Category: Thai

Thai Fish Cakes & Red Nam Jim

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Thai fish cake with red nam jim

Thai food. I absolutely adore it. It’s just a cuisine that makes the tongue do a dance after every bite/ mouthful! Sweet, sour, salty, spicy, tangy! All rolled into one! Absolutely mouth-watering! However, I have to admit, thai is the one cuisine that I seldom cook at home. I usually head out to the restaurants and leave it to the pros! Especially with the balancing of the flavours!

thai fish cakes

But I decided to be adventurous one Friday afternoon after getting off work early. I saw Wince (The Hungry Excavator) post a photo of him making some Thai Fish Cake earlier in the week, and I knew instantly I had to make some! So I looked for a recipe during my lunch time, and off I went to Springvale to grab the ingredients after work!

Thai fish cakes close up

It actually wasn’t too difficult to make! In fact, the only time consuming thing was cutting the long snake beans thinly. Besides that, everything is whizzed in the food processor and viola! You’ve got some delicious fish cakes for dinner! hehe So give these a shot. They are perfect party food, and are also great as starters. hehe Oh yes! Let’s not forget the spicy and tangy red nam jim sauce to go with the fish cakes! SO GOOD! The mr couldn’t get enough!

Thai Fish Cakes with Red Nam Jim (adapted from SBS, a Teage Ezard recipe)

600g fish paste

70g red curry paste

1 egg

1 tbs fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

4 fresh kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

10 snake beans (or green beans), thinly slices

Vegetable oil for shallow frying

Steps :

1) In a food processor, place the fish paste, red curry paste, egg, fish sauce and sugar and blend till mixture is smooth and well combined.

Blending the ingredients in the food processor

2) Scoop the mixture into a large mixing metal bowl and add the finely shredded kaffir lime leaves and snake beans.

Adding the snake beans and kaffir lime leaves

3) Mix them together till everything is well combined.

All well combined

4) In a non-stick pan, heat some vegetable oil on medium heat, enough for shallow frying. Roll the mixture into balls and flatten them with your palm. Mine was about 5 cm in diameter and about 1 cm in thickness. Fry them until both sides are brown and crispy.

Frying them

frying both sides till brown and crispy

5) Drain them on some paper towel and serve them with the homemade red nam jim sauce (to follow).

cross section

Red Nam Jim Sauce

2 red birdseye chilli, seeded and roughly chopped

4 long red chillies, seeded and roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

Handful of coriander leaves and roots

2 tbs shaved palm sugar, add more if needed to balance flavour

125ml lime juice

1 1/2 tbs fish sauce

Steps :

1) In a mortar and pestle, add the chillies, garlic and coriander and pound till it forms a paste. Do be patient, as this might take a while!

Pounding the ingredients

2) Add the palm sugar and combine. Add the lime juice, a little at a time, until the mixture is well combined then add the fish sauce to balance the taste. It should be a little like a wetter version of a salsa. Remember to taste and add more of the flavourings to balance the sweet, sour and tang!

Thai fish cakes and red nam jim

ENJOY!

Remember to always bake and cook with love! xx

Thai Feast : Middle Fish

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Thai feast at Middle Fish

I absolutely love thai food! I don’t know about you, dear readers, but I just love how thai food always packs a punch with their flavours! Somehow, they get to squeeze in the salty, sweet, sour and spicy all in a dish and equally in a mouthful, and leave you wanting more! It is definitely one of the cuisines I enjoy the most and would never turn down a thai meal. hehe

Middle Fish

I was introduced to Middle Fish by my dearest Miss D, and when I saw the pictures she was posting on Instagram of the food she was having, I knew we needed to head there, ASAP! Last weekend, the mr ended early at work so I headed down to Carlton to meet him and Melissa for some deliciousness! The sky had the most beautiful shade of blue and excited couldn’t really describe how I was feeling when I got there!

Middle Fish - Entrance

I love love love the entrance to the warehouse converted restaurant, so welcoming! (: The colours of the signage and furniture just pops out and everyone there were so friendly. The moment I stepped in, I was greeted by the owner, Pla, who has the most infectious smile and oh-so bubbly. You just feel so comfortable and just an amazing atmosphere!

Middle Fish - Inside

One side of the restaurant had booth seats and the other was a mix-match of tables and chairs which made the place so vibrant. I was so ready to order and feed our hungry tummies the moment I sat down! Truth is, I was salivating just looking through what the had to offer!

