Thai Cooking: Tom Yum Koong (Sour & Spicy Shrimp Soup)

I’m having another Thai cooking session tomorrow and we’re making Phad Thai ! Today, however, I’m going share this recipe for Tom Yum Koong. Koong means shrimp, but you can use chicken or other seafood(cuttle fish, mussels, white meat fish) in this soup as well. The key to making this dish is to NOT stir when adding the seafood until they are fully cooked.  This dish is very fast and easy to make, prepping will actually take longer than cooking! Please note that if you skip the optional ingredients you will still get a delicious Tom Yum Soup!

Servings: 1-2

Ingredients:

• 1 cup  Water/Chicken Stock
• 3-4 Shallots
• 5 slices of Galangal Root (Optional)
• 2 Cilantro (Stems for soup & Leaves for garnish)
• 15   Tail-on Shrimps (more or less depending on size)
• 12(100 g)   straw mushrooms
• 2 Lemongrass cut into 2 inch pieces
• 4-5 Kaffir Lime Leaves (Optional)
• 1 tsp Thai Roasted Red Chili Paste(Optional)
• 1 tbsp Unsweetened condensed milk(Optional)
• 3 tbsp Lime Juice
• 2-3 Fresh Thai Chilis
• Fish Sauce

Cooking Instructions:

• 1. Bring water/Chicken stock to a boil and add Shallots, Galangal and Cilantro stems. Add a teaspoon of fish sauce (or less), you can adjust flavors at the end.  (You may want to add 1/2 chicken flavor cube at this point if you are cooking with water)
  2. If the water stops boiling, wait until it starts boiling again then add Shrimps and Straw mushrooms and let them cook for about 2 minutes. Do not stir.
  3. Add Lemongrass and Kaffir lime leaves
  4. Mix unsweetened condensed milk and Thai Roasted Red Chili Paste together in a little bow to break the lumps in the chili paste.
  5. Turn off the heat then add milk and chili paste mix  and stir.
  6. Add lime juice and chilis
  7. Adjust flavors to your liking. You’re done! Serve with a plate of steamed rice and enjoy your Thai dish!

Thai Cooking: Chicken Cashew Nut Stir-fry



Since I’m teaching Thai cooking twice a month, I thought it would be a great idea to share the recipes here on my blog. The first recipe I’d like to share is the Chicken Cashew Nut Stir-fry, it is more of a Chinese-influenced Thai dish. Please note that you may alter the amount of Thai chilies to your liking or you may skip it totally. The jalapenos I used were not spicy at all, but they provided a peppery kick to the dish. Whatever adjustments you make to this dish, the peppery aroma makes the dish, so don’t skip the chilies/Jalapenos totally.   Enjoy Thai cooking!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces.
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 2-3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
• 1 tsp soysauce
• 1  1/2 tbsp water or chicken stock
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 cup cashew nut(roasted)
• 2 dried Jalapenos(or any dried chilies) chopped and fried  ***see below for tips
  
• 2 chopped fresh Thai chilies
• 2 Green Onions chopped into 2-inch pieces

Cooking Instructions:

** Frying your dried Jalapenos: Cut your Jalapenos into smaller pieces first, they are quite tough, so using scissors is much easier. Heat up some (1-2 tbsp) vegetable oil in a small skillet don’t let it get too hot. Fry the Jalapenos quickly(or they turn really dark or burn) and remove from oil to place on a strainer or kitchen towels They should be crispy when cooled.

1. Mix salt, pepper and all purpose flour. Coast chicken pieces with flour mixture.

2. Heat 2 cups of vegetable oil (or sufficient amount), fry the chicken until the crust turns golden then remove from skillet/wok to rest on a strainer or kitchen towels.

3. In a small bowl mix oyster sauce, soy sauce, water(or chicken stock), sugar, and sesame oil. Now you have the sauce

4. Add 2 tbsp vegetable oil to the skillet/wok and add garlic, let it cook a little, but don’t let it turn brown.

5. Add your chicken pieces and mix and then add sauce mixture from step 3 and stir mixture and sauce together until all sauce clings to all chicken pieces

6. Add Cashew nuts and mix.

7. Turn off the heat and add green onions, Jalapenos and chilis and stir them together quickly. You’re done!  Serve with a plate of steamed rice and enjoy your Thai dish!

*This recipe makes 2-3 servings.

So you think you want an Alaskan Malamute?

This is our 2 and a half year old Alaskan Malamute, Koda,

he loves to pop balloons

So you’re thinking about getting an Alaskan Malamute? What’s next?

Here’s a little honest guide for those who want to be owned

by Malamutes!

I’m not going to go through the Breed info because if you’re

thinking about getting a Mal, you probably have looked

up all the information there is out there.

And it’s likely too, that you might have already read a blog post,

like this one, trying to help you with what to expect

when you’re getting a Malamute.

