Category Archives: seafood

by | 05/09/2011 · 1:01 pm

What’s Cooking: Nam prik kapi

People have different opinions on things, even though they are all wrong. One of those opinions is that pad krapao (stir-fried meat with basil on rice), crowned with a fried egg, is the ultimate Thai “square meal”.

I don’t see it that way. Nutrition-wise (your protein, carb AND fiber), my money’s on nam prik kapi (shrimp paste chili dip), accompanied by fresh veggies, rice and a couple of nice plump Thai mackerel for good measure. THIS is what a lot of Thais think of when they think of nam prik. This — dare I say it? — makes it one of Thailand’s most iconic dishes.

Nam prik platu (for 2 people with semi-hearty appetites)

-2 Tbs small green eggplants (makuea puong)*

-3 Tbs dried shrimp, blanched to minimize fishy smell

-3 Tbs small chilies

-3 limes

-4 large garlic cloves

 -1 heaping Tablespoon shrimp paste

-1 heaping teaspoon palm sugar

-juice of one small orange (preferably of the kiew som variety)

-1/2 Tablespoon fish sauce

-2 Thai mackerel (see below)

For fresh veggie accompaniment:

-handful of white turmeric (cumin khao)

-handful of long beans, cut into 4-inch segments

-cucumber, peeled and cut on the diagonal

-2 Thai eggplants (makuea proh)

1. Pound shrimp paste, small eggplants and garlic with mortar and pestle until mixed.

2. Add chilies and pound. The peppery smell that begins to waft from the mortar means you are finally getting somewhere.

3. Add palm sugar and mix thoroughly. Now this is when Chef McDang, who believes in all-natural ingredients, would give me the side-eye, but: also add a teaspoon of granulated sugar, if you can. It will add to the flavor, I promise.  Mix well until the paste becomes glossy. It will look like this:

4. Add shrimp, fish sauce, 1 Tbsp lime juice and orange juice to mortar. Then add 1 Tbsp hot water so paste takes on a more liquid consistency.

5. Garnish with whole chilies, add more lime juice if needed, and accompany dip with fresh veg, rice and fried Thai mackerel.

(For Thai mackerel)

-Heat oil in wok or deep frying pan and fry until skin is brittle and slightly browned (10 minutes).

-Drain on paper towels and dab to get rid of excess oil.

Note: Instead of simply putting everything on separate plates, you can also take a dollop of the chili dip, flake some fish flesh off the bone, and fry it all with a bowl of rice. Add a little bowl of dip and fresh veggies on the side, and it becomes one of my favorite Thai meals!

* These little guys are frequently maligned by people who dislike their bitter taste, but their tannic quality offsets the spiciness of the chili dip perfectly, so try not to leave these out! Sometimes, hairy eggplants (ma uk) are used instead.

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Filed under Asia, Bangkok, fish, food, rice, seafood, Thailand

by | 05/03/2011 · 11:45 am

What’s Cooking: Nam prik platu

Chili pastes, or nam prik, form one of the main pillars of a Thai meal, and of Thai cooking in general. As dip-like condiments, or krueng jim, they incorporate easily portable protein and vegetables, and are frequently the main protein source for a Thai during the day. As the base for a dish, or nam prik gaeng, they build the foundation to a curry, soup or stir-fry; they also make great de facto salad dressings and marinades. In fact, there are few savory dishes that do not incorporate some form of chili paste.

This is the condiment kind, a well-known chili dip that is the main meal for many Thai families. It is also very nutritious, using Thai mackerel (omega-3!), fresh and blanched vegetables (fiber!) and very little, if any, oil.

Nam Prik Platu (for four)

-2 pla tu, or Thai mackerel*

-4-5 red and yellow prik chee fa, chopped

-4-5 prik yuak, sliced

-10 garlic cloves

-16 halved shallots

-6 small red chilies

For fresh vegetable garnish:

-1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

-handful of savoy cabbage leaves, washed and trimmed

-2 Tbsp winged beans, cut into 1-inch sections

-3 Thai eggplants (makuea proh)

-2 Tbsp long beans, cut into 4-inch sections

For blanched vegetable garnish:

-1/2 nam thao, or green gourd, blanched, peeled and sliced

-handful of blanched morning glory (pak boong)

-handful of blanched long beans

-1 head cabbage, chopped and blanched

-1/2 head savoy cabbage, chopped and blanched

-1/2 cup chicken stock

-2 Tbsps fish sauce (plus more to taste)

-juice from 1 lime

1. Make chilies, garlic and shallots fragrant by dry-frying them (the process is called kua) in a wok or deep frying pan. Continue until the flesh begins to take on a “blackened” appearance. Take the opportunity to practice your flipping so you can show off to your friends later on and they will think you are a really great cook. (You can also kua by skewering your chilies, garlic and shallots and placing them in an oven at full whack until the flesh blisters and blackens a bit).

