Home cooked recipes and food stories to share
I bet many of you will arch your eyebrows when you see “crying tiger” on the menu at Thai restaurant. Do you know what crying tiger is? Why does the tiger cry?
Crying tiger (Sua Rong Hai: เสือร้องไห้) is an Isaan beer snack that is famous though out Thailand and now worldwide. The dish is sliced grilled beef served alongside dried chilli, tamarind dipping sauce (Nam jim jeaw) and sticky rice.
Continue reading “Crying Tiger”
Crispy rice salad with fermented pork is known as Nam clook or Khao tod nam clook in Thai. Also known as Nam khao in Lao, the dish features deep fried red curry rice balls mixed with basic Thai seasoning ingredients. These ingredients include fish sauce, lime juice, chilli, fried peanuts, sliced ginger, chopped coriander, spring onion and pork skin. Of course there is always the most special ingredient, fermented pork.
This dish is among the most famous rice dishes available from street vendors in Thailand. Outside Thailand I have seen the dish more frequently in Lao restaurants than in Thai restaurants. Many people consider the dish as an appetiser, but for me it could also be the perfect main dish.
Nam clook has a nice balance of spicy, salty, and sour with a wonderful texture of crispness from the rice, peanut and dried chilli. The dish is best served alongside fresh salad leaves such as betel leaf and lettuce. Continue reading “Crispy Rice Salad with Fermented Pork Recipe: Nam Khao”
How can I call myself an Isaan kid if I do not blog about one of the most significant ingredients in Isaan cooking? Some of you might already know what I’m talking about. If not, I will give you more hints. This ingredient is made from fish and is famous for its smell.
I am talking about fermented fish, known as pla rah in Thai and pa daek in Lao.
Banana trees are humble trees that play a role in many occasions in Thai life. For example, you may remember at my sister’s wedding there was a platter decorated with beautiful folded banana leaves included in the ceremony. Also, when people build a new house, a banana tree is placed to decorate the major pole. Do you know a Thai famous festival is “Loi Krathong”, a festival of lights to pay respect to the river on a full moon night in 12th month? Krathong are made from a piece of banana trunk decorated with flowers, banana leaves, candle and incense sticks.
Continue reading “Grilled Banana with Coconut Cream Caramel”
“My happiness is being in the kitchen in my free time” said my guest, Supaluck Ongcharoen (Jum).
Please join me in welcoming my first ever guest blogger who has similar life experiences to mine. Born and raised in Thailand, she is an expat in Australia and, most importantly, shares a passion for food and cooking.
Let have a chat and try her chicken mussaman curry recipe – Charinya
Thai Sour soup with vegetables and fried fish (Kaeng Som). The taste of the dish is led by the sour taste from the tamarind followed by saltiness and just a little bit of sweetness.
Steamed sticky rice with banana in banana leaves (Khow tom mud) is a dessert that you can come across very easily in Thailand. The original recipe requires wrapping in banana leaves, but living here banana leaves are not always available and are expensive. As a substitute I use baking paper. The downside is that you lose the aromatic smell of banana leaves, but it is still good enough and I enjoy it immensely.
