Stuff Squid ( Pamuek Yut Sai Mu Nueng Manow )

Thai people love seafood and spices and this dish is typical of a spicy Thai seafood dish. Its a whole Squid or calamari and they're widely available in Thailand and always very fresh, usually it's fried or barbecued, but this dish is a different way of cooking it. The squid is stuffed with seasoned pork meat and steamed to cook it gently then served in a spicy soup.

Ingredients for 2 people
100 gms Pork Mince
4 Garlic Cloves
1 Teaspoon Pepper
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 Large Whole Squid

Ingredients for Soup
1 Chicken stock cube
200 ml Water
50 gms Mixed Red and Green Chillis
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Serve With
Sliced Thai Cabbage
Must be served warm

Preparation of Squid
1. Peel the garlic, put the pork mince and garlic together with the salt and pepper in a blender and blend it until the garlic is well mixed in.
2. Clean out the inside of the squid. Cut off the head and try to keep the body of the squid intact as a hollow tube.
3. Stuff the pork mince mix into the squid until its full.
4. Score cuts into the top of the squid - this will allow the steam to reach the meat to cook it.
5. Steam for 10 minutes.

Preparation for the Soup
6. Take a small pot pan, add water & the chicken stock cube and bring it to boil until the cube has dissolved.
7. Put the chilles in a blender and blend until they are fine pieces. If you prefer, you can cut them by hand, but they must be fine.
8. Add the chillis to the soup and remove the soup from the heat.
9. Place the steamed squid on a serving plate, squeeze the lemon juice over the top of the squid.
9. Pour the soup around the base of the squid, and place some of the chilli pulp on the top for show.

Pork Noodle Wombats ( Kao Pood Sung Krurn )

These little steamed wombats are made from pork, noodles, vegetables and baby sweet corn. If you stick the sweet corn tail out of the rear and put some green leaves at the head it looks like a little creature eating leaves, which makes it a little more fun to eat. They taste mainly of pork, but have lots of vegetables too, and are perfect for children.

Ingredients for Family
50 gms Pork Mince
20 gms Glass Noodle
6 Bady Corn
2 Tablespoons Chopped Carrot
2 Tablespoons Chopped Celery
1 Teaspoon Corn Flour
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
1/4 Teaspoons Pepper

Preparation
1. Mix the pork mince with the chopped carrot, celery and corn flour.
2. Cut the glass noodles into short lengths and add to the mixture.
3. Add the light soy sauce and pepper and mix it well.
4. Into a Chinese steamer place some cut squares of greaseproof paper, or tinfoil. The wombats will be steamed on these to prevent sticking.
5. Take a handful of the mixture and push a piece of baby corn into it.
6. Place it on the grease proof paper and steam for 10 minutes to cook.

Thai Mushroom Stir-Fry ( Ton Hoom Pad Hed )

I'll let the photograph speak for itself.

Ingredients for 2 People
100 gms Mushrooms (Oyster, Whitecap etc.)
100 gms Spring Onion
1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Tablespoon Oil
2 Garlic Cloves
White Pepper

Preparation
1. Clean the mushrooms and chop them in half.
2. Chop the spring onion into 4 cm lengths.
3. Put oil in frying pan and heat.
4. Chop the garlic and fry for a few seconds to release the fragrance.
5. Add the mushrooms, spring onions, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar.
6. Fry for 1 minute.
7. When you serve add a pinch of pepper to season.

Stir Fry Chicken Liver ( Pad Kueng Niey Gay )

Liver is a strange thing, on the one hand people think it's something you throw away when preparing a chicken, on the other, they pay a high price for paté made from liver! This dish is a very tasty way to eat chicken livers.

Ingredients for 3 People
50 gms Chicken Liver
100 gms Fresh Spinach Leaves
4 Garlic Cloves
1 Teaspoon White Pepper
3 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
3 Tablespoons Oil
300 ml Water

Preparation
1. Boil water and salt in a pan then add the liver and cook for 3 minutes. Remove it and dry it.
2. Oil the frying pan, pound the garlic in a Thai mortar and put into the pan.
3. Add the liver and white pepper to the pan and fry for 5 minutes over a medium heat.
4. Clean the spinach, chop it into 4 cm lengths, then add to the pan with the liver.
5. Add the light soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar and fry it for a few seconds just to mix.

Spicy Liver and Green Bean Stir Fry ( Pad Pate Tub Mu )

This stir fry includes big red chillies and is very spicy. You may prefer to make the non spicy stir fry (the green pepper and liver stir fry) if you don't like spicy food. Of the two this is the one I prefer!

