Sawatdee pii may!

January 23, 2012 By 1 Comment

 

Or HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Today is the second new year for me here in Thailand (a third one in April, but that’s another story). A new experience for me was the almost non-celebration of Christmas which is way way different from back home in the Philippines. No exchanging of gifts for Christmas but the Happy New Year gifts I received from friends more than compensate for the lack of Christmas gifts. No Christmas parties either, but I’ve attended New Year parties. Today is the first day of the lunar year and it’s quite an occasion here in Phitsanulok where residents of Chinese descent started the firecrackers since yesterday morning. Yup, early morning! Yesterday, I walked around downtown, to have a Thai breakfast and get my roti fix. Most shops with owners of Chinese descent had these offerings of food and candles out front. I took a picture of the one in front of where I got my breakfast. On the table were incense sticks, chicken, duck, fruits, pork, and even beer!

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Christmas in Thailand

December 24, 2011 By 8 Comments

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It’s Christmas eve and Pasta and I are spending it quietly away from home. Pasta and I just had our KFC dinner and she’s now loudly snoring on my feet (believe me, she can snore!). I’m not in the mood to cook any traditional Filipino feast unlike in previous Christmases when I’ve cooked up meatballs and spaghetti, a pad Thai cooking session with bloggers (little did I know I’d be moving to Thailand!), homemade bacon, ube jam, palitaw… For now, cooking is taking a back seat, I’m too lazy to cook, and has not made up my mind what to cook at the very last minute. So KFC fried chicken it is!

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Anyway, before the year ends, a couple of update from A Scientist in the Kitchen. Despite the lack of posts lately, I have been cooking quite a bit. As I’ve mentioned early this year, my goal is to eat healthy and that’s what I’ve been doing. To my dismay, my cholesterol levels are still up, and I’ve been adviced to diet and exercise. I’ve getting there, my pants size dropping down (hurray for me!). I’m cooking up something with my blog and can’t wait for late January to roll up new plans for this site. Offline, I have been busy learning how to drive. For two weeks now, I’ve been driving my car alone. This is quite an achievement for me as I felt I like any mechanical inclination such as driving. Would you believe I don’t know how to ride a bicycle??? Combine that with learning the Thai language and it makes for a pretty packed day everyday. Now I can manage to get a full tank on my own and have my car cleaned. Come Tuesday, my father and sister will visiting me and that is what really makes me very very excited. I’ll show them Bangkok and come to Phitsanulok for the New Year. We had a long weekend a couple of weeks ago and I joined my new friends to a climb of Phu Kradueng National Park. I think I walked over 40 km during that climb, it was so cold but so beautiful as well. I saw a lot of deciduous vegetation such as these dewdrops which are insect-eating plants. W didn’t get to see wild elephants, though.

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We didn’t have any Christmas party in the office like we do back in the Philippines. But guess what, we have a New Year party! New Year’s quite a big thing here, the malls have Christmas decors but no “Merry Christmas”, instead lots of “Happy New Year” signs all over. A few weeks ago, I noticed so many items for gift giving and I happily told my colleagues, there are so many Christmas gifts choices in the mall. They all smiled, and said that’s for New Year gift giving. During our Christmas party, err.. New Year Party with the staff, my manager jokingly told that they put up a Christmas Party for me! There were all sorts of great Thai food and fun games that Thais do well. We even had a raffle draw to give away the gifts!

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So I’m getting more settled here in Thailand. The house still needs a lot of fixing up. Up to know there is no living room to speak up (hey, my kitchen’s complete!). That will be my project for the next few weeks. Pasta and I get to play football everyday though come to think of it, looking at the pictures above, the yard needs clean-up, the grass needs replacement as they grow widely every few weeks. I probably need a Turf Installation!

Merry Christmas to you my dear readers! All the best for 2012 (or year 2555 here in Thailand)!

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Giant cakes and cupcakes… Sweet Stories at Central Plaza Phitsanulok

November 20, 2011 By 5 Comments

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Giant cakes and cupcakes takes center stage this week at Central Plaza, Phitsanulok. Not to mention a host of sweets and desserts that Thais love – cakes decorated with fresh fruits, ice creams from locally made coconut ice cream to the fancier gelatto, cakes and pastries and breads… The theme is Sweet Stories and it’s all about sweets. Central Plaza Phitsanulok opened last October 20 and I have been a regular every weekend. They’ve had different kinds of exhibits since then, a pet show where a lot of puppies where sold. That time, didn’t stay too long as I might be tempted to bring home the cute little beagle I fancied.

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The roti booth was very popular. The cook deftly kneaded the roti dough into paper thin rounds and fried into a roti wok.

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Once it started to crisp, the roti is fold into two, then divided into 8s. You can ask for different filling, from bananas to cashews, to something like shredded yolks of salted eggs. Or you can have it plain, just add condensed milk. This is a favorite dessert for me as it reminds of my favorite creps.

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There are also different ice creams, from coconut ice creams where it is served in coconut shells…

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To Kori, one of the ice cream brands that is probably sold by a coffee and ice cream shop that is popular here.

