What a great few weeks of teaching my favourite Southeast Asian dishes at my TDSB cooking programs with both newcomer parents and seniors. From Filipino to Thai to Vietnamese, these popular delicious fare are sure to whet and stir up the appetite at your family or entertaining table. The run down of the deliciousness starts here!
Ahhh.... Filipino palabok-- noodles smothered in shrimp gravy topped with cooked shrimp, pork, boiled eggs, crushed chicharon fried pork rind, fish flakes, green onions, and fried garlic. Hearty, noodles soft and slightly sticky, saucy and flavours seafoody and comfy under a bevy of textural chicharon, onions, and garlic... mmmm! There are many versions and presentation-- thin or thick clear noodles, noodles cooked in the sauce, or ladled over top like gravy, ground pork in the sauce, or cooked pork pieces and served on top, sliced eggs or wedged eggs, fish flakes sprinkled or not, addition of other seafoods... and the list goes on. So happy to share this with the seniors and they absolutely adored it!
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| Palabok and Mango Salad |
Mangoes not so green (for its tartness) but still complementary in this refreshing tropical salad. And a perfect side to serve with palabok.
Serves 4 to 6
¼ cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
¼ cup lime juice (about 3 limes)
2 to 3 Tbsp. bagoong alamang (fermented seasoned shrimp paste)
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. white sugarcane vinegar
1-1/2 cups olive oil
2 medium to large green mangoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup coarsely chopped peeled jicama
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 green onion, green part only, thinly sliced
Salt (if needed) and ground white pepper, to taste
In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients up to vinegar until thoroughly combined. Whisk in slowly the olive oil until blended. Set aside.
Combine mangoes, tomatoes, jicama, shallot and green onions. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad to taste. Add salt if needed, then season with white pepper.
Leftover vinaigrette can be kept sealed in the refrigerator up to a week.
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Thai night out with my dear sis... Hanging with @estheticiantracy for some scrump Thai- pad see ew with shrimps for me, yellow coconut curry shrimps and rice for her, and a dose of spicy larb chicken wings and fried soft shell crab to share! Always nice to spend a little rare face time away from our busy work and fam schedules- she's got three kung fu boyz too! Thanks for treating ah mui 😘
Thai on the go... with an authentic pad Thai recipe cooked by the head chef to the Royal family in Thailand 😯💥.
As part of my friend chef Sang Kim's pilgrimage around our six to find the best and truest pad Thai, he ventured to get the dibs on the real deal all the way to its motherland where he learned directly from the distinguished Headmaster chef Wandee Na-Songkhla to the Thailand's Royal family. As aired on @yourmorning, Sang says 🚫 to ketchup and yes to tamarind juice, palm sugar and fish sauce for the signature brown tangy sweet sauce! Other intricacies- baby dried shrimps, and sweet pickled radish! Served with a spicy side of morning glory (ong choy) tossed with Thai chilies, garlic and ground bean sauce, we were all in Thai paradise baby!!! He returned and headed the restaurant consulting for Markham's Lanna Cuisine.
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| At BKK Thai Kitchen in North York |
Thai Spicy Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup with Cilantro Lemon Pesto 🎃🥣...
It was a South-East Asian soup and sandwich kind of cooking session with Seniors one day- Thai pumpkin soup and Vietnamese banh mi lemongrass pork chop sammies (below). And more of this soup with newcomer moms the next...
The mellow pumpkin off-sets the richness of coconut milk and the gentle blessing of spicy Thai curry paste making the soup really delightful to sip and savour. The key to taking this soup from good to scrump is the cilantro lemon garlic pesto swirled on top. It truly elevates the taste to another dimension- one with tang and bite! Such delightful flavours to warm the soul!
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| Thai Spicy Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup with Cilantro Lemon Pesto |
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| At Fraser Mustard's Parent Engagement Culinary Program |
Prepared twice the week of Halloween-- showcases what to do with leftover pumpkin #nowaste.
Thai on the go... with an authentic pad Thai recipe cooked by the head chef to the Royal family in Thailand 😯💥.
As part of my friend chef Sang Kim's pilgrimage around our six to find the best and truest pad Thai, he ventured to get the dibs on the real deal all the way to its motherland where he learned directly from the distinguished Headmaster chef Wandee Na-Songkhla to the Thailand's Royal family. As aired on @yourmorning, Sang says 🚫 to ketchup and yes to tamarind juice, palm sugar and fish sauce for the signature brown tangy sweet sauce! Other intricacies- baby dried shrimps, and sweet pickled radish! Served with a spicy side of morning glory (ong choy) tossed with Thai chilies, garlic and ground bean sauce, we were all in Thai paradise baby!!! He returned and headed the restaurant consulting for Markham's Lanna Cuisine.
