My life in Minnesota: My Thai Cooking in the “House of Chin”

Wondering why I named it the “House of Chin”??? What is Chin? Well, “Chin” has been my husband’s nickname since he was in high school. It's like he has his own Thai restaurant in our house, and the restaurant name is “House of Chin”.

While living away from home in a foreign country, the things I miss are my family, my friends, Thai fresh roasted coffee (Ka-Fae-Sod), and Thai food. My birthday and Thailand holidays are times when I feel I miss home the most, as I like to share those celebrations with my friends and family. Well, no more drama…back to my Thai food: p

Have you ever been to Thailand? If you’ve been, do you remember that feeling when paying $1 for a glass of beer? ... LOL just kidding.

When you think of Thai food, what do you think? In my opinion, Thai food is a balance of 5 flavors; a little sour, spicy, salty, bitter, and sweet all at the same time. With regard to the spiciness, some Thai dishes are very hot, but by no means all of them J. So, don’t be too afraid of trying it as spicy food stimulates endorphins which help relax muscles. Even though Thais grow up with hot food I am not able to handle a lot of spice. I guess I am not a typical Thai. My husband, an American, even eats spicier food than me, the Thai. He said I am a wimp.

Thai food is made fresh from herbs, vegetables and spices which give a balanced diet, and make Thai food one of the healthiest diets anywhere. I am sure that many people just love it for its flavors and smells, the flavors and smells that make Thai food so remarkable and appetizing

Where to buy ingredients

I never realized how many different ingredients are used in Thai dishes until I started to cook here. Luckily, there are 3-4 Asian markets in my area to explore those ingredients that are typically imported directly from Thailand. I can find basic Thai sauces (i.e. fish sauce, oyster sauce and black soy sauce), fresh ingredients (holy and sweet basil, lemongrass and kaffir limes leaves) and other tropical ingredients like fresh coconut milk. Thai snacks, frozen herbs and spices are also available…but not everything(I need to be patient till I go to Thailand annually).

I still live on some ready-to-cook packages like chili paste, garlic and pepper seasoning, Pad-Thai sauce, etc.

Here're some basic Thai sauces and ingredients

Fish sauce : one key ingredient that that is critical to cooking Thai cuisine

Oyster Sauce : it is made from real oysters, main ingredient in stir fries.Mae Krua is the preferred brand of Oyster Sauce in Thai kitchen

Thai Soy Sauce (Healthy Boy) :Thai Soy Sauce

Black soy sauce : it is darker and thicker than soy sauce. It is perfectly blended as a seasoning for stir fried rice, noodle dishes, and stir fries.

Fermented fish sauce : it is called "Pla Rah" in Thai. It is very frequently added to Green Payaya Salad (Som Tum) for unique taste

Papaya Salad

Jasmine rice : it is known as "fragrant rice" from Thailand. Jasmine rice is considered the very highest quality in the world

Palm sugar: many recipes use palm sugar for sweetness, a key taste of Thai food, it is made from the sugar palm tree

Thai Chili: some Thais claim that food without chili is tasteless; some eat raw chilies with rice. A chili is called “Phrik”. “Phrik Khee Noo” is the smallest kind but the hottest.

Kaffir lime leaves: kaffir lime leaves have an amazing strong citrus fragrance. Kaffir lime leaves are used in a variety of Thai cuisine; notably soups like Tom Yum and Tom Kha.

Garlic: Most Thai food start with chopped garlic fried in vegetable oil.

Shallot: shallots are like garlic's partner, with a slightly spicy kick. It is used as frequently as garlic in curry paste and Thai spicy salads, such as Labb

Galangal: A type of ginger but it's milder and has a lightly acidic taste. Slices of galangal are added to many kinds of curry and soup.

Lemon grass: is an aromatic green grass. The stem is used in curry paste or added in spicy soup

Thai holy basil ( ka-phrao)

Thai Sweet basil (horapha)

Lime

Coconut milk: Coconut milk is used for most Thai curries and sweet desserts. Coconut milk, or 'Ga-Tee', is made by mixing grated ripe coconut meat with warm water and then squeezing out the juice.

