Thai-Raw Pork Parcels

Thai-Raw Pork Parcels

These should be eaten with care, it's common in Europe to eat raw beef, but it's considered unsafe to eat raw pork except in a very few cases. These parcels should be prepared only using very fresh farm grown pork that has been treated. If you are uncertain about the quality of the meat you can always cook it, or alternatively you can buy branded parcels from Asian supermarkets.

Ingredients
500 gms Pork Red Meat
10 Garlic Cloves
5 Bird Chillies
2 Tablespoons Salt
5 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Tinfoil plastic bags or Banana Leaf

Preparation
1. Clean the pork and put into a blender/food processor.
2. Peel the garlic and add to the blender.
3. Add the chillies and salt. Blend until it completely mixed.
4. Add lemon juice and mix.
5. Make into parcels, and wrap in the banana leaves or tin foil
6. Chill in the fridge for 5-8 hours if you like more sour leave it for 2-3 day in wram place.

Tips
1. You can eat these raw, or if you prefer you can also cook this dish in the oven or by frying them. If you like spicy food you can cut up red chillies and push a piece into the centre of each parcel.
2. You can add sticky rice or fragrant rice too if you wish, but I prefer not to. Simply precook or pre steam the rice and use 50 gms sticky rice to each 1kg pork.

Serve With
Mint
Coriander
Chilli
Peanut
Lettuce

Thai-Hot Dog & Spring Onion Chilli Salad

Thai-Hot Dog & Spring Onion Chilly Salad

This is a side dish that's cheap and simple, it uses hot dog sausages together with green spring onions and chilly to spice it up. In Thailand dishes like this are called "gop-gam", snacks served with beer at night, but it can also be served with rice to make a full meal.

Ingredients for 2 People
160 gms Hot Dog (1 packet)
1 Onion
20 gms Spring Onion
10 gms Coriander Leaves
10 gms Mint
4 Bird Chillies
1 Red Chilly
1 Tablespoon Lime or Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
200 ml Water

Preparation
1. Heat 200 ml water to the pan until it boils.
2. Slice the hot dogs into bite sized pieces, put in the boiling water and heat through for 2 minutes.
3. Remove the hot dogs and put in a mixing bowl.
3. Chop the bird chillies & red chilly, the onions , the spring onions ,and the coriander, and add to the mixing bowl.
4. Add the fish sauce, sugar, and lemon juice, into the bowl and mix all the ingredients together.
5. Serve it on a plate with a little mint garnish.

Serve With
Hot Rice
Salad

Afghan-Salaata (Salad)

Image by Laurel Fan via Flickr

Afghan-Salaata (Salad)

Ingredients:
* Tomatoes
* Yellow Onion
* Cilantro
* Lemon
* Cucumbers
* Radishes
* Salt

How to cook:
Chop 2 whole tomatoes, 1 medium yellow onion, and 1 bunch of washed cilantro. Mix these together in a bowl. Juice one lemon and pour the juice over the top of the tomato, onion, and cilantro. You can also add sliced cucumbers, as well as radishes. Sprinkle with salt (to taste) a good pinch and toss the salad. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to allow all the juices to mix together.

Afghan-Cilantro Chutney(Sauce)

Afghan-Cilantro Chutney

Ingredients:
* 1 large bunch of cilantro or 2 medium ones
* 1 Jalapeno chili with the seeds removed
* 4 walnuts
* 1tbs granulated sugar
* 1 cup of white vinegar or lemon juice
* 2 tsp salt

How to cook:
Prepare this in a blender or food processor for an even texture.

Wash the chili and remove the seeds or the chutney will be too hot. Wash and roughly chop all but the very end of the stems from the cilantro. Keeping the part of the stems that are not brown gives this a great taste. Add both of the above to the blender. Then add all the of the rest of the ingredients and blend until the walnuts are well chopped and it has the consistency of a slightly chunky soup. If it is too chunky, blend until it is smoother or add 3 tbsp of water and blend again. In an airtight container, and if it is not contaminated when using, it will keep for at least 3 weeks.

Indian-Barbecued Tandoori Chicken

Image by MadMan the Mighty via Flickr

Indian-Barbecued Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients:
3 very young broiling chickens (about 2 to 2-1/4 pounds each)
2-1/2 teaspoons unseasoned natural meat tenderizer
1/3 cup lemon juice

Marinade:
2 large cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon tandoori coloring, or 1 tablespoon paprika
1/3 cup plain yogurt
Usli ghee or light vegetable oil for basting

How to cook:
Cut the wings off the chickens. Remove the neckbone carefully. Place the chickens on a cutting board and quarter them neatly. Then pull away the skin, using kitchen towels for a better grip if necessary. (Reserve the wings, neck, and skin for the stockpot.) Prick the chicken all over with fork or a thin skewer. Make diagonal slashes, + inch deep, 1 inch apart on the meat. Put the meat in a large bowl. Add meat tenderizer and lemon juice to the chicken, and rub them into the slashes and all over for 2 minutes. Cover and marinate for + hour. Put all the ingredients of the marinade into the container of an electric blender or food processor, and blend until reduced to a smooth sauce. (Alternatively, garlic and ginger may be crushed to a paste and blended with the remaining ingredients.) Pour this marinade over the chicken pieces and mix, turning and tossing, to coat all the pieces well. (A note of caution: Since certain brands of Tandoori coloring tend to stain the fingers, it is advisable either to use a fork to turn the chicken pieces in the marinade or use a pastry brush to spread it over the chicken.) Cover and marinate for 4 hours at room temperature, or refrigerate overnight, turning several times. Chicken should not remain in the marinade for more than 2 days, because the marinade contains a meat tenderizer which, with prolonged marinating, alters the texture of the chicken meat to very soft and doughy. Take the chicken from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature. The chicken is now ready to be either roasted in the oven or broiled over an electric or charcoal grill.

To roast in oven:
Start heating the oven to 500-550 degrees. Take the chickens out of the marinade. Brush them with the ghee or vegetable oil, and place them on an extra-large shallow roasting pan, preferably on a wire rack. Set the pan in the middle level of the oven, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through. There is no need to baste while the chicken pieces are roasting, because the enclosed environment keeps the chickens from drying excessively.

To broil indoors:
Preheat the broiler. Brush the grill with a little oil to prevent the meat's sticking. Place the chicken pieces, slashed side up, on the grill, and brush the slashed side with ghee or vegetable oil. Cook 2 to 3 inches away from the heat for 20 minutes. Turn and cook the other side for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are cooked through. Brush often with ghee or vegetable oil during cooking.

To grill outdoors:
Fire the coal well in advance (about 1-1/2 hours before you are ready to begin cooking), so that a white ash forms over the surface of the coal. This is when the coal is at its hottest. Place the grill at least 5 inches away from the heat, and rub generously with oil. Place the chicken pieces, slashed side up, over the grill and brush them with ghee or vegetable oil. Let chicken cook without turning for 10 minutes. Turn, baste the other side, and cook for 10 minutes. Continue to cook, turning and basting the chicken every 10 minutes, until it is done. The cooking time for broiling and grilling usually varies widely. Much depends upon the intensity of the heat and its distance from the chicken. The point to remember is that the chicken pieces have been marinating in a very strong tenderizing solution for two days and therefore will cook much faster than standard broiled or barbecued chicken.

Serve the chicken immediately, lightly brushed with ghee or oil.