Thai Recipes for Your New Year Feast!
Without food and treats, a celebration will lose such a significant part of its meaning, particularly when a new year is approaching, signaling all of us to turn a new leaf. To write the next flavorful chapter of our life, what better time is there for feasting on delicious Thai food? Here are some Thai recipes for your dinner!
Entrée: Satay Grilled Pork (moo satay – หมูสะเต๊ะ)
[cr. Kapook]
Imagine that mouth-watering grilled flavor and smell that is slowly wafting out when a piece of meat touches a hot surface of a griller, and that sizzling sound too! A perfect entrée that calms your hunger and stimulates your craving at the same time is no other than the famous satay grilled pork.
Although the satay pork is a common delicacy consumed in all regions of Thailand, it originated in Indonesia. The word “satay” has a Tamil root and means “flesh.” In restaurants, bistros, or street food stalls, satay is usually served as skewers and comes in a tiny portion, which may not satisfy your appetite. So let’s take a look at a simple satay pork recipe that you can do at home and in any portion that you wish for your whole family to enjoy.
To marinate the pork, you will need
- Pork top round
- Two handfuls of pounded garlics
- ½ ladle of turmeric powder (optional)
- One ladle of caraway seed powder (optional)
- Two and a half ladles of curry powder (mandatory – the more curry powder you use, the more fragrant the satay will become.)
- Two ladles of granulated sugar
- Two ladles of pounded coriander seeds
- Coconut milk
- Milk
- Wood skewers
Swing into action!
- Cut the pork into small pieces.
- Put the pork into a container, followed by pounded garlics.
- Then in go turmeric powder, caraway seed powder, curry powder, sugar, pounded coriander seeds, coconut milk, and some milk. Make sure not to put too much milk to prevent the marinade from being too watery.
- Leave the pork marinated for a half day.
- Put the pork on the skewers and soak them in coconut milk.
- Grill them.
- When the pork starts to cook, brush coconut milk on both side of the skewers so that the pork stays soft and not too dry.
- Continue grilling until the pork is well cooked.
To prepare the satay sauce, you will need
- 500 grams of fresh coconut milk
- 200 grams of Massaman curry
- Three ladles of palm sugar
- Four ladles of tamarind juice
- Granulated salt
- Five ladles of crushed grilled peanuts
Swing into action!
- Firstly, simmer some coconut milk.
- Add the Massaman curry (200 grams is enough) and the rest of the coconut milk.
- Next, add three ladles of palm sugar. (You can add more later if it is not sweet enough to your taste.)
- Add tamarind juice. Be careful! The dominant taste of the satay sauce is sweet. Never put too much tamarind juice or you’ll be making something else. Add some salt to achieve a balanced taste.
- Put the crushed peanuts and mix well. You can try five ladles of the peanuts first and see if the sauce is thick enough.
- Heat the sauce until it boils and remove from the heat.
To prepare the acar sauce (pickle sauce), you will need
- Vinegar
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Water
- Chopped cucumbers
- Chopped red chili peppers
- Chopped shallots
Swing into action!
- Put some vinegar, sugar, salt and water into the pot. Simmer until reduced and remove from the heat. Let it rest to cool down. It should taste sour followed closely by sweet, and salty as an aftertaste.
- Put the cucumbers, chili peppers, and the shallots in the cooled down acar sauce, and the sauce is ready.
Plate the satay skewers on a beautiful tray or plate with some toasts as a side, and do not forget two small bowls for the satay sauce and the acar sauce. The entrée is ready to serve!
Thai Salad: Winged bean salad (yum tua pu – ยำถั่วพู)
[cr. maekwansri]
Thai food is well known for its hot and spicy kick, but there are several mild dishes that will please your taste buds with their umami flavor. Let’s get to know the winged bean salad with shrimps and soft boiled eggs.
To make the salad, you will need
- Winged beans
- Minced pork
- Shrimps
- Fried shallots, fried garlics, fried dried chili peppers, fried dried squid
- Grilled cashew nuts
- Lime juice
- Nam pla or fish sauce
- Palm sugar
- Nam Phrik Phao (sweet chili paste in oil)
- Coconut cream
- Chopped fresh shallots
- Soft boiled eggs
Swing into action!
- Cook minced pork and shrimps in hot water but not too long, and remove them from the water.
- Prepare a fried shallot mix with fried garlics, chili peppers, squids, and cashew nuts.
- Wash the winged beans and cut them into pieces. Put them in a saline water to prevent the beans from turning dark. Then put the cut beans into boiling water and quickly remove them. Put them in cold water to preserve the crispness of the vegetable texture. Remove them from the water.
- Make a salad sauce by mixing lime juice, nam pla, palm sugar, and nam phrik phao. Mix them well and adjust the taste according to your preference.