Tamarind juice: is obtained by mixing ripe tamarind fruit with water and squeezing out the juice.

Where have I been learning to cook Thai?

Like I said earlier, I never learned how to cook when I was young. I only helped my mom cooking rice, washing dishes, cleaning house and doing the laundry for everyone in the family. The rest of my time was to take extra classes (Physic, Math, Chemical and English) after school and on the weekend. If I knew my future, I would have learned cooking from my mom and my grandmother J, but nobody knows their future, right?

I just simply explore Thai cooking blogs (i.e. Bloggang and Pantip), or call over my mom for a recipe when we want to try something new. Some turn out ok, some are good, some are awesome (just like my mom used to make) and some will end up in the trash.

My husband wonders why I never use measuring cubs for my Thai cooking. Like all Thais, just tasting lets me know what each Thai dish needs without an exact recipe or measuring cups. So, a bit of fish sauce and lime juice here, and some palm sugar there ends up with a good balance of favor. It’s about your ability to guess how much to put in and make things up.

Of course, if I cook American desserts, and use an American cookbook I'll need a set of measuring spoons :)

My Crispy Bars

Blueberry Muffins

From what I have learned, Thai cooking is not only about using the right amount of ingredients, but also about using the right level of heat (like Pad Thai noodle, the higher the heat, the tastier it is) and a method of preparation such as grinding chilies and garlic with a mortar makes a different flavor than chopping.

I am not so sure if I am a good cook yet…

I consider myself a beginner and my husband is my only judge. I don’t know that I could trust his judgement because everything is good for him (he doesn’t know any better ;) ). I told him that his sense of taste is like a crocodile tongue, as everything is tasty.

Cooking Our Own Meals

I cook Thai food quite often but my husband also makes American food for me a few times a week.

Some American food that my husband makes

Smoked BBQ Ribs

Roasted Chicken

Lasagna

Homemade Pizza

Homemade bacon pizza

Pork chop with sweet corn and dinner rolls

Homemade Biscuits

Pork chop with dinner rolls and sweet corn

Waffle

Actually I prefer to go to a Thai restaurants as often as I can but can’t afford to do so here, it can cost up to 50 US$ per meal for the two of us. Unfortunately there are no street food vendors or the millions of 7Eleven convenience stores around like everywhere in Thailand.

My husband prefers to eat Thai food at home. He said he likes my authentic Thai food much more than those in a Thai restaurant. Only one Thai restaurant that he really likes, and always recommends other people is “Supatra's Thai Cuisine” in St. Paul (www.supatra.com).

He is picky about Thai food, I know. He did not like to eat rice before I moved over here but now he has gradually converted and eats rice every Thai meal. He doesn’t like fishy smelling food, but I really do as I grew up by a river. I was fed many kind of fish since I was born. If I want to eat shrimp, fish or seafood, I always ask him to make his own meal. Or sometimes I want to deep fry mackerel when my husband is not at home (imagine frying mackerel in an American house :p) and then light up scented candles around the kitchen to cover up the “good” smell of mackerel..LOL

Red Curry with freshwater snails and bamboo shoot

Fried Fish

Shrimp Paste dipping

Garlic and Pepper Fish

We usually go out for dinner once a week but cooking at home is healthier. I feel like I only to eat McDonald or KFC once a year here: p

Well, let’s see what I usually cook. I will be uploading only pictures but no recipes. I normally take those pictures before our meal but I am not good at plating so they may look really plain.

Fried Rice with shrimp and kale

Boiled Pork with the Five Spices

Fried Pork Meatballs with sweet corn

Thai Chicken Green Curry and vermicelli

Thai Spicy Beef Soup

Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashew Nut

Stuffed Omelet

Garlic and Pepper Pork Ribs

Stir-Fried Bean Sprout with Tofu

Stir-Fried Shrimp in Yellow Curry Sauce

Spicy salad with Vietnamese sausage

Spring Rolls

Garlic and Pepper Shrimp

Spicy Cucumber Salad

Thai I-san style stir-fried noodle

Chicken rice

Massman Curry with pork ribs

Soup with pork meatball

Yellow Curry with crab and fish

Stir-Fry ginger with salmon

Stir-fry chicken liver with holy basil (Pad Krapro Tub)

