THAILAND: THE FOOD

We’ve made it through three weeks of quarantine now. So far, my family has been ok (except for exchanging my regular anxiety for this new pandemic anxiety). I’m really glad we moved to a place that has more land around it now, so we can at least go outside without being close to people. All the schools will be closed for the rest of the school year, and now we’re transitioning to figuring out how home-based learning works (and that goes for the teachers AND students - no one’s ever been in this situation). My kids like school for the most part and wish things were back to normal (we all do). I’m glad this blog has been a nice distraction for me, and I’m glad I’m making Thai food today.

Bet money my husband eats all the custard.

The first thing I started off with was the bread: Thai Fried Bread, or Pa Thong Ko. I first combined the yeast with some warm water and set it aside until it was foamy. Then I mixed my flour and oil in a bowl and poured my yeast mixture into it, combining it all until it formed a dough. After dusting a workspace with flour, I kneaded the dough for about three minutes. I placed it in a bowl and covered it with cling wrap to let rise for an hour. When the dough had risen, I kneaded it for another minute. Then I rolled it out into a log and cut it into small strips (about 2.5cm x 5cm). I dipped my finger in some water and ran it down the middle of the strip and quickly stuck another piece of dough on top of where I just wet it. It sort of glued them together. I suppose they could look like X’s or even butterflies, but I think they look like chromosomes. Then I did this for the rest of the strips. When that was done, I heated up my oil in a frying pan over high heat and placed each piece in there to fry. I turned them when they turned golden brown (it doesn’t take long) and set them on a paper towel to cool and drain.

To go with this, I made Thai Coconut Custard Dip called Sangkhaya. It’s supposed to be made with pandan leaves, but with the pandemic, I was only trying to go to one store, so I left it out and substituted vanilla extract instead. So, I mixed the vanilla extract with the coconut milk in a cup. Then in a saucepan, I whisked together the yolks, sugar, salt, and cornstarch until it was smooth. Then I slowly mixed in the vanilla-coconut milk mixture and stirred out any lumps. I brought it to a gentle boil, whisking constantly. After about two minutes, it started to thicken up, and then I took it off the heat and let it cool. This was probably one of the few times I’ve made custard and it set up like it should. I really liked this. It went really well with the bread, and it was clearly a hit with the kids.

I loved the simplicity of this.

My main meal today is Thai Basil Pork. I heated up a large skillet (or you can use a wok, which I don’t have). I added a bit of oil and stir fried some crushed red pepper (in lieu of chilies that my family doesn’t like anyway) for 20-30 seconds and then added my pork cutlets that I cut into thin strips. When the pork was cooked through, I added in half the chicken stock. Then I pushed all the ingredients off to the side and cracked an egg to make scrambled eggs and mixed it with the rest. Then I added in the stirfry sauce. (The recipe mentioned how to make your own, but for the purposes of buying ingredients during a pandemic, I bought store-bought this time). After mixing well, I reduced my heat to medium-low, letting it simmer for a couple minutes. I also couldn’t find any fresh basil, so I bought a jar of chopped/dried basil. After a few minutes, I added in the rest of the chicken stock plus the chopped green onions and the basil and stirred well. It should be a bit salty, so I squeezed a bit of lime juice on it. I really loved the flavor of this. It had just a bit of spice but the sweetness of the stirfry sauce balanced it out well.

This is a definite recipe to keep handy.

To go with this, I made Stir-fried Bok Choy. I only bought one large bok choy for this, and cut off the large white sections at the bottom, chopping the remaining sections into smaller pieces. I added some coconut oil in a skillet and added the bok choy along with just a little stirfry sauce. I sauteed it until it started to seem dry in the bottom of the skillet. Then I slowly added a little more sauce while stirring until the leaves were bright green and the stems started to get soft. You can add some extra chilies if you want or flavor it with lime juice if it’s too salty. My family loves collard greens, so they really enjoyed this Asian substitute for greens. I think this makes a simple side dish to any meal to make sure you get your leafy greens in.

Too bad for my son, I'm making this again.

And finally, a dish I’ve never had but wanted to try: Thai Vegetarian Pineapple Fried Rice. I made some plain rice early this morning and set in the fridge to cool and dry out. Then I took it out and added a little oil to it to separate the chunks. (It was actually supposed to be made a day or two ahead of time, but I forgot). In a cup, I mixed some soy sauce with some curry powder (and I think I ran out so I just used a bit of garam masala, cumin, and turmeric). I added a bit of oil in the skillet, then added some chopped onions (instead of shallots), minced garlic and crushed red pepper, stirring for a minute. Then I added just a little chicken stock. I cracked an egg in it to make scrambled eggs again, and then added in some shredded carrots and some frozen peas, stirring for a minute (adding stock as needed). Then I added in the rice, pineapple chunks, and you can also add in currants and cashews (which I left out). Then I drizzled the soy mixture into the rice and stirred for about 5-8 minutes. After this, I took it off the heat and added a tad more soy sauce along with a bit of lime juice, topping it with chopped spring onions and cilantro. I really liked this, but my son was not a fan of the pineapple in it. (It was also good if you mixed in the basil pork!)

This meal was amazing. All of it.

Overall, I was grateful for something different to do today. Although I’m still working, it’s from home. I’ve really been searching for keeping some form of normalcy. This blog does that for me. I know many people still do carryout and delivery for food, but we haven’t -- just to minimize the exposures we have. I’ve been doing a lot more cooking at home. (And amazingly, we have more money because of it!) I miss the Pad Thai noodles from this place near my job, but now I know a few other dishes to try.

Up next: Timor-Leste