Cooking at Home

[lazarus]

39 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said:

Chicken Scarpiello

Thanks. Looks like a tasty recipe. I'll try this sometime.

[john1000]

Great thing about Thailand you can experiment with the many spices and herbs available in the markets. I do cook when in Thailand and many ladies I have cooked for appreciated.

[Butch]

17 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

Chicken Scarpiello

This is a favorite recipe of mine to make at home a few times a year. The ingredients (chicken, mushrooms, bell pepper, garlic, capers, pepperochinos) can be cut up ahead of time and added as needed. I would treat this as a stir fry recipe where one has all ingredients ready to go before starting the cooking. The temp control is critical before putting into the oven.

https://thisishowicook.com/chicken-scarpariello/

A few pics:

Out of the the oven:

 

Side dish of some Sea Shell Pasta (Conchiglie, Orecchiette works as well).

 

Plated

I really like that, fairly easy ingredients that most people have to hand or in the fridge.

Added bonus of it being flexible with regards to the addition of pasta to make it a well balanced and cheap meal.

I'll probably give that a try over the next week or so.

[ChiFlyer]

4 hours ago, Butch said:

I really like that, fairly easy ingredients that most people have to hand or in the fridge.

Added bonus of it being flexible with regards to the addition of pasta to make it a well balanced and cheap meal.

I'll probably give that a try over the next week or so.

A key to this recipe is finding a good Italian Sausage that one is happy with. Being from Chicago, I have a preference for a sweet Italian Sausage. Johnsonville's Sweet in the US would be a good example of this. I have communicated with a few other home cooks over at PA and none of us have come up with one.

I went so far as to try making my own. I came close, but it was a fair amount of work and I could only make a bulk package, as opposed to sausages.

I am currently ordering a savory variety from Jet Italian and it is not bad, but still not quite what I want.

https://jetitaliandeli.com/collections/sausages/products/salsiccia

I was given a tip the other day, that Makro carries something called a Fennel Sausage that may be closer to what I am looking for. Supposedly this item is in the center freezer compartments just past where the milk is found. I will check out and report back.

 

[ChiFlyer]

Garlic-Lime Grilled Pork Tenderloin.

This is a long time favorite of mine. It is an America's Test Kitchen (ATK) recipe, that is no longer available for free on the net.

Garlic Lime Pork Tenderloin.pdf

My Thai guests seem to really like this recipe. The recipe is written to be used on an American type Weber Grill. I use a Lodge Grill Pan here in Jomtien (it costs about 1200 THB on Lazada). I heat the grill pan on as high a heat as possible for at least 6 minutes, before putting the pork onto the grill. Cast iron cooking holds heat very well, but it reaches that heat slowly.

A meat thermometer is a good idea for this recipe. One wants to hit the suggested 140 F degree temp as close as possible. Otherwise the pork will be over-cooked and a little tough.

A pic

 

 

 

[Stillearly]

[ChiFlyer]

Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta

This recipe caught my eye and I decided to give it a try. It turned out very well and I will do again some day.

https://yummyaddiction.com/cajun-shrimp-and-sausage-pasta-recipe/#recipe

IMO the recipe is not very well written, but hey all's well that ends well. I think some of the cooking times are a little understated for the veggies and sausages. Make sure not to overcook the shrimp. Less than 2 minutes per side is about right. And make sure that the pasta is a little short of al dente, as it will cook some more in the sauce.

I bought the Andouille online from Prime. It was decent.

I really liked the taste on this dish. The GF liked it as well.

A few pics.

Finished in the pan

 

Plated

[ChiFlyer]

Sriracha Ramen Soup

This recipe has several pluses. It has generally available ingredients, gets to the table in less than an hour, needs no fancy equipment, and has a very good taste.

https://bakerbynature.com/20-minute-spicy-sriracha-ramen-noodle-soup/#wprm-recipe-container-38677

I made a few small tweaks.

