Thai Cooking Class

Thai Hot and Sour Soup

Yield 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
• 2 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup packed cilantro leaves, for garnish
• 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 fresh or dried kaffir lime leaves or
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• 1 stalk lemongrass, tender inner white part only, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• Two 14-ounce cans coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon plus
• 1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
• 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, sliced crosswise into 2-by-1/4-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Thai red chile paste
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 red or green Thai chiles, very thinly sliced on the bias
• 1/4 cup Asian fish sauce

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the fish sauce.In a large pot, combine the stock with the sugar, chile paste, tamarind, ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves and bring to a boil over moderately high heat.
2. Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the chicken and fish sauce along with the mushrooms and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and discard the lime leaves.
5. Stir in the lime juice and chiles.
6. Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with the cilantro and serve with rice.

Pad Thai

Servings: 2 servings

• 4 oz Thai rice noodles cooked
• 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced into small strips
• 8 shrimp P&D
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp packed dark-brown sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1/4 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips and strips halved
• ¾ cup matchstick carrots
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 green onions, whites minced, greens sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• Red pepper flakes and sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Prepare rice noodles according to directions listed on package. In a mixing bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice and fish sauce, set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok and over medium-high heat.
3. Add chicken and cook until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove from pan.
4. Add shrimp and cook until just done. Remove from pan.
5. Add additional opil to pan and add bell pepper and carrots and cook 1 – 2 minutes then add garlic, green onions and bean sprouts saute 1 minute longer.
6. Push veggies to edges of pan and crack eggs into center. Cook and scramble until eggs have cooked through. Add in chicken, shrimp, noodles and sauce and toss everything together and cook 1 – 2 minutes.
7. Serve warm topped with cilantro, peanuts and optional red pepper flakes and sesame seeds.

Recipe Notes

8. If you like it extra saucy you can double the sauce mixture.
9. For a creamy, peanuty sauce you can add 2 Tbsp peanut butter to mixture.
10. If you can’t find bean sprouts they can be omitted or you can replace with napa cabbage.

Dumplings from Scratch

Prep Time: 4 hours

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes

Servings: 70 to 80 small dumplings

Ingredients

Dumpling Dough

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water at room temperature

Dumpling filling (About 4 cups preferable dumpling filling)

Instructions

To prepare the dough

1. Add flour into a large bowl. Slowly pour the water into the bowl, mixing them together with a pair of chopsticks.
2. When the water is mixed with the flour, dust both hands with flour and start kneading to form dough. The dough will be quite tough and should easily be able to be lifted from the bowl without sticking to the bottom.
3. When dough has formed, dust the working surface with flour and dust hands again. Transfer the dough to the working surface and continue to knead it until its surface becomes smooth, about 10 minutes.
4. Rinse a clean dish towel with water. Dust the bottom of a large bowl with flour and transfer the dough into it. Cover bowl with the damp dish towel and a lid (or plastic wrap). Let the dough rest for 2 hours. You can let the dough rest longer, 4 to 5 hours.
5. After resting, the dough will be softened and have a smooth texture. Dust the working surface and your hands with extra flour and transfer the dough onto the surface. Knead the dough repeatedly for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the dough hardens again. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes (or longer).

During this time, you can prepare the dumpling filling

To make dumplings

1. Dust the working surface again and transfer the dough onto it. Slice 1/6 of the dough off and place the rest back to the big bowl. Cover it with the damp dish towel.
2. Roll the dough into a long stick 1 inch in diameter. Use a knife to cut the dough stick into about 12 small doughs, each weighing 0.4 to 0.5 oz.
3. Slightly dust both sides of each small dough with flour. Work on them one at a time.
4. Dust the working surface again. Take one dough and press it to a round disc. Roll it with a rolling pin into a round sheet. Try to roll it so that that the edge is thinner than the center. The wrapper should be about 1 millimeter thick and the diameter should be about 3 inches. It is ok if the wrapper is not perfectly round.
5. Starting here, you should work as quickly as you can, because the wrappers will dry out quickly. And if they do, you will find it very difficult to seal the dumplings later. If the wrappers dry out when you start to fold the dumplings, brush a bit of water over the edge so you can still seal the dough.
6. Scoop about 1 tablespoon (or less, so you can easily fold the dumpling) of dumpling filling and place it in the center of the wrapper. Hold the dumpling with one hand and start sealing the edges with the other hand. Be careful, when you press the edges together to seal the dumpling, do not let filling touch the sealing area (the dumpling will fall apart if you do). After folding, press edge again to seal well. You don’t need to fold beautiful dumplings here; our goal is to make the dumplings hold their shape during boiling.
7. Place the dumplings on the working surface and work on the rest of the doughs in the same manner.
8. Try to wrap and cook dumplings in small batches (20 to 25 dumplings at a time). If you won’t cook dumplings soon after wrapping (within 30 minutes), freeze them first.

To cook boiled dumplings

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

1. Carefully add dumplings one at a time into the water. Use a big ladle to stir the water gently and continuously, until the water starts to boil again, so the dumplings won’t stick to the bottom, for about 1 minute. Adjust the heat so the water is at boiling point, but isn’t bubbling too fiercely.
2. When the dumplings float to the surface, continue boiling until the dumplings are filled with air and swollen, and the dough starts to become transparent, about 1 minute (*see footnote 3). Immediately transfer all the dumplings to a plate.
3. Be careful, the dumplings cook quickly and you should always stand beside the pot throughout the boiling process. When the dumplings are cooked, they will start to fall apart within seconds, so transfer them as soon as possible.