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I also drooled over the the confections from Chef Bakery… cakes decorated with fresh fruits! The cake is absolutely delicious and you can order low-fat cakes from them too. I still have to find where their shop is as I learned they also sell whole wheat flour for my bread making activities.

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Salted egg and watercress salad

October 16, 2011 By 15 Comments

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You can tell that a Thai dish is a salad by the name “yum”. So the popular Thai salad with glass noodles is called yum (salad) woonsen (glass noodles) or salad with glass noodles. Add another word such as kung (shrimp) and you have yum woonsen kung. The vinaigrette is a refreshing mix of garlic, sweet, salty, sour and fiery peppers. Add cilantro and it’s a very great Thai food.

Anyway, I have been cutting on carbs in my diet, and have mostly picked on different greens in the supermarket. I usually shop at Tesco Lotus because it is almost a complete grocery as well the price tags have English labels. One of the greens I saw was labeled watercress and I grabbed a packed immediately. You see, that was first time to see watercress for real, my exposure mainly on blogs and recipes that call for watercress. I was not going to pass up the chance and taste it for myself, and share it with Weekend Herb Blogging (hosted by Cinzia of Cindstar). On the way home, I was contemplating what type of dressing I would prepare it with. A Thai dressing immediately came to mind, the sweetness this time will be coming from a stevia syrup available in the grocery instead of palm sugar. Of course, I looked up on the web how watercress look like. Indeed, the ones I bought are watercress! Watercress is significant source of iron, calcium, and folic acid and I wasted no time preparing them into a salad when I got home. This was a quick and easy salad, just cut up everything that you want to put into the salad, prepare the dressing, mix and there you have it! It was particularly easy with the chicken, I bought one whole roasted chicken, deboned it, and chopped the meat into small pieces. The meat I will use for other dishes for quick and easy protein source. Anyway, here is the recipe (serves one).

Salted egg and watercress salad

2 tbsp lime juice

2 tsp stevia syrup (sugar substitute)

2-3 red chilis, chopped

1 tbsp fish sauce

4 cloves garlic

1 salted egg, cut into wedges

¼ cup roasted chicken meat

3 pcs cherry tomatoes, quartered

handful of watercress and cilantro

4-5 pcs chive stems, cut into one inch pieces

additional red chilis for garnishing

Prepare the dressing by pounding the garlic cloves and chilis in a mortar and pestle until it appears coarsely chopped. Add the lime juice, stevia syrup, and fish sauce. Mix well and adjust taste as you like. On a plate, mix the rest of the ingredients and pour dressing on top. It is now ready to eat.

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Scrambled eggs and mushroom

October 15, 2011 By 2 Comments

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Here’s one quick, easy and time-saving recipe for breakfast. I was inspired to make this scrambled eggs and mushrooms during my visit to the fresh market (where I also bought the broccolini) last Saturday because I was able to buy three kinds of fresh mushrooms – shiitake, oyster and rat’s ear (or tenga ng daga, in Tagalog). Mushrooms tend to spoil easily so I have to cook them soon. The easiest way is to stir fry the mushrooms in a little oil and garlic, add some vegetables such as bell peppers, and season with salt and pepper. This can be eaten as it is, or you can stuff them into scrambled eggs to make a high protein, fiber-rich breakfast. You can also divide them into small servings so you have a ready stuffing anytime you want scrambled eggs.

Scrambled eggs and three mushrooms

a handful each of fresh shiitake, oyster and rat’s ear mushrooms

half of a yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly

1 tbsp of olive oil

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed finely (you can use a mortar and pestle)

salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs

1 tbsp water

several slices of mozzarella cheese

finely chopped chives for garnish

Cut stems from shiitake mushrooms then slice the caps thinly. Tear the oyster mushroom into small pieces and chop the rat’s ear mushroom into strips. Heat oil in a nonstick pan, then sauté the garlic. When garlic starts to brown, add the mushrooms and bell pepper. Stir fry several times till mushrooms start to sweat. Season with salt and pepper. Cool for a few minutes. Place two eggs in a bowl, add 1 tbsp water, a pinch of salt then scramble the eggs. In the same pan (or another one) that you sautéed the mushrooms, heat a tsp of oil then add the eggs. Spread thinly, raise the edge of the egg so that the uncooked eggs fall to the bottom of the pan. When eggs are almost set, spread the mushroom (~3-4 tbsp) in the center of the scrambled eggs. Top with slices of mozzarella cheese and fold the sides towards the center, covering the mushroom filling and cheese. Carefully transfer to a serving plate, garnish with chopped chives then serve.