• I added a 1/4 tsp of Cayenne Pepper with the broth.
• I use homemade chicken broth instead of the stated vegetable broth.
• I add a TBSP of Fish Sauce with the Soy Sauce and Rice Vinegar.

The broth may taste a little bland at first, but it will become more concentrated after the ramen noodles are added. And the poached egg is a must IMO.

On the table.

[ChiFlyer]

Korean Ground Beef and Rice Bowls

This is another versatile recipe that can be tailored to one's preferences. It requires no fancy equipment and the ingredients are locally available in Bang Lamung.

https://ifoodreal.com/korean-ground-beef-and-rice-bowls/ 

I have tweaked the recipe in the following manner:

• Reduced the sauce by 1 TBSP of Soy Sauce and replaced that with 1 TBSP of Fish Sauce.
• Used 2 TBSP of locally produced honey from Khon Kean, instead of Maple Syrup.
• Used 1 TBSP of Korean Guchujang instead of Red pepper Flakes. Pic to follow.
• Change order of veg entry to the pan to -> (3 mins for eggplant, 7 more minutes for Bell Pepper and Zucchini, Tomato near the end).

Pics

Korean Guchijang

In the pot

Plated

 

[ChiFlyer]

Seared Scallop Pasta

Tried a new recipe tonight. Actually, I merged two recipes to come up with a version that I liked. In reading the main pasta recipe I noticed that the scallop searing part was at odds with a seared scallop recipe that I had faith in. The searing times in the pasta recipe were just too long.

I instead seared the scallops with Alton Brown's recipe. I went a little longer than Mr. Brown's recommended 90 seconds per side and regretted doing so. The scallops were a little over cooked. Still decent enough, but could could have been better.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/seared-scallops-recipe-1916984

I then switched over to the pasta recipe, making one significant change. Instead of adding 1/4 cup of pasta water, I added 1/2 cup of white wine. I also increased the garlic and hit the finished product with a decent shot of freshly ground black peppercorns. I liked the result.

https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/pan-seared-scallops-pasta/#wprm-recipe-container-5826

Coming off of the stove.

Plated

Mr. Brown differentiates between Dry and Wet scallops. I think I had the dry ones, as they fit the description. One wants to use dry if possible

https://fishex.com/scallops/wet-vs-dry

Scallops are hard to find around Bang Lamung. I found some Japanese ones on Lazada. I have also seen some in the frozen seafood area in Central Festival. The Lazada package only had 7 scallops, so you might want to order 2 packages.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/190-210-g-natural-coast-japanese-scallop-sashimi-grade-fooddeehub-i2114294445-s7101582479.html?clickTrackInfo=query%3Ascallops%3Bnid%3A2114294445%3Bsrc%3ALazadaMainSrp%3Brn%3A0bd093cd969045e40cc5a26ad05e8b3a%3Bregion%3Ath%3Bsku%3A2114294445_TH%3Bprice%3A495.00%3Bclient%3Adesktop%3Bsupplier_id%3A100183992064%3Basc_category_id%3A14127%3Bitem_id%3A2114294445%3Bsku_id%3A7101582479%3Bshop_id%3A1582169&search=1&spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.i40.5b982412vsvNvc

 

The somewhat humorous thing about this adventure, is that I made this dish because the GF likes scallops. She came down with a bit of a stomach problem (too much papaya salad the day before I suspect) and could not even sit at a table smelling cooked seafood.

 

[ChiFlyer]

Cajun Chicken, Sausage, and White Bean Stew.

I have had this recipe in my inventory of recipes to try for a few years, but never gotten around to trying it. I decided to give it a go tonight and I was very pleased with the results.

https://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/chicken-sausage-and-white-bean-stew-3645485

I have several comments about the changes I made to the recipe.

