Monday, March 23, 2009

More Thai food, more baby presents

As much as I love living in Canada, let's face it, the best food comes from everywhere but Canada. (Except for Quebec... they've got maple syrup, blueberries, and tourtière.) I guess that's the joy of living in Canada though... we have so many cultures all mixed together, and that exposes us to some great cuisine! (When I lived in Mexico, people would ask me what "Canadian" food was, and I didn't really know what to tell them! Macaroni & cheese? Casseroles? Perogies & cabbage rolls?)

Anyway, I've mentioned before how much I love Thai food, so tonight I'm making a couple recipes from my awesome Thai cookbook, and sharing them with friends of ours who had a new baby recently. (Someone pointed out to me that the curry and beans in my previous meals for new parents might make the mothers' breastmilk a little fiery, so I'm toning things down tonight!)

THAI SPICY BEEF SALAD (it's not that spicy, honest!)
1/2 lb. ground beef
4 mint leaves, chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, diced
1 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. lime juice
3 green onions, sliced
3/4 tsp. red chilies, diced (or as much as you like)
1 tomato, diced
1/4 English cucumber, diced

Boil beef for 3-4 minutes, making sure it doesn't clump together. Drain and rinse with cold water. Toss together with remaining ingredients.
BBQ LEMONGRASS PORK
3 tbsp. coconut milk
3-4 stalks lemongrass, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green onion, chopped
2 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. red chilies, diced
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 pork tenderloin

Slice pork crosswise into 1/2" pieces. Combine ingredients and pour over pork in a shallow dish. Marinate for several hours, then grill for 4-6 minutes per side.

COCONUT GINGER BASMATI RICE
1 c. brown basmati rice
1 c. coconut milk
1 c. water
1 tsp. grated ginger

Bring everything to a boil, stir well, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 40-45 minutes. (Or make whatever rice you have and follow the directions on the bag, substituting half the liquid with coconut milk and adding a little ginger.)
I made a double batch of the pork (two tenderloins and twice the marinade) and made a slightly larger batch of rice, but followed the salad recipe as it's posted. I took half to our friends and saved half for our own supper. We fed 3 adults and 2 kids tonight at our house, and everyone left the table happy! (I hope everyone's happy at our friends' house too!)
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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ha Ha ... Love the music ;)

Do you ever make anything "normal"? I just can't see myself making these recipes for my family... we are way to boring and it is hard to get exotic supplies here.

Hey, just a thought... you could come for a visit and fill my freezer while you are here!! LOL ... oh and you bring the groceries!!!

Kathy Blais said...

I make normal stuff! You'd be surprised at what your kids might eat. We used to be "boring" too (but boring is good if everyone likes it!) and then I gradually just started trying out new things.

My kids really liked the Greek Cinnamon chicken, and it didn't have anything too weird in it. The Butter Chicken is easy too, you just need some curry powder and ginger. And if you do "splurge" on some exotic ingredients next time you're in the big city, my kids really liked the pork I made tonight. It's a very mild flavour. (If you can get to a Superstore, all this stuff is dirt cheap in the Asian aisle.)

Kathy Blais said...

PS: When I first live on my own, I lived off spaghetti, grilled cheese sandwiches, and tortillas filled with my own gourmet mixture of mashed potatoes, fried onions and mushrooms with Guacamole seasoning sprinkled on it. Thank God for the taco stand close to my house! So that year I learned to detest those foods, and crave something a little more "out of the ordinary"!!

Anonymous said...

Our family was super happy! Thanks soo much Kathy :) Sorry I missed you and didn't get to show off Rose-Léa we ran out to grab some groceries and craft supplies for Maëlle & Pascal to do.

The meal was awesome- much appreciated and we all loved it. The kids at a ton!

-Erin, André, Maëlle, Pascal (& Rose-Léa)

Kathy Blais said...

Yay! I'm glad everyone liked it.