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Chicken and peanuts stir fry

October 12, 2011 By 5 Comments

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This is one of my favorite Thai food. Originally, the recipe calls cashew but since all have available was a bag of peanuts, this recipe became chicken and peanuts stir fry. My source for this recipe? Thai Favorites to World Kitchen by Profeesor Wandee Na- Songkhia of the Wandee Thai Cooking School in Bangkok. This is literally for the world kitchen as recipes are in Thai, English, and Japanese languages! It contains almost all of my favorite Thai food and you can be sure that I’ll be trying these recipes one by one. I am specially looking forward to preparing all those Thai salads from catfish to shrimps to glass noodles. Yum…

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Chicken and peanuts stir fry

(serves one)

¼ cup thinly sliced chicken breast

1 tbsp all purpose flour (or tapioca flour)

3 pcs sliced fresh red chiis (should be dried chills, but I didn’t have any),

a handful of peanuts, roasted

2 sprigs spring onions

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

2 tsp red chili paste

Vegetable oil for frying

Mix chicken and flour, make sure to coat chicken very well with flour. Leave for 15 minutes. Fry chicken, peanuts and chili until chicken is golden brown. Remove from pan and drain oil on paper towels. Prepare the seasoning by mixing soy sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, and chili paste together. In another wok, heat 1 tbsp of oil then add the seasoning mixture. Bring to a gentle simmer, then add the chicken, peanuts, chili, and spring onions. Toss well to coat chicken, peanuts, chili and spring onions with the seasoning mixture. Transfer to a plate then serve.

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Broccolini and beef stirfry

October 9, 2011 By 5 Comments

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It’s not often I come across broccolini, which I mistakenly believe to be young broccoli. Yesterday morning, I braved the public transport instead of calling for a taxi, and went back to the fresh market I visited late last year. It’s funny how coming back, I visit with a new perspective- that of a local who will be coming here over and over to buy my week’s supply of fresh vegetables. Last year, I came as a tourist, lugging my camera and taking plenty of pictures. Yesterday, I bought a wok and a local crepe maker. In my basket was also several types of vegetables – fresh shiitake mushroom, oyster mushroom, rat’s ear mushroom, one yellow bell pepper, a bunch of chives, a big carrot, a tom yum pack (a set containing kaffir leaves, galangal and lemongrass), and several stems of broccolini – all these for 100 baht!

Broccolinis are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium folate, and iron.It goes by the name of asparation in Europe, and baby broccoli in the US. The name broccolini is patented by the Mann Produce company which produced this hybrid from broccoli and the Chinese kale gailan (or kailan).

I’m sharing this broccolini recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging which is being hosted this week by Chris of Mele Cotte.

Broccolini and beef stir fry

(serves one)

2-3 pcs sukiyaki cut beef, cut into strips

juice from one lime

1 tbsp light soy sauce

several cloves of garlic, chopped coarsely

several stems of brocollini cut into 2 inch size (remove hard part)

¼ of a yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly

sauce from 2 tbsps oyster sauce and 3 tbsp water

several chives, cut into 3″ pcs

salt and pepper to taste

Marinate beef strips in lime juice, soy sauce, and ground black pepper for a few minutes. Heat a tbsp of oil in pan, and stir in the beef strips till lightly browned, Add the garlic and toss a few times. Next, add the broccolini and yellow bell pepper. Toss several times till broccolini and peppers are lightly coated with the coil. Add the sauce and bring to a simmer. Stir to cook the vegetables evenly. Add the chives, toss vegetables to mix well then serve.

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The makings of a quick dinner: liguine and bologenese sauce

October 6, 2011 By 5 Comments

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A sudden craving for burger, and there’s no burger (not even a McDonalds!) in sight! So what’s girl to do? Make her own burger patties! But the patties never made it into burgers as I soon found myself wanting to a bolognese sauce out of them. And indulge in a quick dinner for the next day – linguine bolognese. The patty was simply ground pork to which I’ve added finely ground oatmeal, chopped rat’s ear fungus, onion, garlic, black pepper and seasoned with soy sauce. Halfway into pan frying them, I decided instead that they’d be great with pasta. Or maybe I was just to lazy to prepare the fixings that go with a burger meal. After spending hours in the field, walking among fields of corn almost all day)… pasta with bolognese is a great way to cap the day.

Anyway, I usually make my pasta sauce fresh as I use just the minimum basic ingredients to make sauce -tomatoes or tomato sauce, garlic (lots of it), basil (fresh or dried), any meat, and plenty of black pepper. The variation just goes from there – adding olives, capers with tuna, or peppers and squid, or just a mixture of mushrooms. These basic ingredients for pasta are always in my pantry so I can make pasta anytime I want, the way I want it. Here is another quick and easy pasta recipe to share with Presto Pasta Nights which Ruth hosts this week.

Liguine and bolognese

~ 50 grams linguine

1 cooked burger patty, chopped (I’ll share the recipe in the next post)

4-5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

½ tsp dried basil leaves

½ cup tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Cook linguine until al dente. While doing this, heat olive oil in a pan, sauté garlic, chopped burger patty, and basil for a few minutes. Take care not to burn the garlic. And the tomato sauce and simmer gently until sauce has slightly thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper then add the cooked pasta. Mix very well, transfer to a plate, top with parmesan cheese, then serve immediately.

Fifty grams of linguine? This is enough for one serving for me and constitutes a full meal. Although my measurement is roughly an estimate now, as I just measure one serving by enclosing my thumb and forefinger together around the linguine and estimate my usual one serving. But this is roughly 40-50 grams only.

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