Taste of Thai

As mentioned in my earlier post of ' Try Thai the Indian Way ', my favourite Thai menu also comprised of a Cold Cucumber Salad and a Chicken-Coconut Soup.

A perfect harmony of savor and flavor ,this salad that can be served either as a main dish or as an accompaniment is nutritious and can be prepared in seconds.

The Ingredients are:-

2 medium sized Cucumbers chopped finely
Some fresh or canned pineapple chunks
roasted and crushed peanuts/walnuts/cashew nuts
handful of fresh coriander leaves chopped
few basil leaves 4 cloves of garlic chopped

For the Dressing:-

1 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 green chili
2 pods roasted and crushed garlic
2 tsp of pineapple juice

Method:-

Toss all the ingredients and dressing gently in a bowl and serve on a bed of lettuce or cabbage leaves garnished with coriander and basil leaves and your fresh,cold and crunchy salad is ready to serve.

The classic Chicken-Coconut Thai Soup which has intensive layers of flavor is another favourite pick of mine.

The Ingredients are:-

½-2 cups coconut milk
1½-2 cups chicken stock
Few thin slices of galangal, or fresh or dried ginger
1 bowl of fresh button mushrooms
1 bowl of boneless,boiled and shredded chicken chunks
2 stalks of lemon grass or lemon rind
2 tbsp of fish sauce or soy sauce
1 red chili split in between
Salt to taste
Few kafir lime leaves (if unavailable use spring onion and coriander leaves for garnish)

Method:-

Prepare chicken stock by boiling boneless chicken pieces. Mix the coconut milk. To speed up the process,you can use 2 packets of ready made coconut-ginger paste readily available at most hyper markets.Saute the cleaned mushrooms till tender. Add galangal or ginger and grated lemon rind or kafir lime leaves to the coconut- chicken mixture. Add the sauteed mushroom and chicken chunks.Also add the fish or soy sauce and salt and let it simmer for a while.Serve hot garnished with the split red chili and lime leaves or spring onion and chopped coriander leaves.

So,take your taste buds on an exotic Thai vacation and don't forget to come back for more of the undeniably delicious and flavourful Thai cuisine in my forthcoming posts.