YOU CAN'T BE FIRST BUT YOU CAN BE NEXT

GREEN CURRY

About 3 table spoons of Lemongrass, the bottom two thirds of the stalk finely chopped across not length ways.

1 1/2 teaspoons of galangal, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons of black peppercorns, 2 1/2 teaspoons of kaffir lime peel, 1 1/4 teaspoons of garlic,  1/2 a teaspoon of chopped coriander, adjust this if you think it will be too hot 2 1/2 teaspoons of small green Thai chillies.

 1 cup thinly sliced chicken, pork, beef, or tofu if you a veg head

  a couple of kaffir lime leaves

 1/4 cup of pea eggplants or good old Birdseye peas, 4 Thai eggplants

1. First the ingredients for the paste. Chop each piece finely, if you have a mortis and pestle to make the pounding easier or chuck it the blender. Roast the peppercorns on medium heat for about 5 minutes, until fragrant.
2. Start with the lemongrass, and pound until it’s a paste. Then add the lime peel and galangal, and pound until paste.
3. Add the coriander roots, salt, peppercorns, and pound until paste.
4. Add chillies and garlic, and pound until paste.
5. Add shrimp paste (if adding), and pound until mixed. Set the curry paste aside. 
6. Your coconut milk will most likely be in a can do not shake the can  when you have opened it the cream or the head will be at the top and the milk or tail will be at the bottom separate the coconut cream from the milk, and put into two separate bowls.
7. Place 1/2 of your coconut cream (head) into the hot wok. It should sizzle and boil like mad. Let it do this for about 20 seconds, then add all the curry paste.
8. Keep stirring the curry paste so it doesn’t burn or stick to the pan. If it dries out to much, gradually add more of the coconut cream to the pan, little by little. You want to cook the paste for about 2-3 minutes, until you can smell the flavours if that makes sense, don't worry if you sneeze just don't do it in the wok. The ingredients inside the paste cook at different speeds, and when the chillies start to cook, your eyes and nose will tell you that is when it's about done.
9. Add some more coconut cream and the meat or tofu. Keep stirring until cooked through, be sure your paste doesn’t burn or stick to the pan. Keep adding coconut cream to slightly ‘boil’ the paste, not so much fry it. If you run out of cream, start to use milk. Beef, you’ll need to cook for much longer, until the beef gets tender. If tofu, just a minute to get the flavour.
10. Add all the coconut milk and boil for a minute or two. Then add the eggplants and lime leaves.
11. Boil 1 minute or until the eggplant is cooked put still firm, and you are done

FISH CAKES

500g/1lb 2oz white fish fillets
½ red pepper, chopped
2 red chillies, chopped
2 tbsp coriander
3 spring onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, tender part only, chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce
125ml/4fl oz coconut milk
1 whole egg
125g/4½oz green beans
vegetable oil or ground nut oil

For the Thai cucumber salad dip
 

2 cucumbers peeled, halved lengthways and de-seeded
35g/1¼oz caster sugar or palm sugar
50ml/2fl oz rice vinegar
2 hot chillies, finely diced
2 shallots, finely diced
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
40g/1½oz roasted peanuts, chopped
½ tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

Cut the fish into small pieces. Place the pepper, chillies, coriander,     spring onions, garlic, lemongrass and fish sauce into a food processor and blend to a paste.
Add the fish pieces to the paste and blend well. Mix to a smooth paste adding coconut milk and egg.
Place the mixture in a bowl. Slice the beans finely into 3mm (1/8in) and stir into fish paste. Chill in refrigerator overnight or for at least two hours.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Shape chilled paste into small patties. Fry in ground nut oil until slightly crisp and brown, turning once. Drain on kitchen paper.
For the salad, cut the cucumber in to 5mm (¼in) slices
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar and toss the cucumber slices in it. Fold in the chilli, shallot and coriander.
Sprinkle with the peanuts and fish sauce just before serving.

Papaya Salad

Ingredients

One papaya  julienne shredded to you and me.
8-10 Thai chillies de-stalked, cut in four length-wise then in half cross-wise.
8-10 cloves of garlic chopped coarsely
4 tomato wedges

half a cup of green beans cut into 1" pieces
pinch of sea salt
two teaspoons of fish sauce
1 tablespoon tarimin juice  concentrate mixed with 3 tablespoons water

Sprinkle the julienne papaya with salt and let stand for half an hour or so, then squeeze and discard any fluid.
Add the chilli, and pound in a mortar and pestle.
Add the remaining ingredients except tomato.
pound and mixed together with a spoon.
Add the tomato, and serve with a bowl of sticky rice.