. Just freeze the leftovers in ice cube trays...One cube of curry is equal to two tablespoons. Be sure to wear gloves when working with the chilis. Failure to do so can lead to skin burns. You can either shell and devein the prawns yourself (as we did) or you can buy a bag of prepped or fully cooked prawns at the grocer. If you prep the prawns yourself, be sure to save the shells and heads to make a stock for tom yum kung!

Red Curry Paste Ingredients and Directions:

3 tbs coriander seeds

2 tsp cumin seeds

12 Thai red peppers (cut down on the amount of peppers depending on how spicy you like your curry)

5 large shallots, chopped

5 garlic cloves, chopped

2 stalks lemongrass, cut in half then roughly chopped (remove the rough outer leaves, chop the small root bottom off, and discard the upper green portions)

1/2 inch piece of galangal, finely chopped (if using dry galangal, be sure to soak in hot water for several hours prior to chopping)

6 kaffir lime leaves, torn

2 tsp paprika

2 tbs tamarind water (either dilute tamarind paste in water or prepare the water yourself by soaking the fruit in water and then squeezing the pulp about)

3 tbs canola oil

1 tsp kosher salt

1. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant and light brown. Do not let them burn. Remove from heat and cool.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, grind the seeds until broken up. Add the rest of the ingredients, along with 5 tbs water, and process until smooth. If you can see the seeds, you need to process longer!

3. Heat a saucepan over a medium flame. When warmed, add the paste. Cook for five minutes, stirring frequently.

4. Add 1 cup water, reduce heat, cover the pan and simmer for 45-50 minutes. Stir occasionally, scraping the paste off of the bottom as you stir.

5. The paste is complete. Freeze any that you are not using immediately in ice cube trays.

Prawn Curry Ingredients and Directions:

1 lb prawns, shelled and deveined

3 cubes red curry

1 cup coconut milk

Jasmine rice, prepared according to rice cooker instructions

1. Heat a wok or large skillet over a medium high flame. Add the cubes of curry paste. Stir until the paste is melted.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the coconut milk and simmer for five minutes, stirring frequently. More coconut milk can be added if you find the curry too spicy.

3. Add the prawns and cook until pink and curled.

4. Serve over a bed of rice.