Thai Dinner Night

Who knew Thai Dinner was so simple to make.

My girlfriends and I decided we should have dinner together one night. One thing lead to another and we made it a themed dinner. THAI FOOD! Right off the top of our heads was Pad Thai and Tom Yum Soup. We were very lucky to have a personal Southeast Asian “iron chef” to guide us through the process. My girlfriend’s hubby is Malaysian and has strong influences from his parent’s cooking. He offered to make the Pad Thai and Tom Yum.

Danny and I have been currently trying to perfect our Thai inspired chicken marinade, so I offered to contribute chicken to the dinner. We were still missing something. Since my girlfriend is a little prego at the moment… she had HUGE cravings for green curry and eggplant. Personally, I’m not a fan of eggplant or green curry, but I know better; don’t stand in the way of a pregnant women’s cravings. Our fourth dish was Green Curry with Eggplant, Green Beans, Prawns and Potatotes.

This was the first time I made my own (with help) curry paste from scratch and it was delicious! AND the curry tasted SO amazing that I even ate the eggplants. My girlfriend forwarded the Green Curry recipe to me. It looks like a lot of ingredients but to my surprise it was quite easy to pick everything up at our local T&T Supermarket I thought I would have to search high and low for some of the items needed. Like… what’s Galangal? Thank goodness for Wiki… it’s some type of ginger root like thing that’s often used in Southeast Asian cuisines. You learn something new everyday.

Here’s the recipe for the Thai Chicken marinade. We used chicken breast and baked it this time, but it tastes so much better with chicken thigh and barbecued.
Danny gave me this recipe, so I don’t know where the recipe is sourced from.

# SERVES 2 (Double the recipe for 4 or more people)
# 1/2 fresh chicken, chopped into small parts, OR 4-8 fresh chicken thighs

# MARINADE:
# 2 Tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
# 1 tsp. dark soy sauce (or 1 more Tbsp. tamari)
# 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
# 3 Tbsp. sherry (cooking sherry works well too)
# 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
# 1 Tbsp. black peppercorns, lightly crushed with pestle & mortar, OR lightly ground with coffee grinder
# 10 cloves garlic, minced

* DIPPING SAUCE or GLAZE:
* 1/2 cup rice vinegar OR white wine vinegar (or substitute 1/3 cup white vinegar)
* 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1-2 fresh red chillies, minced OR 1-2 tsp. Thai red chilli sauce
* 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
* 1 Tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
* GARNISH: (optional)
* a few sprigs of fresh coriander or flat-leaf parsley

Preparation:

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl and stir well to dissolve the sugar.
2. Add chicken parts or thighs, turning several times to ensure the chicken is covered with marinade.
3. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate while you heat up the grill and prepare the dipping sauce. OR allow chicken to marinate overnight, or up to 24 hours.
4. To make the dipping sauce/glaze, place all the dipping sauce/glaze ingredients in a sauce pan. Stir and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low. Allow sauce to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken as it cooks and become tangy – a mixture of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy.
6. Tip: this sauce can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold, so you can easily make it ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until needed.
7. Brush your grill with a little vegetable oil, then grill the chicken, turning occasionally. Brush the chicken with the leftover marinade for the first 10 minutes or so, then discard marinade.

To Cook Chicken in Your Oven: Place chicken pieces on a grill pan or on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes, or until chicken is nearly done (thicker pieces may need slightly longer, while small or thin pieces may cook faster).

8. Now turn your oven to the “broil” setting (on “high” if you have a choice), and move chicken to one of the upper racks of your oven. Baste both sides of chicken with the leftover marinade, or with a little of the dipping sauce, then broil 3-5 minutes per side, or until fully cooked. Tip: Stay near the oven for this process, or chicken may burn.
9. Serve with the dipping sauce on the side, OR spoon a little sauce over each piece of chicken as a glaze before serving. This dish goes well with a salad (if you’re watching your carbs), or serve with rice. ENJOY!

I don’t know what’s in the Pad Thai and Tom Yum, that might be the “iron chef’s” family secret which I may never know! But if I ever find out, I will keep you guys posted.

Hope you guys enjoy the Green Curry and Chicken Marinade as much as my girlfriends and I.