It is approching 6 pm. in Bangkok. I am still full from my big lunch. It was late lunch because I spent some time taking photos of the food and cleaning kitchen utensils. I do not like leaving dirty kitchenware in my sink, except when I have some urgent task to finish first.
I didn't have any menu in mind until 11.30 am. But I did take out some chicken from the fridge to let it thaw earlier. I had no Thai basil leaves, so, forget chicken stirfry with Thai basil, one of my favorite dishes. But I had pumpkin with its very nice yellow meat, spring onion, celantro, lemon grass, fresh cucumbers and juicy red tomatos. Also, some fermented minced pork and Chinese kale from a couple days ago need to be cooked before they became too old in my fridge.
I needed some garlic, limes and chili. Perfect, I found them at the corner of my fridge's veggy compartment. And of course, my kitchen never lacks salt, fish sauce, ground pepper, cooking oil, oyster sauce and sugar.
So, my lunch would be Chinese Kale stirfry in oyster sauce, fermented minced pork garden salad and northern styled pumkin soup with chicken. They were perfect dishes with steamed jasmine rice.
I cleaned all vegetables with water first to make sure of least insecticide or some other chemicals, germs, worms, dirt and other uninvited guests in my dishes.
Get rid of some rotten parts or leaves. Do not cut them in small pieces before cleaning them with water because you may lose some good vitamin, such as vitamin B and C, through water.
FFollow me and you can try my lazy recipes:
Chinese kale stirfry with oyster sauce
-Smash some cloves of garlic( and some fresh chili if you prefer spicy taste).
- some cooking oil, oyster sauce, salt/fish sauce, sugar and ground pepper.
How to cook:
-Heat cooking oil and throw in garlic (and chili). Stir till it smells a bit, add oyster sauce, some salt/fish sauce ( watch out! Oyster sauce is usually salty already) and little bit of sugar. Stir.
-Put kale in the mixture, wait 1-2 minutes, turn over the kale to let it mix well with boiling sauce. Add a little water only if too dry. Never put too much water in vegetable stirfry because water usually comes out from vegetables later.
-Turn off the stove. Take the kale up in the plate, put it nicely and topple it with the sauce from the pan. sprinkle it with ground pepper.
Fermented minced pork garden salad
- Cut spring opinion, celantro
- Cut fermented minced pork in small pieces
- Smash fresh chili, a few cloves of garlic,
- Squeeze lime to get fresh lime juice. Do not squeeze it strongly if you don't want its bitter taste from lime skin mixed in the juice.
- some fish sauce, sugar
How to cook:
Throw fermented minced pork, cucumber and tomato in a big bowl. Add fish sauce,chili, lime juice and tiny bit of surgar. Toss all ingredients together.
-Put it in a plate and garnish it with spring onion and celantro.
Northern styled pumpkin soup
- Smash lemon grass and cut it in 1-inch length pieces
- Cut chicken in big cubes.
- Cut spring onion and celantro in small pieces
- Use food blender or motar and pestle to make chili paste for the soup. Blend garlic and fresh chili together, then add shrimp paste and mix altogether.
How to cook:
- Boil water ( not too much water), add the prepared paste, lemon grass and pumkin while waiting for the water to boil
-When pumkin turns a bit soft, add chicken while the soup is boiling,
- Add salt/fish sauce, stir. Wait untill chicken is cooked.
-Turn off the stove. Put the soup in the bowl. Garnish it with spring onion and celantro.
Ready to execute them, but make sure you have steamed jasmine rice ready on your table. :)
Attack!