To cook potstickers

4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. When oil is hot, place potstickers in the skillet, pleat side up.
5. Swirl 2 tablespoons water in the skillet, cover immediately, and turn the heat to medium. Cook covered until the water is evaporated and potstickers are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Remove the cover and flip one potsticker to see whether the bottom side is charred. If not, turn to medium high heat and cook until the bottom side turns golden brown.
7. Transfer the potstickers to a plate.

 To freeze raw dumplings

If you plan to store dumplings or won’t serve them immediately, always freeze them uncooked. It won’t affect the texture or flavor of the dumplings.

Dust the bottom of a big airtight box with a thin layer of flour. Place the dumplings, one finger’s width apart. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

To cook frozen dumplings

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add dumplings into the water. Use a big ladle to stir a few times. Cover and cook until the water starts to boil again. Adjust the heat so the water will keep boiling without spilling. Cover and cook for 3 minutes (up to 5 minutes for bigger dumplings). Uncover pot. Continue to cook for about 1 minute (up to 2 minutes for bigger dumplings), until cooked through. Transfer to a plate immediately.

To store and reheat cooked dumplings

Store leftover boiled dumplings in airtight container in the fridge and consume as soon as possible, within 1 to 2 days.

To reheat in microwave – Add dumplings into a bowl and sprinkle with a few drops of water. Cover and heat until warm.

To reheat by steaming – Place dumplings in a bowl. Place a tall-rimmed plate upside down in a pot and add water to cover. Place the bowl of dumplings on top. Heat over high heat until water is boiling. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.

To pan fry – Grease a nonstick skillet with a thin layer of oil and heat over medium heat. When skillet is hot, add dumplings. Swirl in a tablespoon of water, cover immediately, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Dim Sum Recipe

Prep Time35 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time50 mins

Servings: 5 people

Ingredients

• 11 oz ground pork
• 11 oz ground shrimp
• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp oyster sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp sugar Brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt sea salt or table salt
• 20 pieces wonton skins
• 2 chili peppers
• 1 minced onion

Instructions

1. Take a food processor and grind the shrimp. Add the ground pork and the rest of the ingredients, to mix everything well
2. Take the wonton skins and place between your thumb and the forefinger
3. Add the filing in the middle and carefully push up the rest of the skin and push with a teaspoon the filling. Flat the base so the dim sum can sit straight on the steamer.
4. Put the dim sum in the bamboo steamer basket, cover and steam for about 12 min
5. Serve with soy sauce

Guotie with Meat and Cabbage Filling

Yield 3 Servings

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE FILLING

• 7 oz minced meat (pork, beef, or chicken)
• 14 oz cabbage
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cooking wine
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp peanut oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp shallots, chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger, chopped

Directions

• Mix meat, cooking wine, soy sauce, salt, two tablespoons of water.
• Leave the meat to rest for a while, then add the peanut and the sesame oil, and stir in the diced cabbage, the ginger, and the scallions.
• Fill the center of each circle of dough with the meat mixture, then pinch together the two opposite sides of the dough to seal.
• Arrange the guotie in a heated, greased pan.
• Fry until the bottom of the guotie catches color. Then pour in a mixture of a teaspoon of flour and half a bowl of water, and cover with a lid.
• Cook until the water evaporates and no longer hear crackling sounds.
• Serve hot, bottom side up, with the dipping sauce on the side.

Dipping Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 scallion, finely chopped
• A pinch of crushed dried red pepper

 

Mix ingredients together and serve with Guotie

Pot-Stickers

YIELD 8 appetizer servings

INGREDIENTS

• ¾ pound ground pork or other meat
• 1 cup minced cabbage
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 1 tablespoons minced garlic
• 6 scallions, the white and green parts separated, both minced
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons good soy sauce
• 48 dumpling wrappers
• 1 egg, lightly beaten in a bowl
• 4 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil, more or less
• ¼ cup rice vinegar or white vinegar

PREPARATION

1. Combine meat, cabbage, ginger, garlic, scallion whites and 2 tablespoons soy sauce in a bowl with 1/4 cup water.
2. Lay a wrapper on a clean, dry surface, and using your finger or a brush, spread a bit of egg along half of its circumference.
3. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling in center, fold over and seal by pinching edges together. (Do not overfill.)
4. Place dumplings on a plate; if you want to wait a few hours before cooking, cover plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Or freeze, for up to two weeks.
5. To cook, put about 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet and turn heat to medium-high. A minute later, add dumplings, one at a time; they can touch one another, but should still sit flat in one layer.
6. Cook about 2 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned and most of the oil has been absorbed.
7. Add 1/4 cup water per dozen dumplings to pan, and cover.
8. Lower heat to medium, and let simmer about 3 minutes.

To make the dipping sauce

1. Combine remaining soy sauce, green parts of scallions and vinegar.
2. Uncover dumplings, return heat to medium-high and cook another minute or two, until bottoms are dark brown and crisp and water evaporates. (Use more oil if necessary.) Serve hot, with sauce.

Best Sweet and Sour Sauce

PREP TIME2 mins

COOK TIME3 mins

TOTAL TIME5 mins

SERVINGS16 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup canned pineapple juice
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari (GF)
• For the Cornstarch Slurry: 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place all of the ingredients, except for the cornstarch slurry, in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer for another minute until thickened, stirring constantly. If using red food coloring, stir it in.
2. Let the sauce cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.