Tofu Larb

Tofu Larb

A delicious and flavorful Thai salad. In Thailand, this is typically made with ground pork (sometimes raw!!) but for us Sai made a tofu version.

Ingredients

-- 1 block fried tofu (can use regular firm tofu as well here but not as delicious)
-- 1.5 Tablespoons minced garlic (approx. 6 cloves)
-- 2 Tablespoons lemongrass, minced-- 1 Tablespoon chopped Vietnamese mint (can use coriander here, or normal mint)
-- 2 tablespoons shallots, thinly sliced
-- 2 Tablespoons of toasted rice, coarsley ground (to make this, roast uncooked dry rice on a pan on stove or in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until light brown, then blend in coffee grinder or mixee until coarse, resembles bulgur wheat)
-- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
-- 2-3 Tablespoons water
-- Chili flakes to taste
-- salt to taste

Instructions

1. Soak tofu in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain and break apart into small crumbles resembling ground beef.
2. Fry garlic and lemongrass in a pan with a little oil until it becomes a little brown and fragrant. DO NOT BURN THIS.
3. mix everything together in a bowl, taste, add more salt, chili, or lemon to taste. 

Can eat this with rice, or serve with lettuce and make lettuce wraps with it.

Sai's Thai Green Curry

This is how my sister-in-law Sai made a quick green curry with the green curry paste we had made earlier. She said the vegetables used were not authentic, she just used what we have on hand here, authentically this curry would contain eggplant and a small round vegetable we don't have here.

INGREDIENTS

-- vegetable oil
-- 1 1/2 Tbsp. Green curry paste
-- 1 cup unsweetened plain soymilk (can use coconut milk, or cream, or a combo of any of these)
-- 1/2 cup carrot, diced small
-- 1 cup frozen peas
-- 1/2 package firm tofu, diced
-- 1 tsp. sugar
-- 1 square frozen basil -- OR 1 handful fresh thail basil leaves would have been better

METHOD

1. Heat up oil in pan
2. Add in green curry paste, fry up until fragrant
3. Add in soymilk, mix around.
4. Add in carrot, boil a bit.
5. Add in peas and tofu, boil a little more until the vegetables are done.
6. Add in sugar and basil.
7. Taste to make sure seasonings are well balanced, may need to add in more sugar or salt or even some lemon. Add more water or soymilk if you want a saucier dish.
8. Serve over rice.

Sai's fried noodles with veggies and tofu

My sister in law Sai is from Thailand, and she and Mahesh's brother Yogesh are here visiting us for a while. Yesterday she said "why don't we make a simple lunch of what we have on hand." I said, "okay." And this is what we made.

Sai's fried noodles with veggies and tofu
serves 3, somewhat scantily

Ingredients

-- 1/2 lb rice noodles, boiled until done to your liking
-- 1/2 package firm or pressed tofu, cubed
-- 1 carrot, juilenned
-- 1/2 lb. asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
-- 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
-- handful thai basil leaves
-- handful green onion, thinly sliced on the bias
-- 1 T. soy sauce
-- 2 T. vegetarian oyster sauce (or real oyster sauce, if you are not vegetarian)
-- 1 wedge lemon
-- 2 teaspoon sugar
-- oil
-- red pepper flakes, 1/4 to 1/2 t. 

Method

1. If you want extra-fried tofu, start frying the tofu first in a layer of oil until browned to your liking on all sides. (If not, you start with the onion and just fry the tofu a little second.)

2. Once onion is yellow, add in other vegetables, starting with the hardest first, we used carrot and asparagus first.

3. When the vegetables are nearly cooked, add in the cooked noodles and all the seasoning elements in, mix well, and taste. Adjust the seasonings if necessary to your taste.

4. When you think the taste is good add in basil and green onion, and serve.

Sai's Vegetarian Green Curry Paste

I am very lucky to have been able to spend the last two weeks with Mahesh's brother Yogesh and his wife Sai, who is from Thailand. Since Yogesh is vegetarian like Mahesh, she showed me a few vegetarian versions of Thai dishes. Here is her recipe for Green Curry Paste, which can also be used to make Red Curry Paste with a few variations.

Sai's Vegetarian Green Curry Paste (or Red Curry Paste)
this recipe makes enough for about three curries

INGREDIENTS

-- approx. 8 serrano chilis (or, for red curry paste, 15 dried whole red chilis, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes -- remove seeds for less spice)
-- 5 large cloves garlic
-- 2 shallots, sliced
-- 1 stalk lemongrass, about six inches long, cut off the ends, peel the outside layer off, and then slice finely
-- 1 inch square of galangal root, sliced
-- zest of 1/2 kaffir lime, sliced, or approx 1 1/2 tablespoons kaffir lime leaves, cut small
-- 2 Tablespoons minced cilantro (do not use this if making red curry paste, up the coriander powder instead)
-- 3 Tablespoons yellow miso (or other fermented soy bean paste)
-- 1/2 t. caraway seeds
-- 1/2 t. black pepper, whole
-- 1/2 t. coriander powder (up this to 1 Tablespoon if making red curry paste)
-- 1 heaping t. of salt

-- 4 Tablespoons oil, for frying
-- 1 teaspoon sugar (only for green curry paste)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Toast whole spices in dry frying pan until fragrant. Cool and grind to powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

2. Blend spice mixture and all other ingredients except oil and sugar together in a blender, mini food processor, or big mortar and pestle (the Thai way) until everything is a paste.

3. Heat oil in pan, add in blended material, and cook, stirring until dark and thick, about 15-20 minutes. Add more oil if it sticks to the pan. When it is done it will be thick and stick to itself like a dough. Cool and store in fridge for up to 3 months.

NOTES:
-- When making a recipe for curry out of the paste, add in thai basil with green curry, and kaffir lime lives with red curry.

Here is a recipe for green curry using this paste.