Our drinks

While deciding on what to order, we ordered our drinks first. I have always been a huge fan of thai ice milk tea and I remember Daisy highly recommending it, so I had to try it! Boy was it good! Plus, how cute is the metal bowl that it’s served in? I kept going “WAH WAH WAH!” when it arrived at our table! hehe The Mr and Melissa ordered their usual drinks of latte and hot chocolate respectively, and they were good too! (:

thai ice milk tea

Had to snap another shot of my thai ice milk tea, just cause I love the metal bowl so much! And it was quite a big bowl as well, I almost couldn’t finish it after scoffing down all the food we ordered. hehe But I did, every single drop of it!

Crying Tiger

We covered almost all the different kinds of protein that afternoon. First of : Crying Tiger. The name just cracks me up! But when you had a bite of it, you would understand why they had the “crying” part. The chilli in this salad dish added a good kick and there was a really good balance of flavours. The angus rump slices were so flavourful and tender, and the herbs added a freshness as well. DELISH! I could have this for lunch any day. hehe

Kao gapi

 Our next dish had pork : Kao Gapi. It was presented almost like a bibimbap! hehe So we called this a thai version of bibimbap. The shrimp paste rice was pungent and flavoursome, although the caramelised pork neck could have been a little more tender. Mixing in the green apple, red onion, bean shoots and carrot gave a crunch to the dish. Like I’ve said many times before, I love dishes with different textures so that was definitely a plus! The omelette tasted like it was made using salted eggs, and I just love having egg with rice. Somehow it’s a perfect combination to me. hehe

Crispy chicken ribs

We ordered a street food dish as well : Gai Tod which is crispy chicken ribs with a sweet and spicy sauce which was SO GOOD! We just wanted more of those ribs. So crispy and so juicy on the inside. Couldn’t get enough! hehe But this was meant to be a snack, so the portion was smaller than the others, but perfect for the 3 of us. (:

Middle Fish famous crunchy mussels omelette

This, my lovely readers, was our favourite dish of the day : Middle Fish’s famous Crunchy Mussels Omelette. Before Pla placed this dish on the table, she did a short dance and almost sang the name of the dish and told us it’s their best dish at the restaurant in her opinion, but we TOTALLY agreed! The outside layer is so crispy and there is a “crunch” with every bite/chew! The middle had the texture of fried carrot cake and there was a generous number of juicy mussels! With a similar sauce to the crispy chicken ribs, it was a match-made in heaven and we couldn’t stop singing praises about it!

It was a pity that we were too full to try the desserts they had to offer. But I’m sure we will be back again and the next time, we will! (: If you love thai food as much as I do, do visit Middle Fish and let me know what you think! Do note that they are only open 8-5pm (Monday-Friday) and 10-4pm (Saturday & Sunday), and they have breakfast too!

Happy mid week everyone, and remember to always cook and bake with love! (:

Middle Fish on Urbanspoon

Fusion Friday : Seafood Green Curry Penne

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TGIF everyone! (: I’m sure everyone is as thankful as I am that the weekend is here and if you’re as lucky, you would have Monday off and thus having a long weekend! Hurray! To celebrate, I’m going to share with you the recipe I promised from my last post of the Fresh Food Market at Highpoint!

I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of fusion food, but I will never turn down the chance to try it when it is presented in front of me. So as I was walking around the Fruit & Vegetable market and bouncing ideas off the Mr, he suggested that I should do an asian flavoured pasta dish! WAH! Why not, yes? So the first thing that came to my mind was green curry! I see this less fusion, more a pasta with an asian flare! hehe

I do apologise that I didn’t quite have the patience or time to make my own green curry paste, but I did find one that I’ve used before, so I knew it would taste yummy. If you have a green curry paste recipe to share with me, I would be more than happy to try it during my holidays! (:

So these were the ingredients I used for my dish. Which includes fresh ingredients that I got from the market, and a few that came in the hamper given by compliments of Highpoint and Mango! (: I am sure you have some things in the pictured stored in your pantry. I realise I didn’t place the onion and garlic that I used from my pantry in the picture. hehe But I’ve definitely written them in my recipe, so fear not!