Ingredients for 2 People
40 gms Pork Liver
50 gms Chopped Green Beans
5 Chillies
4 Garlic Cloves
1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
200 ml Water
2 Tablespoons Oil

Preparation
1. Boil the water with the salt and black pepper.
2. Slice the pork liver into thin slices and add to the boiling water to cook for 1 minute.
3. Chop the garlic and chillies, fry in the oil for a few minutes to release the smell.
4. Add the pork liver to the frying pan, add the light soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, chopped green beans and fry for 1 minute.

Green Pepper & Liver Stir Fry ( Tub Pad Prik Yuek )

If you think there have been a lot of liver recipes lately, you're right! I was given lots of fresh pork liver, unlike meat liver is best eaten fresh. So all my recipes will feature liver until it's used up!

Ingredients for 2 People
40 gms Green Pepper
50 gms Pork Liver
4 Garlic Cloves
30 gms Tomato
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1/4 Teaspoon White Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Water
2 Tablespoons Oil

Preparation
1. Chop the tomatoes into quarters. Chop the green pepper into pieces (approx 3cms).
2. Chop the garlic and fry to release the smell.
3. Slice the pork liver and add to the pan frying, fry for 1 minute.
4. Add the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, water, and white pepper. For for a few seconds.
5. Add the chopped green pepper and chopped tomatoes and fry for 2 minutes.

Pumpkin Stir-fry (Pad Fuk Tong )

Halloween is tomorrow and you may end up with a lot of pumpkin flesh to use up. We don't celebrate Halloween much in Thailand, its a western thing that's only done in discotechs and restaurants. However we do eat this pumpkin stir fry all year round. This stir-fry is a great alternative to meat dishes and a great way to use up the pumpkin you hollow out of the lantern!

Ingredients
50 gms Pumpkin
2 Eggs
30 gms Chopped Celery
20 gms Chopped Spring Onion
10 gms Chopped Coriander Leaves
10 gms Sliced Onions
20 ml Water
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
3 Garlic Cloves
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
1/4 Teaspoon White Pepper
3 Tablespoons Oil

Preparation
1. Peel and slice the pumpkin.
2. Chop the garlic, add to a frying pan together with the oil and fry for a few seconds to release the aroma of garlic.
3. Add the eggs in and stir-fry the eggs until half cooked.
4. Add the pumpkin, spring onion, celery, onions, water, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, light soy sauce and white pepper (basically, everything but the coriander leaves).
5. Stir fry for 1 minute.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Tofu & Soya Stir fry ( Tua Ho Pad Tur Kngok )

A delicious stir-fry made from fried tofu, together with soya beansprouts and carrots. This is the best way to eat tofu, frying it gives it more texture and flavour.

Ingredients
50 gms Tofu
40 gms Soya Beansprouts
30 gms Carrots
20 gms Onions
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon White Pepper
2 Tablespoons Oil

Preparation
1. Chop the tofu into small squares, slice the carrots and onion.
2. Clean the soya beansprouts, and remove the roots.
3. Put oil into the frying pan over a medium heat.
4. When the oil is hot, fry the sliced onions for a few seconds, then add all the other ingredients and stir fry quickly for 30 seconds.

Ton Ho Chai Stir Fry ( Pad Puck Jean )

A stir fry made from Ton Ho Chai, the Chinese leaf vegetable. This is one of the beautiful simple side dishes that bulk up a meal with healthy green vegetables.

Ingredients
100 gms Ton Ho Chai
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Tablespoons Oil
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sugar

Preparation
1. Clean the Ton Ho Chai and cut off the ends.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan.
3. Chop the garlic, fry for 20 seconds, add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and ton ho chai.
4. Fry for 30 seconds, then serve.

Sweet Sour Stir Fried Vegetables ( Pad Piew Wan)

This is a side vegetable dish, suitable for accompanying a rice or meat dish. Sweet and sour frying is common all through Asia, for this dish the sour comes from vinegar and the sweet from the sweet chilli sauce. Naturally since this is Thai cuisine it has a little chilli in it too, but not much, this is not a spicy dish.

Ingredients for 2 People
100 gms Carrot
1 Tomato
3 Mangetout, Long Green Bean or Wing Bean
75 gms Courgette
50 gms Onion
3 Garlic Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon White Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce (use Soy Sauce if Vegetarian Dish)
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sweet Chilli Sauce
2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Tablespoon Vinegar

Preparation
1. Put oil into frying and pre-heat.
2. Chop the garlic add to the pan, fry it till the garlic smell comes out.
3. Chop the carrot, onion, mangetout, courgette, into small bite-sized pieces and add to the pan.
4. Add light soya sauce, fish sauce, sugar, white pepper, sweet chilli, oyster sauce and vinegar to the vegetables.
5. Stir fry it for 1 minutes then serve