Thai Northern Style pork and tomato spicy dip with Thai sweet sausages

Egg Noodles with shrimp wanton

Spicy Chicken soup in coconut milk

Stir Fry Kale in Oyster Sauce with crispy bacon

Chicken Teriyaki

Fried Chicken with lemongrass

Thai style grilled pork and chicken Satay

Thai Egg rolls

Wonton Cream Cheese

Stir fry silver thread noodles

Issan Style Stir Fry Noodles

Stir Fry Ham with Kale

Meatball Soup with veggies

Here are some of the most popular local Thai dishes you shouldn’t miss in Thailand and they are our common meals here in the “House of Chin”

Tom Yum Soup (Hot and sour prawn/shrimp/chicken soup)

Tom yum soup is a spicy clear soup with a little kick. When I added only a few chilies for a version of “no spice” . Tom yum is characterized by its distinct hot and sour flavors. The basic broth is made of stock, shallots, garlic, galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, fish sauce and crushed chili. Then add your meat of choice; chicken for my husband but the most popular is Tom Yum Kung (Shrimp).

Tom Yum Soup

Massaman Curry

The dish contains Massaman curry paste (I always use “LOBO Curry Paste” because I can’t make it from scratch), coconut milk, roasted peanuts, yellow onions, potatoes, palm sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind juice. I typically make with chicken and eat with jasmine rice. Massaman is our favorite curry and the only Thai curry that my husband likes. Massaman curry is also ranked at number 1 on World's 50 most delicious foods poll by CNN GO

http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/eat/worlds-50-most-delicious-foods-067535?page=0,2

Massaman Curry

Pad Thai (Thai fried noodles)

When a foreigner thinks of Thai food, I guess they think of Pad Thai for sure. Pad Thai is stir-fried noodles with eggs, fish sauce, tamarind juice, palm sugar, a choice of meat (chicken, shrimp, pork, or beef), shallots, bean sprouts, tofu, and chives. Crushed peanuts can be added along with chili powder and lime juice. Pad Thai is listed at number 5 on World's 50 most delicious foods poll by CNN Go in 2011

Labb Kai/Moo (Savory Chopped Chicken/Pork Salad)

Minced or grounded chicken is dressed with shallots, roasted rice powder, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and chili powder. Cilantro, green onion, cilantro, and mint folded in. It's one of the most popular dishes in Thailand.

Labb Moo

Yum (Spicy Mungbean Noodle Salad)

Yum Woon Sen is the Thai name. This mungbean thread noodle salad is often served with either prawns or ground pork or chicken. The 'dressing' is made up of the usual Thai ingredients, chili, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar (or regular sugar) and mixed with cilantro, green onion, tomatoes, and celery. The salad can be eaten warm or cold.

Yum (Spicy Salad)

Rad-Na (Thai style Noodle in Gravy)

Rad Na is a popular Thai lunch or dinner and is also a comfort food with warm gravy and soft noodles (choice of noodles ranges from thick flat rice noodles, to thin vermicelli, to fried egg noodles). Pork, chicken or seafood is used. The most common Rad Na is Rad Na Moo or ‘Pork’ Rad Na

Rad-Na

Pad Kra-Prao Moo (Stir fried pork with holy basil)

When I have no idea what to make, Pad Kra Prao is always made. It is a desperate menu in Thailand as it is always first choice when you don’t know what to order in a restaurant. This is like the hamburger of Thailand, a tasty dish that’s widely available, quick and easy to cook with choice of meat, crushed garlic and chilies, oyster sauce, soy sauce or fish sauce, Holy basil, chopped onion and desired veggies (kale, broccoli)

Stir fried pork with holy basil

Sometimes I make Thai desserts (Thai Khanom Whan) as I don't like American dessert much. Most Thai desserts are sweet and made of three principle ingredients which are flour, sugar, and coconut (or eggs). It is not difficult to make but it requires skills which I am not there yet :)