• When this recipe was written (more than a few years back) by the much esteemed Emeril Lagasse, it was generally assumed that cooking beans from scratch produced a better product than using canned beans. This is no longer true. Canned beans are in fact the superior product and reduce the complexity of many recipes by a considerable amount. This was born out in an America's Test Kitchen (ATK) analysis. When in the US I would use the ATK recommended Goya product, until the CEO started using the platform of his company to make political statements that I found to be abhorrent. I switched over to Bush Beans at that time.
• Anyway here in Thailand Goya is not available, but Bush is. This recipe was written to use from scratch beans, so I had to change it around to use canned beans. This presents several problems. The cooking times are much reduced and one has to calculate what are appropriate times. I reduced the time from when the broth is added to 30 minutes. I added the beans (rinsed) and browned chicken at that point and continued for another 30 minutes. At that point I temp checked the chicken and it was at 175F. I had used chicken thighs and that is the correct temp. Dumb luck on my part.
• The recipe as written would be too much food for my household. I cut everything in half and only used 4 chicken thighs
• A tip is to make sure the oil is hot before browning the chicken, otherwise you will be doing a saute. You want the browning (Maillard) effect.

The TGF and myself very much enjoyed this recipe and I will be making it again.

A few pics

Coming off of the stove

Plated

[Glasseye]

No pics..... but I recently discovered these small clams in packets (meat section Rimping Market).

 

I Sautee them up in some olive oil and butter, spices, hot sauce, salt etc. Get a good sauce of the juices mixed up and pour them over rice. Very cheap (about 60 baht), and very tasty....

[ChiFlyer]

Beef Stroganoff

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/beef-stroganoff-recipe-2124411

This is one of my go to recipes. I make it 2 or 3 times a year. Surprising me the TGF very much likes it and calls it American Beef Panang (but different). She does have a point.

A few pics

Off of the stove

Plated

 

[ChiFlyer]

Pork Chops, Apples, and Pancetta

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pork-chops-with-apples-and-pancetta-recipe-2107440

I started cooking at home more seriously a little over 10 years ago in the US. This was one of my early on recipes. I still make it 2 or 3 times a year today. The TGF also likes it.

I was probably initially attracted to this recipe by Giada DeLaurentis' excellent looking boob job, and I am a naturals kind of guy.

A key to this recipe is obtaining a pancetta that one is "happy" with. I buy mine at "Stile Italiano" on Second Road near soi 5 in Jomtien. This is a more than decent Italian Deli IMO.

https://www.facebook.com/italianodeli

The recipe is written for US style bone-in Pork Chops. I have never found the American version of these in the Pattaya area. Loin Chops, such as sold in Villa Market work almost as well. Loin Chops are a little bland, but there is more than enough flavor in this recipe to compensate for that. There are most certainly bone-in Pork Chops available in the Banglamung area, but I find the way that they cut them is rather fatty and larger than the US version to the point that they are impossible to get into a pan without crowding things. Crowding a pan prevents one from effectively browning said chops.

I use Cognac for the Brandy ingredient. Buy a VSOP, if you go this way. The recipe only uses 1/4 cup, so you will have some decent sipping materials for the coming week.

A few pics

Finished in the pan

Plated

[fforest]

On 9/4/2022 at 5:15 PM, Glasseye said:

No pics..... but I recently discovered these small clams in packets (meat section Rimping Market).

 

I Sautee them up in some olive oil and butter, spices, hot sauce, salt etc. Get a good sauce of the juices mixed up and pour them over rice. Very cheap (about 60 baht), and very tasty....

If your not to picky about your seafood, Makro sells frozen mussels for about 130 baht a kilo.....Not only is this much cheaper than the Nakula seafood market, but no cooking or shelling needed.....

They are pretty good too....

Edited September 17, 2022 by fforest

[fforest]

I love this salt for cooking..  Himalayan black salt....It adds a great flavor to everything....

Get in on Lazada....

 

[ChiFlyer]

Penne in Vodka Sauce

I used to order this dish frequently for lunch at a local restaurant while I was doing a 5 year IT infrastructure build out for a Chicago Bank that became part of JPM. Jamie Dimon was the CEO of the organizations that employed my services.   

