Stir fried noodles with shrimp, green beans, and carrots

I am so excited about this recipe. This is the first time that I've been able to make a stir fry that actually tasted like something from our favorite Thai spot. Now, I have no idea if our local Thai place makes authentic food or not - I just know that it is tasty. My favorite thing to order from there is the drunken noodles - spicy stir fried noodles with veggies and shrimp. Contrary to what you might expect, there's no alcohol in drunken noodles - one theory about the name is that the noodles are so spicy that you need to drink beer to cool down. Anyway, a couple weeks ago I was craving drunken noodles and decided to see if I could make a decent version at home. I did some recipe research, and used this one as a starting point. The result wasn't quite what I wanted so I made some modifications and came up with the version that I'm sharing here, which is the perfect blend of sweet, salty, and spicy. It came out just as I had hoped and I love that I can make a homemade version of my favorite takeout dish. Now I just have to figure out how to make Andrew's favorite fried rice...

Thai tempeh cakes

You may remember that in the past I have been lukewarm about tempeh, not really sure if I liked it or not. Well these tempeh cakes have convinced me once and for all that I do indeed enjoy tempeh. For me, it's all about the preparation - I find that tempeh is best crumbled or mashed into a patty and combined with strong flavors. This recipe is the perfect example, the tempeh is mixed with lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and cilantro and the cakes are served with a spicy-sweet dipping sauce...sounds pretty good, huh? I don't think I've ever had an appetizer like this before, and I really enjoyed it. I know that some of my readers have had bad experiences with tempeh - if you want to give it another chance, you should definitely try this!

Green curry wontons

When I was home visiting my parents, one of our family friends gave me a Thai cookbook as part of a graduation gift. I was pretty excited about this, since I love Thai food but don't know much about Thai cooking. As I was flipping through the book, I found myself especially drawn to the appetizer section, and decided to try a couple of the recipes this week. These green curry wontons were the first thing I made. They have a flavorful potato and vegetable filling, kind of like a Thai twist on samosas. I decided to bake them instead of frying, which ended up being a good decision - the wontons ended up perfectly crispy at the edges but weren't greasy at all. These were pretty easy to make, and I could definitely imagine serving something like this next time I have a party. With the success of this recipe, I think it's safe to say that you'll be seeing more Thai recipes on this blog as I experiment with more recipes from my new book!

Thai cabbage salad

Are you looking for another healthy recipe to help you recover from Thanksgiving overindulgences? Or do you want to prepare your waistline for an onslaught of Christmas cookies? Or maybe you just like food that tastes good? Whatever the case may be, this is a recipe you should try. It's a Thai salad packed with colorful crisp vegetables, fresh herbs, and your choice of protein, all tossed with a sweet and sour dressing. I had tagged this recipe last year in Food & Wine, and adapted it quite a lot to create this version. I kept the dressing similar but changed pretty much all the main ingredients. I was really happy with the final version - the flavors blend beautifully and this dish makes a wonderful light meal.

What kinds of fall/winter salads are you making?

Thai red curry squash soup

 
It's November (!), which means all my cooking magazines are filled with Thanksgiving recipes. I don't usually get very excited about Thanksgiving, which is a shame for such a food-centered holiday. My family never did a traditional Thanksgiving when I was growing up (my mom is a vegetarian, so roasting a turkey wasn't exactly an option), so I don't have a nostalgic attachment to the food. And although Thanksgiving food is always good, it's usually not that exciting, especially for someone who grew up on spicy Indian food. Which is why I was very happy to see the current issue of Food & Wine feature a series of Asian-inspired Thanksgiving recipes created by Joanne Chang (the chef behind the amazing Flour Bakery + Cafe). I love the idea of giving Thanksgiving food a multicultural twist - maybe I'll be creating an Indian-inspired Thanksgiving feast for my own family one day...

Out of all the recipes in the feature, the red curry squash soup looked especially appetizing, and seemed like the perfect way to use the butternut squash that had been sitting on our counter for about a month. And the soup definitely lived up to expectations - it was totally delicious, creamy, and flavorful. The curry and coconut milk blend really well with the flavor of the squash, without overpowering it. Plus the soup gets even better after sitting in the fridge for a day or two, so you can make it ahead of time.

Recipe notes: The recipe suggests kabocha, kuri, or buttercup squash, but I used butternut, and it was fantastic. I left out the lemongrass, lime leaves, and scallions because I didn't have any, and added a handful of cilantro leaves at the end. Andrew and I both thought the cilantro added really good flavor to the soup. I also added more than the suggested 1 tbs lime juice.

Thai red curry with tofu

This is a fairly quick, and very adaptable recipe. I made it vegetarian (except for the fish sauce - see substitution below if you want it totally vegetarian), using tofu for the protein, but it would work well with shrimp or chicken. I used green and yellow string beans and potatoes for the vegetables - other good ones would be carrots, bell peppers, peas, maybe eggplant...lots of possible variations. If you make this, let me know what you used!

We used a prepared curry paste that we bought at Whole Foods, (or a similar store - can't quite remember). I would like to make my own at some point, but haven't tried it yet.

Some cooking notes: I like to pan fry the tofu so that it develops a nice crust and retains some texture when it is mixed with the coconut milk. Make sure to pat it dry before this step. For the potatoes, there isn't enough liquid to submerge them to simmer in the coconut milk mixture, so I like to pre-cook them, either by steaming or microwaving.


Thai red curry with tofu
Serves 4

1/2 lb. green and/or yellow string beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch segments
2/3 lb. (about 2 medium) Yukon gold or red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes (or you could use little new potatoes, like I did)
1 14 oz. can coconut milk
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste (I used Thai Kitchen brand)
7 oz. extra-firm tofu (this is half of a standard tofu package), cut into 3/4 inch cubes and patted dry with a paper towel
1 inch-long piece of ginger, peeled
1.5 tbsp Thai fish sauce (or soy sauce)
2 tbsp brown sugar
Vegetable oil
Basil and cilantro, chopped

In a heavy skillet (cast iron works great), heat vegetable oil (enough to coat bottom of skillet) over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add tofu and cook, tossing frequently, until tofu develops a golden-brown crust.

Meanwhile, steam potatoes until just barely tender. If you are cooking rice, it works nicely to do the steaming at the same time.

In a large saucepan, simmer coconut milk, ginger, and red curry paste over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add fish sauce, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup water and simmer for 5 minutes. Add beans and simmer for 5 more minutes. Add potatoes and tofu and cook until heated through (make sure potatoes are fully tender at this point). Remove ginger, and top with basil and cilantro. Serve hot with rice.