This pasta dish definitely has a kick to it. It might most definitely be the green curry paste I used but I do love a dish with that leaves my tongue tingly and tummy warm and fuzzy! hehe So if you do like spicy food, and want to try something different, I urge you to give this a try! The Mr and I both loved it and would definitely make this again soon! (:

Seafood Green Curry Penne (a Food Made With Love original recipe, serves 4)

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

5 shiitake mushrooms, cut into quarters

3 green thai eggplant, cut into quarters

4 purple thai eggplants, cut into wedges

3 small Adelaide tomatoes, cut into chunks

5 grape tomatoes, sliced into half

50g fish cake, cut into strips

100g green curry paste

400ml light coconut milk

300ml water

500g supreme marinara mix

400g dried penne (or any type of pasta you prefer)

2 tbs olive oil

handful of Thai basil leaves

fried shallots and coriander, to garnish

Steps :

1) In a large pot of water, add some salt and bring it to a boil. Cook pasta according to the directions on the packet. Drain and run it under cold water. Set it aside while preparing the green curry.

2) In a frying pan/wok, heat the olive oil on medium heat and fry the green curry paste till fragrant. Add the chopped onion and garlic and fry till it’s soft. Be careful not to burn the garlic, as there would be a bitter after taste.

3) Carefully add the coconut milk into the pan. Stir it until the paste is mixed well and combined with the coconut milk.

3) Add the eggplants and cover the pan, allowing it to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and mushrooms and return the lid on the pan. Simmer for another 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft.

4) Add the water, fish cake and seafood and allow it to come to a boil. Careful not to boil it for too long, as the seafood might over cook and get tough! Add the thai basil leaves and stir it into the sauce.

5) Pour in the cooked pasta and toss it well, making sure every single penne is coated with the sauce. If it’s looking a little dry, add a bit more water and give it a good stir.

6) Garnish with fried shallots and chopped coriander before serving.

Enjoy! (: I know it seems like alot of preparation to go through, but do give this a try and let me know what you think and if you added other things! Would definitely love to try other combinations. Have a great weekend everyone! (:

Remember to always cook and bake with love!

Son-in-law Eggs

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  I can still remember the first time I had son-in-law eggs, ‘khai luuk kheuy’ in Thai, at Gingerboy last year and it was a new and fun experience. I’ve never heard of son-in-law eggs prior to that beautiful meal at Gingerboy and after having them, I couldn’t get enough of it! It was one of the most popular dishes and came highly recommended. The wait staff explained to us, upon the arrival of the eggs, that we had to have the whole egg in one go to have the best experience. And of course, we did!

We tried to fit the egg into our mouth (it wasn’t a small egg in case you’re wondering) and when we bit into it, our eyes glowed and when we all finished it, we all did a harmony of  “WOWS” haha. It was truly amazing! The egg yolk was still really runny and the egg practically did a mini explosion in our mouths! I was in awe.

The next time I had them was my recent trip to Chin Chin. And this time, we learned our lesson, we decided to cut it into smaller pieces to truly enjoy the flavour. Since then, I just wanted to have more! So I decided to search for recipes online and found one by Ai-Ling @ Food Endevours of the Blue Apocalypse! It looks delicious and sound easy enough for me to follow. So off I went to KFL to get some of the ingredients and made it for lunch!

So glad I did, cause it was delicious! With the tangy, sweet chilli caramel, it was perfect! We loved the chilli caramel so much that we kept the leftovers so I could make the eggs again the next day! haha Obsession, I know.

Are you also a fan of son-in-law eggs? If you are, do give this recipe a try! I’m very sure you will love it! Do head over to the link to see the step-by-step pictures! It definitely helped me! (:

Son-in-law Eggs with Chilli Caramel (Adapted from Food Endeavours of the Blue Apocalypse)

2 eggs

Vegetable oil, for deep frying

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbs palm sugar

50ml fish sauce

2 tbs tamarind paste

3 chilli padi, sliced thinly

Spring onion, sliced thinly, for garnish

Fried shallots, for garnish

Steps :

1) For the eggs : Soft boil the eggs. I used an egg cooker for this. But if you’re using the stove, place the eggs in a small pot and fill with cold water, just enough to cover the eggs. Place over high heat, and when the water has come to a boil, remove the pot from the heat and allow the residual heat to cook the eggs gently for a further 3 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a pot of cold ice water, to stop the cooking process, for 10 minutes. Gently peel the eggs and pat dry using paper towel. Set aside.

2) For the chilli caramel : In a heavy-base pot, heat the sugar on low heat, swirling occasionally until the sugar liquifies and turns a slightly dark brown. Careful not to take this too far, as it will burn and taste bitter.

3) Take the pot off the heat, and slowly add the fish sauce. It will cause the smoke and bubble vigorously, so take caution.

