tilapia red thai curry

soul warming

I'm a big fan of all curries but my favourite go to is the red thai curry.  The tilapia held up really well in the sauce and soaks up the curry flavour beautifully.

what you need:

*serves 4

• 500 g tilapia
• 3 tbsp red thai curry paste (I've used Mae ploy and Aroy-D brands, both good!)
• 1 sweet potato
• 2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• juice of 1 lime OR 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp naturally brewed soy sauce
• 240 mL coconut milk 
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 red thai chilli *optional
• 1 green onion
• 1 handful fresh cilantro

what to do:

1. Clean vegetables, peel, then dice into bite size pieces.  Roughly chop garlic.  Separate cilantro stems from leaves.  Finely slice green onion and keep it aside with the cilantro leaves for garnish later.  Finely slice red thai chilli (for less heat -  leave it whole BUT be sure to take it out before serving!).
2. Heat oil in a large pot on medium heat.  Add onions and red thai chilli and sauté for 2 minutes, then add garlic, carrots and sweet potato.  Stir, lightly browning, then add curry paste.
3. After 1-2 minutes of sautéing with curry paste, add coconut milk.  Fill empty coconut milk can with cold water and add to pot.  Add sugar, lime juice, soy sauce and cilantro stems.  Stir, then cover tightly with lid.  Allow to simmer on medium low for 15 minutes.
4. Cut tilapia into large chunks.  Season tilapia lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Add to pot and bring heat up to medium and allow fish to simmer with the curry sauce for 8 minutes.
5. Once fish is cooked (white throughout) - curry is ready to be served.  Serve it over rice, and garnish with cilantro & green onions.  Enjoy!

thai-inspired noodle salad with curried steak

a spicy citrus dressing brings this dish together

I love this dish because you can use any veggies you have on hand, any protein (tofu, fish, meat), and some rice noodles which cook in no time.  I've written out the ingredients I used for the photo above, but literally it was what was in my fridge (groceries tomorrow!) so you can use whatever you've got!  It's the dressing that brings it all together and balances the flavours.

what you need:

*serves 4

for the dressing:

• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp ponzu
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 red thai chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• zest and juice of 1 lime (or lemon)

salad

• grilling steak (~16 ounces)
• 250 g thick vermicelli noodles
• 1/3 daikon
• 1 green pepper
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 handful cilantro
• 1 green onion
• 1 tbsp red curry paste
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp canola oil

what to do:

1. Combine dressing ingredients in a mason jar and shake well.  Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Bring a big pot of water to boil for the noodles.
3. Prepare vegetables by slicing thinly, about the width of the noodles.  Toss in a large bowl with dressing and set aside.
4. Smother both sides of the steak with curry paste. Season with pepper (my curry paste has salt so I didn't use more salt).
5. In a cast iron skillet, heat canola oil on medium-high heat.  Sear steak 2 minutes on both sides, then transfer to oven for 3-5 min, depending on steak thickness and how well done you like it.  Remove and allow steak to rest, tented under aluminum foil for 15 minutes.  Reserve the juices from skillet for next step.
6. Cook noodles for about 6 minutes (check your package for instructions) - drain and immediately toss with the juices from the steak skillet (the oil will help prevent noodles from clumping together).  Add noodles to veggies and toss to mix.
7. Slice steak against the grain and serve on top of noodle salad.  Enjoy! 

steak cooked medium
 2 min sear each side, then 4 minutes in a 350 F oven

tangy mango salad with shrimp

a light meal on its own, or a fresh side dish

The flavours of lime, cilantro & chilies make this salad arguably thai or mexican!  Doesn't really matter what you choose to eat it with, it's really easy and super tasty.  Make it vegetarian easily by eliminating the shrimp.  I served this alongside the spicy adobo beef enchiladas, which was perfect because the sweet mango cooled down our palates.

what you need:

• 1 ripe mango
• 1 cubanelle pepper
• 2 green onions
• 1 small handful of cilantro
• ~ 12 large shrimp, shelled and cleaned
• 1 clove of garlic
• ~2 tsp canola oil
• salt and pepper

for the dressing:

• 1 lime - zest and juice
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 red thai chilli, finely chopped (seeds removed for less heat)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 small clove of garlic, minced
• small pinch of salt
• freshly ground pepper

what to do:

1. Combine dressing ingredients and taste - adjust if needed (e.g. if the lime wasn't very juicy, you may need more lemon juice to add acidity).
2. Dice mango and pepper into approximately equal sized pieces.  Thinly slice green onion, and roughly chop cilantro.  Toss all ingredients together with dressing (except for shrimp), and allow it to sit in the fridge for 15-30 minutes before serving for flavours to combine.  
3. When you are about ready to serve, pat dry shrimp.  Season with salt and pepper.  In a non-stick pan, heat canola oil on medium.  Add garlic, once you can smell the garlic aroma, add the shrimp, cook just until pink, about 45 seconds each side.  Toss shrimp with salad and serve immediately.  Enjoy!

salmon with thai-inspired salsa

fresh and flavourful

Salmon is a great vehicle for flavour, you can make it quite plain but top it with a delicious sauce and you're set! Tonight it was topped with a fresh mango salsa - served alongside steamed broccoli - and it was pretty great.

what you need:

*serves two

• fillet of salmon for 2 (about 16 ounces)
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
• 1 tbsp ponzu
• freshly ground black pepper
• canola oil

thai salsa:

• 1 mango
• 1 sweet red pepper
• 1 small bunch of cilantro
• 1 green onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1-2 green thai chilies
• 1/2 lime - zest and juice
• 1 tsp thai fish sauce
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp ponzu
• small pinch of salt

what to do:

1. Marinate salmon in soy, ponzu, garlic, and black pepper.  Add about 1 tsp canola oil.  Let it rest for about 10 minutes, flipping salmon once at 5 minutes.
2. Prep salsa ingredients - dice mango and red pepper into about the same size.  Finely chop garlic clove.  Thinly slice green onion, chilies, and cilantro.  Mix all salsa ingredients together and then set aside in the fridge.
3. In a non-stick pan, put 2 tbsp of canola oil on medium heat.  Once the oil is heated, about 1-2 minutes, place salmon carefully in pan - you should hear it sizzle.  Cook for about 2 minutes, then flip salmon carefully and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Lower the heat to medium - low and cover pan with lid.  Cook for about 2-3 more minutes, depending on how thick your salmon is and how you like your salmon cooked.  (If you like it medium-rare, the thickest part of the salmon should feel a little bouncy when you lightly poke it with a cooking spoon.  If you like it medium-well, it should feel firmer)
4. Remove salmon from heat and top with heaping spoons of the salsa right before serving.  Enjoy!

thai inspired chicken soup

Tonight I used the chicken middle bone (or back bone) from the organic whole chicken (see "a whole chicken, a whole week") to make a Thai inspired chicken noodle soup. The aroma was fresh and inviting, and it made a light & fulfilling dinner for two.  If you don't have chicken bones to make stock, use store bought chicken or vegetable stock.  

what you need:

• chicken bones for stock
• 10 cups cold water
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 small bunch Thai basil
• 2 small Thai chillies
• 1 lime
• 1 stalk of lemon grass
• 1 small onion 
• 1 celery stalk
• 3-4 slices fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic
• 5 dashes fish sauce
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 handful green beans
• 1 carrot
• 2 green onions
• 1 handful of fresh cilantro
• 2 portions of soft tofu
• 2 portions of brown rice vermicelli

what to do:

1. Trim excess fat off the chicken bones.  Add it to a pot with 4-5 cups cold water and bring to a boil, then turn it to medium and let it simmer with the lid on for 15 min.
2. Roughly chop the onion, celery, chillies and lemon grass.  Smash the garlic cloves.  Rip the kaffir lime and basil leaves/stems a little to release its flavour. Add all of these to simmering stock.  In about 15 minutes, remove the chicken bones.  (When the chicken bones are cool enough to handle, remove any meat and set aside, then return bones to soup)
3. Turn the burner to medium low and simmer for another 15-20 minutes.  Add a few dashes of fish sauce and a pinch of salt.  Taste the broth - add salt if required.
4. Chop the green beans and green onions lengthwise on a sharp angle.  Roughly chop the cilantro and grate the carrot.  Cut tofu into 1" pieces.  Set aside.
5. In another pot, bring 5 cups of cold water to boil.  Put the vermicelli into the water and then turn off heat.  Soak for about 2 min, or until noodles are cooked (be careful not to overcook because they will become soggy and fall apart), drain and put noodles into the bottom of two bowls.
6. Turn off the heat for the stock and sieve out the aromatics (bones, onions, celery, etc.), return stock to the pot and bring to a gentle boil.  Add the tofu and green beans, cook for about 2 minutes then turn off the heat.
7. Top the noodles with carrots, cilantro, green onion and chicken (removed early from the bone).  Ladle broth, tofu and green beans into bowl until noodles are well covered.  Serve with a slice of lime, chopsticks and a spoon.  Enjoy!

toppings ready for soup

removing aromatics once they have flavoured the stock

fresh rolls with peanut sauce

so fresh and so clean

I learned how to make fresh rolls a few years ago when I served at Thai Paradise, a cute little restaurant downtown Toronto.  They are perfect as an appetizer, snack, or a light meal.  Tonight we made lots and that was dinner!  I've made them a few different ways, with various fillings and trying to perfect a peanut sauce.  You can pretty much use any veggies and/or protein you like (cooked tofu, shrimp, strips of fish, chicken, pork, beef).  Most restaurant fresh rolls have vermicelli noodles in them too - I don't make it that way at home because I don't want to wrap a carb in a carb.  The sauce really does complete this dish, so if you're allergic to peanuts, you can try almond or cashew butter instead.


Portion your ingredients according to how many fresh rolls you want to make.  Each roll will need at least 1 shrimp and 1-2 of each veggie slice.


What you need:


Fresh Rolls

• rice paper
• raw black tiger shrimp
• red pepper
• carrot
• green onion
• avocado
• asparagus
• green beans
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• fresh basil leaves

Peanut Sauce

*if you make the sauce a few hours beforehand, the flavours will intensify

• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 or 2 tsp soy sauce 
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely grated
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 3 dashes of thai fish sauce (optional)
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger (optional)
• 2 thai chillies chopped finely
• 1 green onion chopped finely
• 1 tbsp cilantro chopped finely
• 1-2 tsp honey 
• boiled water (amount will depend on consistency of the sauce and how it tastes, i.e. dilute if too salty)

*these are rough estimates, make sure you taste the sauce and adjust to your taste

What to do:

1. Put peanut butter in a bowl, then slowly add the wet ingredients (except water).  Stir gently until smooth (this is why natural peanut butter works best...hydrogenated peanut butter will be chunky and separated) - add the rest of the ingredients and taste.  Add water as required.  
2. Cut red pepper, carrot, green onion and avocado into long strips, about 2/3 the diameter of your rice paper.  Cut the asparagus in half.  Blanch the asparagus and green beans in boiling water for about 1 min, then transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking.  Save the boiled water for step 4.  Spread veggies out on a plate and set aside.
3. Peel and de-vein shrimp.  In a skillet on medium heat, add a bit of cooking oil and garlic.  Sauté shrimp just until cooked, season lightly with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and add to your spread.
4. Transfer the boiled water to a shallow pan and place it on the lowest heat possible.  
5. Take a rice paper and slide on side of it into the hot water, but keep holding the edge.  Keep turning it in your hand (clockwise) until it feels soft and pliable.  
6. Lay the rice paper on the board.  Put the shrimp and veggies in the centre, fold up one edge, fold up the edges on either side, then roll tightly to finish.  
7. Serve with peanut sauce and enjoy!

Random Tips:

• If you are making these in advance, store them in an airtight container lined and covered with a damp paper towel.
• Set up a small work station so you have an area to make the fresh rolls (cutting board, clean counter space) and the filling lined up within reach.  
• The rice paper is tricky and it usually takes one or two to get the hang of it, so don't worry if your first few rice papers envelope on themselves and becomes a gluey mess.

my fresh roll favourites

garlic sauteed shrimp

fresh roll assembly!