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Dimon

Jamie and I were not on a first name basis, but some of his direct reports participated in tech review meetings that I spoke at. Jamie did start to recognize me, and had a lot of faith in my boss, whom I owe a lot.

Anyway, I never made this recipe at home while in the US, but started to think about it while I was grateful for how I came to have the resources to live my current life in Thailand.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/penne-with-vodka-sauce-recipe-1973607

This recipe is easy to make at about 1 hour and has a great taste IMO.

Some pics

In the pan

Plated

[Yesitisdakid]

Ok all you home cooks got a question for you as I am stumped. I found these Wraps at Siamburys and thay are very good and the least expensive I have found. So i bought a couple of packs. Will use one and will freeze the other .....................or so i thought. It refuses to freeze. Now before anyone says the freezer temp needs to be adjusted don't because everything else in the freezer is frozen dick hard so Temp is not the issue. But after over 24 hours the wraps are same as when they were put in the freezer Any Ideas ?

 

Edited September 19, 2022 by Yesitisdakid

[forcebwithu]

3 hours ago, Yesitisdakid said:

Ok all you home cooks got a question for you as I am stumped. I found these Wraps at Siamburys and thay are very good and the least expensive I have found. So i bought a couple of packs. Will use one and will freeze the other .....................or so i thought. It refuses to freeze. Now before anyone says the freezer temp needs to be adjusted don't because everything else in the freezer is frozen dick hard so Temp is not the issue. But after over 24 hours the wraps are same as when they were put in the freezer Any Ideas ?

 

Probably due to a very low water content they won't freeze hard. Note in this video when she takes them out of the freezer they're still pliable.

 

[Yesitisdakid]

2 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

Probably due to a very low water content they won't freeze hard. Note in this video when she takes them out of the freezer they're still pliable.

 

I guess i figured they would get hard as chinese algebra 

[Glasseye]

On 9/12/2022 at 2:17 AM, ChiFlyer said:

Beef Stroganoff

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/beef-stroganoff-recipe-2124411

This is one of my go to recipes. I make it 2 or 3 times a year. Surprising me the TGF very much likes it and calls it American Beef Panang (but different). She does have a point.

A few pics

Off of the stove

Plated

 

 

 

I love a good beef stroggy with shrooms and beef though....

[ChiFlyer]

Shrimp Lo Mein

Back in the days, before back in the days, I used to grab lunch at a Chinese place near where I worked at that time. They had some pretty good Lo Mein dishes. I got away from that dish, but recently came across a recipe that got me thinking about it. It took a couple of trys with various modifications before I got the dish to were I wanted it.

This is the base recipe that I started with.

https://www.eatthis.com/shrimp-lo-mein-recipe/?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=msn-feed

The author wrote it to be low-cal and healthy. Unfortunately, in the process she also made it too bland for my tastes.

The main thing that I did was to add 1 TBSP each of Sambal Olek and Fish Sauce to the sauce. Since this causes the sauce to have more liquid, I also added 1 tsp of Corn Starch to the sauce. This causes a sauce to thicken more quickly. I did not want to extend the cooking time to thicken the sauce, as that would cause the shrimp to be overcooked. I also upped the amount of black pepper being used.

The dish turned out very good. Both the GF and myself really liked it.

A few pics

In the pan

Plated

 

Edited September 24, 2022 by ChiFlyer

[fforest]

5 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

Shrimp Lo Mein

Back in the days, before back in the days, I used to grab lunch at a Chinese place near where I worked at that time. They had some pretty good Lo Mein dishes. I got away from that dish, but recently came across a recipe that got me thinking about it. It took a couple of trys with various modifications before I got the dish to were I wanted it.

This is the base recipe that I started with.

https://www.eatthis.com/shrimp-lo-mein-recipe/?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=msn-feed

The author wrote it to be low-cal and healthy. Unfortunately, in the process she also made it too bland for my tastes.