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| What a beautiful pad Thai ready spread! |
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| Palm sugar can be found in different formats. I like these pucks. |
If you don't have green or yellow chives, substitute with green onions.
Perfect Pad Thai (by Chef Sang Kim)
Serves 2
3 Tbsp. fish sauce
3 Tbsp. palm sugar
3 Tbsp. tamarind juice
140 g dried thin flat rice noodles, soaked for 30 minutes
1/4 cup oil, divided
1/4 cup fried bean curd tofu, diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
2 Tbsp. sweet pickled radish, chopped
1 to 2 Tbsp. dried tiny shrimps
8 shrimps, peeled and deveined
1 egg, beaten
1 cup bean sprouts
1/4 cup green onions or chives, sliced into 2”
Garnishes: Sliced lime, bean sprouts, banana blossom, roasted peanuts, chopped, slivered green onions, sambal oelek, chili sauce.
For Tamarind Juice: Boil shelled tamarind in 3/4 cup water for five minutes and run through sieve, or purchase tamarind juice concentrate and adjust according to taste.
In a pot, heat fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind juice until boiling for about two minutes. Remove from heat.
Heat three Tbsp. oil in a skillet/wok. Fry bean curd, then add dried shrimps and fry until slightly crisp. Add garlic, shallot, sweet pickled radish and stir until fragrant. Add shrimps and stir until cooked. Add noodles and seasoning sauce mixture. Stir fry for one minute. Add the beaten egg. Swirl around and let cook. Toss slightly with noodle mixture.
Add half portion of bean sprouts and green onions and toss well. Serve with the garnishes at the table.
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| Authentic Pad Thai served to the Thai Royal Family! |
Served with hot-fire morning glory (or ong choy aka water spinach), a popular stir-fried green vegetable side is so super easy, and absolutely fragrantly delicious wok-tossed with ground bean sauce, garlic and spicy chopped chilies 🔥!
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| Hot-Fire Morning Glory |
Southeast Asia is a snacker's paradise, and the one country that holds dear to my heart when it comes to food and family is Vietnam. My husband's from Sóc Trăng, a province in the Mekong Delta in Southern Vietnam. We were lucky to go visit his family in 2004, and during the trip we were exposed to a frenzy of exotic foods. Other than the amazing and elaborate meals we had at the family table with all his extended relatives, the best eating experiences were had by hitting the streets.
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| Vietnamese banh mi lemongrass pork chop sammies and its fixin's. |
Colonial rule has left its mark on Vietnamese cuisine with mini French baguettes sold widely on street corners- modified by bakeries in the region to a light, white baguette-roll with a crispy crust, and filled into sub sandwiches as a hearty lunch or snack. And we all know how delicious, cheap and cheerful these Vietnamese (banh mi) sandwiches are with its contrasting colours, taste and textures. Fillings range from Vietnamese pâté to ham, cooked sausages and grilled meats, alone or in combination, and includes cucumbers, pickled daikon and carrot shreds, fresh herbs and chilies. Instead of prepared meats, and for a different spin on the ubiquitous pâté and ham filling, make your own homemade version with thin pork chops, adding fish sauce and lemongrass, and grilled in coconut oil for full-on Southeast flavours. Check this post for making the crunchy sweet and sour radish and carrot pickles from scratch.
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| DIY is always the best! Customize to your heart's content! |
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| Constructed Banh Mi |
Finishing the Southeast Asian cuisines series strong in my seniors' Asian Cooking program with North Vietnam's beloved fish noodle dish- Pan-Fried Fish with Turmeric and Dill (Chả Cá) 🐟🍜.
There is actually an entire street named after it in Hanoi, riddled with restaurants serving only this specialty fare- one that originated 130 years ago by the local Doan family who served it to troops during French colonial rule. This rich aromatic traditional dish combines turmeric, garlic, galangal, shrimp paste and fish sauce to marinate the fish, that is then seared with lots of dill and green onions, served over a bed of thin rice noodles. Seasoned fish sauce, bean sprouts, herbs, sliced chilies and crunchy peanuts adds texture and more pow to a super flavourful dish. The seniors absolutely loved it- so healthy and fresh 💕!
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| We did not have a blender or mortal & pestle for the paste. We minced the ingredients instead. |
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| Pan-Fried Fish with Turmeric and Dill (Chả Cá) |
Sweet ending with Vietnam's fruits, it was the first for many to taste and discover rambutan, yellow pithaya (dragon fruit's cousin) and the King of Fruits durian 🤗. Durian wasn't pleasant for some but so happy they tried it- which is what my cooking classes are mostly about- exploring new ingredients and flavours together.
Enjoy my friends!
For more, check out my previous posts with a consecutive series on Southeast Asian Street Foods.
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