A Malamute in Your Home

• INSIDE: Malamutes are very graceful indoors, our Koda has never clumsily knocked anything off.
• SPACE: BUT, they don’t fair very well being a full-time indoor dog. Be ready to walk them long distance multiple times daily if space is limited in your home. Or they may turn to your furniture to expend that excess energy. They are capable of HUGE damages. Preferably, don’t get a malamute if space is limited.
• SHEDDING: BE PREPARED to vacuum a lot (we vacuum daily) if your Malamute is going to spend some time indoor. They shed excessively all year round, more during certain times of the year.  They shed A LOT and I mean it!
• DIET: Sources on mals say they don’t eat as much as you would expect them to. It is true in Koda’s case. A 35 lbs(15 kg.)  dog food sack will last us about a month. Get them the best food you can! They love treats and table scraps too, but too much human food is not good, watch out for salty foods ^__^ Koda loves pumpkin and carrots.
• TEMPERAMENT: They are VERY friendly, Koda loves everybody, he loves meeting new people and will jump and celebrate your presence like you’re the president of the United States. If you’re a dog lover you will feel special, if you’re not- you’re going to be scared out of your mind, of this HUGE wolf-like dog who is jumping at you.
• SOCIALIZING WITH OTHER PETS:, Koda’s has been quite friendly but he got more aggressive and more dominant towards other male dogs when he reached puberty at 8 months.  Unless they grew up together, mals shouldn’t be left alone with smaller animals, even if they’re not aggressive, they don’t know their own strength(Koda still tries to sit on my lap)
• MALS WITH KIDS: They love kids, Koda does but again they don’t know their strength and might hurt a small child when they are over-excited. They might get possessive of their toys if the child is trying to grab it. Always be cautious. Better be safe than sorry.
• CLIMATE: They really enjoy cold climate. And they LOVE snow. Koda moved to Thailand with me last year, and we moved back to Korea in February this year. I was worried that the sudden change in climate from super hot to COLD winter would make him sick. But he just jumped at the snow and wanted to stay outside and never got sick. BUT Huskies and Malamutes have been successfully bred and raised in tropical countries too. Have a shady ventilated area for them  and give them lots of water, our Koda doesn’t drink from a doggy bowl, he drinks from a BUCKET.
• THE YARD: If you have a nice yard. Supervise them, they like to DIG, DIG, DIG. Let them know they can’t do that. Prevent the damages before they occur. Save yourself the frustration.
• CAGE: Koda has a big kennel in the yard, when we’re not home that’s where he is. This prevents him from running away, destroying the yard(we’re renting), destroying furniture and breaking out of the house(he opens the back door) and then wanders out of the yard while exploring. Mals are explorers. Having an proper kennel for them when you’re away is a good thing. It will save you the frustration which is good for them too(No scolding or worse- relinquishment)!
• JETSETTERS: If you move around a lot, especially overseas. Think about the moving costs, it can be expensive to ship pets. It’s cheaper when they fly with you as excess baggage than as cargo but still pricey. BUT a big dog will sometimes have no choice but to fly as cargo.  If you’re flying with your dog, let the airline know ASAP that your dog will be flying with you. There is limited room for pets on a commercial plane. Before you travel, you also have to make sure you have their health paper work ready, their shots need to be current. With some destinations you may need to have their blood work done months in advance.

Save yourself from frustration. Save the animals from negligence and abandonment

This is the same with other pets and not just dogs or Alaskan Malamutes.

These are living creatures. They need love and care.

Know what you’re getting into when you’re getting a pet.

Know what to expect.

Know how to deal with problems.

BETTER YET: Know how to prevent the problems.

Be patient and open-minded, let them become a member of your family.

If you think “They are just dogs” and will not socialize with your dogs as much,

at least treat them humanely(food and shelter)

If I can add anything to this list please let me know.

I want people to know what to expect.

I’ve seen people go through animals like they are

disposable just because they don’t want to “deal”

with them anymore.  It is really sad. If your pet has behavioral problems

he might be given up by the next owner and the next owner ……OR

He might not be adopted at all and ends up being put down.

Think about the consequences of relinquishing a pet.

No life is more or less significant than others

A life is a life.

There is no bad dog, if you provide proper care

and keep them out of trouble you will never have to think about giving them up

because they are TOO MUCH to handle ^__^

Good luck with your Alaskan Malamute, Our Koda has given us so much

joy and laughter.. and love. I think it is all worth it and unless we’re  broke

and can’t care for him anymore I will never give him up.

And yet another make-over!

I revamped my blog again. And like my other custom themes, this one was designed

by me. Here’s a quick note I’d like to throw out there

** I’d be more than happy to design some custom headers for some lucky readers!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post!

I can only work on so many for free. So I will update this blog when the offer is closed ^__^

Now onto the usual blog things!

We were hit by Typhoon Kompasu(category 1) last night. But we made it!

Just some strong winds but no roofs were blown off or anything.

Except for Koda’s tarp that was blown off his cage.  Of course he was safe inside with us ^__^

I made this super cute zipper pouch/wristlet last night during the Typhoon.

I  A B S O L U T E L Y  love it!

If you want to make one too, follow this tutorial by Ayumi of Pink Penguin!

I already made two items followingher tutorials.

They are beautifully written and illustrated and her projects are just ADORABLE!

This is the pouch with the drawstring bag, my other creation from

PinkPenguin’s tutorial. It’s reversible and what you are seeing is the reverse side.

This is the exterior of the drawstring bag shown above. I’m sending it to my mom

These items, by far, are my best sewing projects. Thank you Ayumi!

^__^

And that’s all for today.  Happy Friday and Have a lovely week-end!