The main thing that I did was to add 1 TBSP each of Sambal Olek and Fish Sauce to the sauce. Since this causes the sauce to have more liquid, I also added 1 tsp of Corn Starch to the sauce. This causes a sauce to thicken more quickly. I did not want to extend the cooking time to thicken the sauce, as that would cause the shrimp to be overcooked. I also upped the amount of black pepper being used.

The dish turned out very good. Both the GF and myself really liked it.

A few pics

In the pan

Plated

 

Your girlfriend is very lucky to have so many great meals.....

[ChiFlyer]

Carne Asada with Tex/Mex Rice and Beans

I have a few recipes for Skirt Steak cooked Latin style, but they are all a thing of the past after making this Carne Asada recipe for the first time.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a39427643/carne-asada-recipe/

The flavor was just amazing. A few comments about the recipe.

• I did not see Sour Oranges anywhere in the Bang Lamung area, so I went with the recommended substitute of a Navel Orange and 2 instead of 1 limes. If you do this, be aware that lime juice is more acidic than other citrus fruits. Therefore do not marinade for a very long time. I went with 8 hours and that was about right. Also, remember to turn the marinade bag every couple of hours to get an even distribution of the marinade on the Skirt Steak.
• The Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce is an essential ingredient for the marinade. I have never seen these as being available in the Pattaya area. I was in the US in the Fall of 2021 and I brought several small cans back with me. If one has a friend coming over to LOS, one might ask them to bring with a few cans. The cans are quite small and they keep forever.
• Skirt Steak is a hit or miss buy in the Pattaya area grocery store venues. I buy mine from Sloan's just so that there is no drama on shopping day. The quality is very good. The price not so much. Also Sloane's goes out of stock on things frequently, so you want to make your frozen buy a few weeks ahead of time.

https://www.sloanes.co.th/product/skirt/

A few pics.

Cooking on the grill pan

Ready to serve

 

The side dish of Rice and Beans is also worth talking about IMO. Here is the base recipe.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ingrid-hoffmann/black-beans-and-rice-recipe-1938568

There are a lot of options that one could use to augment this recipe. If one were to make the full volumes as stated there would be enough food for a very large family. I reduce everything by 50%. I also cut back the cumin to less than 1 tsp and add 1/2 tsp of Cayenne Pepper.

A few more pics.

Rice and Beans

Fully plated.

 

[ChiFlyer]

Basque Chicken

I do not know why, but I have always been interested in the Northern area of Spain called Basque. Picasso did one of his most famous paintings depicting Franko's bombing of Basque. Oh for the days of the authoritarian leaders. Holy crap that shit is happening again.

Anyway, when I noticed this recipe, I decided to give it a try. The taste potential interested me more than the history.

https://www.lovefood.com/recipes/78807/michel-roux-jr-basquestyle-chicken-recipe

I really like this recipe. The TGF's son is visiting us while on break from Khon Kaen University. He had thirds. A few comments:

• Once again cut the ingredients by about 50%, or you will be eating leftovers for two weeks.
• For the Bell Pepper use a red one as it accents the color of the food presentation better. I used a Yellow one and the taste was good, but I think that a red bell would better serve the presentation. One tastes first with their nose and secondly with their eyes IMO.
• Do not worry about the special Spanish Pepper ingredient, just substitute 2 tsps of American red pepper flakes or 1 tsp of Thai crushed red pepper. Amp the amount depending on your heat preference.
• As usual with the chicken browning part, get the oil very hot (almost smoking) and then add the chicken (I used thighs) skin side down. About 4 minutes per side works well. Since I had an extra guest, I made two passes of the browning with 3 thighs each. Never crowd the pan for browning.
• For the tomatoes I will just use a 14.5 oz can of drained diced tomatoes next time. Peeling and dicing fresh tomatoes is not worth the effort in Thailand IMO. If one was in North America with a bumper crop of Summer home garden fresh tomatoes, I would use those. There is no equivalent product in Thailand.

A few pics:

Off of the stove

Plated

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by ChiFlyer