Tom Yum Kung

Tom Yum Kung by Pong.......

It would be difficult to find any Bangkokians who have never heard of Tom Yum Kung. Not only is Tom Yum Kung well-noted among Bangkok residents, but it is also popularly known among international visitors to Thailand as the symbol of national Thai food. It is a special spicy soup and has a lot of herbs. By the way, my family often likes to cook and eat Tom Yum Kung every week. Because most members of my household love to eat spicy foods, so it is not strange that Tom Yum Kung would be one of such spicy foods. My family recipe has a special formula to cook light (without milk) Tom Yum Kung that it can’t be found anywhere. Now , are you ready ? Let’s make Tom Yum Kung in my style.
First step: These ingredients needed to prepare Tom Yum Kung are easy to find in Thailand. Its main ingredients consist of shrimps , pork stock , sliced straw mushrooms , minced lemongrasses , minced lime leaves , green peppercorn , smashed red onion , smashed ginger, smashed galingale , minced hot green Thai chili peppers , roasted chili paste , salt , fish sauce , lime juice , chopped cilantro leaves and water. In portion, I can’t specify certainly; it depends on number of consumers and some desired taste.
Second step: This step is cooking Tom Yum Kung. Firstly, you have to simmer water and pork stock in a pot over medium heat about 10 minutes. Next, adding the lemongrasses , lime leaves , green peppercorn , red onion , ginger ,and galingale boil about 5 minutes. Then, put in the shrimps , mushrooms ,and roasted chili paste simmer to continue over medium heat until shrimps are pink through. After that, you should take the pot off the stove and put the salt , fish sauce , lime juice , and hot green Thai chili peppers so that the heat will reduce their wonderful taste. Lastly, you could taste it and add more of such ingredients if you want.
After finishing that second step ,you should eat it immediately while it is hot by pouring the soup into the bowl and garnishing with cilantro leaves. As a result, you get the perfect taste from it and you will remember it forever when you feel hungry. I would suggest that you all shouldn't miss to eat it because it has a lot of benefits for you health. Enjoy eating ….. Tom Yum Kung !!

By Paul....Thai

Pad Thai

How to make a family recipe?

“PAD-THAI”

In my country, Thailand, there are many kinds of the traditional food that are popular. One of these foods that I would introduce to you is Pad-Thai. Its name means “Frying noodle in Thai style”. If you love noodle dishes, you should try it once in your life. It is suitable for every age because it is easy to eat. In fact, not only do Thais love eating Pad-Thai, but foreigners prefer and feel fascinated by its taste. I don’t know what true main reason makes them attracted. However, I can infer that it has a lot of ingredients such as noodle, bean sprouts, ground roasted bean, bean curd, eggs, shrimp, dried shrimps, and so on so they feel the food is delicious while they are eating. Another reason is that some ingredients can help the digestive system of the body such as tamarind juice, lime, banana blossom, chopped chives. In Thailand, you can find Pad-Thai along both sidewalks and restaurants. By the way, if you want to enjoy cooking your own, I can tell how to cook it and make it delicious. There are three main parts you should know: preparing the ingredient, stirring-fry, and decorating the plate.

Preparing the ingredients:
- Rice noodle ½ package
(You should soak the noodle in the cold water at least 1 hour so that it is soft)
- Chopped chives 2 tablespoons
- Ground roasted bean 3 tablespoons
- 1 egg
- Lemon or lime 1 slice
- Sugar 2 tablespoons
- Fish sauce 2 teaspoons
- Tamarind juice
- bean sprouts
- bean curd 2 teaspoons
- Shrimp
- Dried shrimps 2 teaspoons
- Banana blossom
- Paprika
- Soup stock 3 teaspoons
- Carrot
- Coriander
- Oil

Stirring-fry:
First, heat a pan, pour the oil and wait until it ishot. Next; put bean curd, dried shrimps, and shrimps together. You stir-fry them until their color is changed or look well done. However, you should check the heat all the time while you are stirring. If it is over hot, it may be burnt and black. Then, you should get the shrimps out of the pan; otherwise they may be sticky. The next step, add the noodles and try to stir them quickly. Add tamarind juice, soup stock, fish sauce, sugar, ground roasted bean. I suggest that you have to taste your food when you are cooking and add ingredients gradually. Then, you mix and stir them about 1 minute. In order to make it healthful, you should put some vegetable such as chopped chives, bean sprouts, and carrots and mix them together. After that spread out the mixture on one side. Break the egg shell; put it in the other side of the pan. Cook total mixture and wait until the egg sets. Finally, you have to continue cook with medium heat for 2 minutes.

Decorating the plate:
When you finished working, you put Pad-Thai in the dish. Put the shrimp on the top. Sprinkle the ground roasted bean, chopped chives, bean sprouts, and coriander. Add the slice lemon, banana blossom, and paprika at the side of dish.
And…It’s time to enjoy eating ~Pad Thai~

Tip

To make more delicious, I have two secret matters to tell you about Pad-Thai. The first, you should use charcoal to heat because it will have smell better than heat from gas or electricity. The latter is that you should eat while it is still hot. The cause is that the noodle is soft, ground roasted bean have good smelling.

By Janthima Srisombat