Tapioca Balls with Filling
Ingredients
- Minced chicken or mushroom- 270g
- Minced sweet radish- 100g
- Roasted peanuts (coarsely crushed)- 55g
- Palm sugar- 150g
- Vegetable oil- 1tsp
- Light soy sauce or salt- 1tbsp
- Pearl tapioca- 250g
- Coriander roots- 2
- Garlic- 3 cloves
- Pepper- 1 tsp
Method
- In a mortar add the coriander roots, garlic and pepper. Pound them together till it turns into a paste.
- Over low heat, add oil and the paste into a pan. Stir the paste until it releases an aroma.
- Add chicken or mushroom and continue stirring till the dish is almost cooked. The add palm sugar, light soy or salt and continue stirring until dry.
- Let it cool and then mould into small balls. Rinse pearl tapioca in a pot of water and leave for five minutes. Add warm water to the pot and stir until the tapioca expands.
- Pour the pearl tapioca into a meche strainer and drain.
- Wrap the balls with pearl tapioca. Put a steamer on a stove and bring water to boil.
- Place the balls on oiled banana leaf in a steamer, half inch apart.
- Steam over fast boiling water until the pearl becomes clear — about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove the strainer from the stove and leave for 5 minutes for the balls to dry slightly before
- transferring to a serving dish. Sprinkle with crushed fried garlic. To make crushed fried garlic, firstly, pound peeled garlic. Then heat oil in a pan (medium heat). Next, stir the garlic till it gets golden brown. Finally use a slotted spoon to transfer the garlic onto blotting paper to drain the oil. Once cooled, the garlic will be crispy.
*Should be served with vegetable salad, coriander and fresh chillies as a snack.
Thai raw papaya salad Telegraph picture
Thai Papaya Salad
Ingredients
- Grated raw papaya- 1½ cup
- Fish sauce or light soy sauce- 2tbsp
- Palm sugar- 1½tbsp
- Tamarind juice- 1tbsp
- Lime juice- 1tbsp
- Dried shrimp- ½tbsp
- Roasted peanuts- ½tbsp
- Tomato (small pieces)- ½cup
- Green beans (small pieces - ½cup
- Garlic- 5 cloves
- Chillies (fresh/ dried)- 3-5
Method
- Place the roasted peanuts, garlic, dried shrimps, green beans and chillies in a mortar and pound till they are crushed.
- Add tomatoes, palm sugar, fish sauce or light soy sauce and then lime juice and tamarind juice to the mortar. Pound until blended.
- Add grated papaya into the mortar and mix everything together. Avoid pounding too hard.
- Garnish with additional crushed peanuts if desired.
*This menu should be eaten with steamed sticky rice (recipe below), fried chicken or grilled chicken.
Steamed sticky rice
- Soak the sticky rice for 10 to 20 minutes. Next, scoop the sticky rice into a bowl, filling it to half. Add water into the cup, about 0.5cm above the sticky rice. Microwave for two minutes.
- Take it out and add a little more water (not too much) and microwave for another minute.
Note: Suggested measurements can be adjusted to taste.
Thai green curry Telegraph picture
Thai Green Curry
Ingredients
- Green curry paste- 2tbsp
- Chicken slices (or 1 cup aubergine cut in round slices)- 300g
- Coconut cream- 1 cup
- Coconut milk- 1 cup
- Stock (veg or chicken)- ½ cup
- Pea aubergines- ½ cup
- Apple aubergines (round shaped)- 4
- Kaffir lime leaves finely shredded- 2-3
- Red and green chillies
- Handful of Basil leaves
- Fish sauce or salt
Method
- In a pot, bring the coconut cream to simmer and stir in the green curry paste. Add the kaffir leaf slices.
- Add chicken and stir until almost cooked through. (Skip this step for vegetarian recipe). Add coconut milk and stock. Bring to boil.
- Add all the aubergines and simmer until cooked through but not soft.
- Add chillies, basil leaves and fish sauce or salt to taste. Turn off the flame.
- Enjoy with steamed rice or roti.