- Add the coconut cream into the salad sauce, followed by the cooked pork and shrimps, half of the fried shallot mix, and the cooked winged beans. Mix them well and put on a plate. Garnish the salad with the remaining shallot mix and soft boiled eggs. Yummy (and low in calorie too)!
Main meat: Grilled chicken (gai yang – ไก่ย่าง)
[cr. Kapook]
Thai grilled chicken is a feast to the eye as much as it is to the stomach. Seeing a whole chicken on a roller grill and its crispy and yellow skin coated with herbs and spices, you may think that this dish is just too complicated for a home cooked meal. Don’t worry. It is easier (and perhaps even tastier) that it looks.
To make a gai yang, you will need
- Chicken thighs or any parts that you like
- For the marinade: lemongrass, coriander root, ginger, turmeric powder, black pepper, sugar, soy sauce, and condensed milk (optional)
- A blender and a mortar and pestle (optional)
Swing into action!
There are only two steps to prepare this dish: marinating and grilling
- To make the marinade, mix Thai local herbs – lemongrass, coriander root, ginger, garlic turmeric powder, and black peppers – using a mortar and pestle to pound and crush these ingredients. You do not need to make a fine paste. If you do not have a mortar and pestle, it is alright. Just chop everything and put it in the blender. Season the marinade with sugar and soy sauce. If you want the chicken to be extra soft, substitute sugar with condensed milk.
- Now that we have the marinade, bring in the chicken. Marinate it for 15 minutes and grill for another 15-20 minutes until the outside turns golden brown and the inside is well-cooked.
That’s it! The Thai people like to pair gai yang with the papaya salad (som tam) and some sticky rice. You can do it too for an authentic Thai culinary experience.
Vegetarian Option: Fried Golden Needle Mushroom with Tamarind Sauce
[cr. FB: easycookingmenu]
This fried mushroom with tamarind sauce is a newly invented healthy and guilt-free snack that everyone can cook and enjoy.
To make this crispy treat, you will need
- Golden needle mushrooms (enoki mushrooms)
- Crispy flour
- Very cold water
- Tamarind juice
- Palm sugar
- White soy sauce
Swing into action!
- Chop off the roots of the mushrooms. The mushrooms should measure around 3-4 inches. Spread the mushroom chunks nicely.
- Mix crispy flour with cold water.
- Heat the pan on medium heat.
- Dip the mushroom into the crispy flour mixture. Remove the excess flour. You don’t want to have too much of the flour on the mushroom; otherwise, it will lose the crispiness. Fry them in the pan and remove them once cooked.
- To make the sauce, mix the tamarind juice with boiled water, palm sugar, and white soy sauce. It should taste sour, salty and sweet.
Easy right? Now let’s enjoy the meal.
Dessert: Red Rubies (tub tim grob – ทับทิมกรอบ)
[cr. Omni Recipes]
This Thai dessert is a representative dish that sums up the creativity, aesthetic skills, gastronomic prowess, and yet simplicity which are fused in the very thread of the Thai society.
The red rubies derives its name from the resemblance between the pink water chestnut cubes and the ruby gemstone which is surely not as delicious as its sweet doppelganger.
To make this tasty dessert, you will need
- Water and granulated sugar to make a clear syrup
- Coconut cream and salt to make a sweet topping
- Water chestnuts, red syrup, and tapioca flour to make the red rubies
Swing into action!
- To make the clear syrup, put water and sugar in the ratio of 1:1 in a pot and heat until boiling and remove it from heat. With this ratio, the syrup will have a perfect consistency, not too thick.
- To make a sweet topping, mix coconut cream with salt and boil on low heat. Make sure to keep stirring until the salt dissolves. Remove from heat and let it rest.
- Cut water chestnuts (either canned or fresh) into cubes and soak them in red syrup until they all turn red. Then, drain the syrup and mix the cubes with tapioca flour.
- Put the chestnut cubes in boiling water. Do not stir. You will know that they are cooked when the flour starts to turn transparent and the chestnut cubes float on top.
- In a beautiful dessert bowl, put the cooked red chestnut cubes, followed by the clear syrup and the coconut cream topping.
There you go, a fancy looking Thai dessert with a precious name of a red gemstone. May your next year be as bright and sweet as tubtim grob!
Now you have learned some easy yet super tasty recipes to make a Thai course meal for your New Year’s celebration. We wish you a nice year-end get together either with your family, friends, or even through a virtual celebration during this difficult time. With some nice food on the table, it’s not going to be so bad. Bon appetit!
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Sources
https://cooking.kapook.com/view112517.html – Satay
https://cooking.kapook.com/view164247.html – Winged bean salad
https://www.thailandfoundation.or.th/culture_heritage/gai-yang-3/ – Grilled chicken
https://cooking.kapook.com/view99733.html – Fried mushroom
https://www.thailandfoundation.or.th/culture_heritage/tub-tim-grob-2/ – Tubtim grob
Author: Soonyata Mianlamai