4) Once the bubbling has settled down, return the pot back on the stove on low heat, and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the chillies and stir it well. Take the pot off the hear, and add the tamarind paste and palm sugar. Mix it until the palm sugar has dissolved completely. Set aside.

5) Heat oil in a small saucepan on medium-high heat, then add the soft boiled eggs and fry till golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.

6) Using a pair thongs, put the eggs in the pot of chilli caramel and coat it. Place the coated eggs in a bowl, and garnish with spring onions and fried shallots. Pour a bit more of the chilli caramel on top of the eggs, if desired.

ENJOY!

PS : Like Ai-Ling, I prefer a gooey yolk, which is why I chose to soft boil my eggs. If you don’t like that, you could hard boil your eggs, and just repeat the whole process of putting the eggs in ice water after it is cooked. Will still be delicious! (:

Chin Chin

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 I was super excited when the mr texted me to tell me that his colleagues are planning to head to Chin Chin for lunch and I was able to follow them! Chin Chin has been one of those places that you have been planning to go.But the first time I went there, they told me that a table of 3 would only be available after 2 and a half hours. It made me think twice whenever I think about the wait if I did want to head there for a meal! Thankfully, we went during the non-peak hour (2pm) and we got our table for 6 almost instantly!

Though it was 2pm, it will still packed with customers and the smell that greets you when you enter just makes you hungrier and just can’t wait to try their creations! As I was a plus one, I left the ordering to the mr and his colleagues. The only dish I requested was the famous son-in-law eggs! hehe (:

It was an extensive menu. I just wanted to try everything on it! haha So I can only imagine myself back at Chin Chin very soon trying more of the food that we didn’t get to try this time round! Chin Chin is a warehouse converted place that serves delicious Thai food! And boy have I been craving for some thai in my tummy! So every dish had some asian-thai influence on it.

 Our first starter was the kingfish sashimi with lime, chilli, coconut and thai basil. This was really fresh and with every bite you just want to have more. Love how a dish has many textures and this one had the sour, the sweet, the spicy and the crunch! Perfect dish to start our meal.

Our second starter was the DIY spring rolls! These were fun! The addition of the raw vegetables gave the dish a crunch with the very soft and thin handmade skin! What I really liked was the peanut sauce that came with it. Was really delicious! I couldn’t resist and had a second roll. hehe

I love restaurants who have dishes that encourage interactions between their customers at a time by having these DIY spring rolls! I think it’s a brilliant idea! This inspired me to have a DIY rice paper roll dinner which I will be blogging about soon! (:

Salad course : Salt & pepper salmon fin with banana blossom salad. The deep fried salmon skin just melts in your mouth the moment to bite into them. It was seriously delicious! It was our first time having banana blossom. It complimented the crunch of the fish and we just couldn’t get enough of it to be honest! Noms!

This was another really delicious dish. It’s dry curry “pad ped” with vegetables, spiced crusted organic tofu, kaffir lime leaf and thai basil. It’s a dry red curry and had a slight sweetness to it. It was so good! I could easily have this dish and a bowl of rice and be very happy!

 This was from their barbecue side of the menu : the salmon wrapped in banana leaf with coconut red curry, lime and thai basil. It reminded me so much of the otah we can get back home! The flavours were really good, but the mr and I felt that the salmon was a bit overcooked. And make us miss the otah his mum makes! can’t wait to head home and get some at the end of the year!

The stir-fried sirloin with green peppercorns were quite good as well. But wasn’t one of the stand out dishes in my opinion! Was pretty norma. Please don’t get me wrong, it was good, but compared to the rest of the dishes, this just didn’t stand out as much. The slices of the beef were really tender though!

And the much anticipated son-in-law eggs! They were so so good! We first had them when we went to Gingerboy last year, and also learned out lesson. haha We were told we have to put the whole egg in our mouths at Gingerboy and bite in to allow it to explode. But many of us had so much difficulty fitting an egg in our mouth! haha Thankfully this time, we cut it into halves and could really taste all the flavours in our mouths! DELICIOUS! The chilli jam that accompanied these fried eggs with gooey center was perfect. A true balance of flavours. Genius!

We were stuffed when we were done and just didn’t have any space for desserts, which I was actually looking forward to. So till we meet again Chin Chin, I really can’t wait to try the other dishes you have to offer! (:

PS : Chin Chin doesn’t take bookings unless for tables of 10-12. So do head there early (or late) and I highly recommend going there during off-peak hours so you will be able to get a seat and start indulging in the yummy food they have!