Your chili mixture will look like this:


2. Deflesh your fish with your fingers, taking care to catch the tiny bones in the tail section. Set aside fish flesh. It should look like this:


3. Once your chilies are fragrant, pound them in a mortar and pestle, in batches if necessary. Add fish flesh as you go along until everything is incorporated (of course, you can also whizz in the food processor, but it only serves to slice the ingredients, not crush them into oblivion. Also, why not get a great biceps workout while you’re at it?) When you are finished, the paste will look like this:


4. Add your chicken stock and 2 Tbsp fish sauce. Taste for seasoning and add more fish sauce if needed.
Your finished chili paste will look like this:


5. Just before serving, add juice of 1 lime, but if keeping for later, make sure to refrigerate (duh). Reheat and add lime juice just before serving, accompanied by fresh and blanched vegetables and rice.

*The best store-bought pla tu apparently must have a short face, crooked neck and (obviously) thick belly.

Next up: nam prik kapi, Thailand’s traditional square meal.

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Filed under Asia, Bangkok, fish, food, seafood, Thailand

by | 04/25/2011 · 4:22 pm

What’s Cooking: Gaeng liang

I don’t think I would be exaggerating to say I was a total mess after giving birth the second time. Dazed, depressed and demoralized, I struggled with things I thought were so easy as a new mother a decade earlier — changing diapers, giving baths, getting up in the morning.

This spicy vegetable soup was one of the few constants in a maze of uncertainty (“Why is he crying? Is he sick? What does he want?”) Full of nutrients and flavor, it is real Thai health food: one of the things Thai people say new mothers must eat to bring their milk in and keep their strength up. So for me, gaeng liang is the soup of retreat and renewal. It is also one of the few things that can make me sound like a spa brochure.

I based this recipe on Chef McDang’s gaeng liang in his “Principles of Thai Cookery”, which calls for pumpkin, buab (sponge gourd), bai tum lung (ivy gourd leaves) and lemon basil leaves. I swapped water out for chicken stock, grilled serpenthead fish in favor of shrimp, and added nam thao, a sort of watery green gourd. Because this soup is so rich in vegetables, you can omit the seafood altogether, but the shrimp paste is essential.

Gaeng Liang (for 4)
-300 g chicken stock
-16 shallots
-7 small green chilies
-1 Tbsp kapi (shrimp paste)*
-1/2 Tbsp white peppercorns
-2 Tbsp fish sauce
-1 tsp sugar
-2 g pumpkin, peeled and cut
-2 g straw mushrooms
-1 buab (sponge gourd), peeled and cut**
-1/2 nam thao (green gourd), peeled and cut**

Mushrooms, pumpkin and gourds


-handful of lemon basil and ivy gourd leaves

Bai maeng rak and bai thum lung


-300 g white shrimp, cleaned

1. Set chicken stock to boil over high heat.
2. While chicken stock is heating, make your soup base. Pound shallots, chilies, shrimp paste and peppercorns with mortar and pestle until semi-smooth consistency is achieved. Your chili paste should look like this:

3. Once boil is reached, add chili paste. Brace yourself; the smell can go up your nose and set off a cascade of sneezes.
4. Once boil returns, add fish sauce, sugar and veggies except for pumpkin, which gets mushy if overcooked.
5. Once boil returns, add pumpkin. Your gaeng should now look like this:

Skim foam off surface periodically as veggies boil to cut down on shrimpy smell. Leave for about 5 minutes.
6. Add shrimp but do not overstir. Add herbs and, without stirring, cover. Lower heat to medium. Leave for another 3-5 minutes.
7. Taste and, if necessary, correct seasoning. Shut off flame and leave to “marinate”. Your gaeng should look like this:

You can leave this for a day (refrigerated overnight) before eating. The kapi-heavy nam prik you so painstakingly pounded will turn the broth into a mahogany-colored, shrimpy ambrosia. Lunch the next day:

Next up: we delve deeper into the wonderful world of nam prik (chili paste) — the foundation for all Thai dishes.

*You need good-quality kapi for this to work. Chef McDang says you can roast store-bought shrimp paste until fragrant, but you can also buy the type made from small shrimp (referred to as kuey in the southern Thai dialect), which needs no pre-roasting at all.

**You may not be able to secure sponge gourd or green gourd where you live. Just in case you come across them, they look like this in their natural state:

If you can’t find these, substitute zucchini and yellow squash for the gourds, and baby spinach for the ivy gourd leaves.

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Filed under Asia, Bangkok, food, seafood, Thailand