Steak and Mint Thai Salad

During the grilling season which has just started, I often have some day-after steak leftovers. They are perfectly fine but often not plenty enough for the whole dinner. Just recently, I got an idea on how to use them. They can be turned into a wonderful salad which can be served on the next day for lunch.

This is the salad that my Thai friend shared with me one of those days when she was teaching me Thai cuisine. At that time we grilled steaks for that purpose, which of course would taste even better but those leftovers can be great too. Spring is a season when herbs start to pop up in the gardens, and this salad also calls for a generous amount of fresh mint.

I love this salad because although made with meat, it is also very fresh and crunchy, like many Thai dishes. It is nutritious but at the same time light and aromatic thanks to vegetables and herbs. A perfect lunch on a warm and sunny day.



Steak and Mint Thai Salad
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
2 grilled beef steaks,
1/2 red onion, sliced,
1/3 cup cilantro leaves,
4 spring onions cut into inch long matchsticks,
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves,
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in halves,
1 cup thickly sliced cucumber.

For the sauce: 2-4 chilies depending on your taste,
4 limes,
1 tbsp soy sauce,
1 tbsp sugar,
1 garlic clove minced,
4 tbsp olive oil.

Preparation:
1. Cut steaks into thick slices.



2. Prepare all the vegetables.



3. In a medium bowl mix beat soy sauce and sugar until sugar melts. Add lemon juice, minced garlic, lime juice and thinly sliced chilies.



4. Mix steak slices with vegetables and herbs. Pour over the sauce. Toss gently, and serve.

Lemon Grass and Chicken Thai Soup

In the past couple of months I have been exploring the secrets of Thai cuisine. One of my friends from our yoga class is Thai. Sometimes we talk about food before classes so I asked her if she was willing to teach me a couple of Thai dishes. She said she was not a pro or chef but would be happy to teach me home made Thai food that she learned from her mother and grandmother. That was exactly what I dreamed of.

My friend turned out to be a great, very meticulous teacher. During our three meetings she taught me several basic Thai dishes that became already my family's favorites. I have learned that Thai cuisine is easy, simple, and very fresh. Even coconut milk curries are light, and the vegetables used in them still crispy. And you can have the most delicious dish with just three ingredients.

Last Thursday, she showed me how to make one of classic Thai soups--lemon grass and chicken soup. In no more than ten minutes a bowl of light and fragrant soup was on the table.



Lemon Grass and Chicken Soup
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
1 organic, chicken breast fillet, thinly sliced,
2-3 heaping tbsp. of Tom Yum paste (available at Asian food stores),
8 white mushrooms, washed and sliced,
4 sweet lime leaves,
1 stalk lemon grass,
3 branches of fresh coriander (leaves only),



Preparation:
1. In a medium pot bring to boil 6 cups of water.
2. Cut out green parts from lemon grass and cut the white parts into diagonal slices. Add them to the boiling water.
3. Add tom yum paste and teared lime leaves. Let it all cook for about 3 minutes to release the flavors.
4. Add sliced chicken breast and cook for about 2 minutes (if you cook it for too long the breasts become hard)
5. Finally, add sliced mushrooms. Let them cook for one more minute and turn off the the heat.
6. Add cilantro leaves and serve the soup hot.

Thai Egg Noodles with Roasted Sesame Seeds

Noodles, dumplings, and pasta of all kind are the dishes that you cannot go wrong in my home. My kids just love them (and to be honest I do too). Most often they win over any vegetable dish that I try to sneak into their diet.

My recent discovery--egg noodles with sesame seeds--a Thai cuisine recipe, turned out to be a big hit. A very simple and nutritious dish that can be made in minutes as an emergency meal. I almost always have in the pantry all the ingredients that the recipe calls for and, in a moment of desperation (e.g., when traffic complicates my schedule) I can quickly turn them into a nice dinner. Good roasted sesame seeds are available in most Asian food stores.

I use dried Thai egg noodles, but if I plan making sesame noodles ahead, I can buy in my local Asian food store fresh egg noodles, which I simply boil in the water for two minutes. Then I pour a cold sauce, mix, and serve. I sprinkle the ready to serve dish with chopped coriander leaves. My son likes to add also some chopped chives.

Egg Noodles with Sesame Seeds

Ingredients:
2 packs 8 oz egg Thai noodles (preferably round),
3 tbsp rice bran oil or sunflower oil,
2 tbsp sesame oil,
2 garlic cloves minced,
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter,
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds,
4 tbsp light soy sauce,
1 tbsp fresh lime juice,
1 green chili seeded and chopped very finely (optional, if you like it spicy),
4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves,
2 tbsp chopped spring onion,
pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Cook noodles according to instruction.
2. To make a sauce, in a medium bowl mix together rice bran oil, sesame oil, minced garlic, soy sauce, and peanut butter. Mix to create a smooth dressing. Add lime juice, pepper to taste, and chili if used. Mix again.

3. Drain the noodles and place them in a large bowl. Add the sauce and toss well. Sprinkle with coriander leaves and chives and serve immediately.

Thai Style Ginger Carrot--Replica of a Missing Hit

There used to be a wonderful dish called Thai Style Ginger Carrot, which I bought regularly at the frozen food section of my Trader Joe's store. It was a simple dish of shredded carrot--orange and yellow, shredded ginger, and some slivered almonds. It was not spicy at all, despite ginger, but wonderfully crunchy and savory and tasted not the least like a ready made frozen food. It was a very popular dish also for my kids, who do not like carrots in any other incarnation. So, on my weekly trip to TJ's, I was always buying a few bags of ginger carrot and served it as often, as they asked for it.

Unfortunately, as many good products, one day it has disappear forever. I have learned that it has been discontinued due to insufficient client interest. Strange, as often times my local store was not able to keep up with the demand. But perhaps DC area consumers are different and most elsewhere this product was not popular enough to be sold nation-wide.

When the other day my son asked about ginger carrot, I decided to recreate it myself. I bought a bag of shredded carrot, and a big piece of ginger. The rest was just improvisation.

There were obvious ingredients that you could taste and see--carrot, ginger and almonds, but the sauce in which they were fried was not so evident. It was not very greasy but tasty in a way that made the whole difference. I made the base sauce form oil and soy sauce, but it was not rich enough, as it was in TJ's ginger carrot. Since the dish was coming or was inspired by Thai cuisine I added a little bit of peanut butter to the sauce--thinking about the taste of a typical pad Thai. That made the whole difference. The sauce became thicker and very similar to what we remembered. Here is how I made it.

Thai Style Ginger Carrot
(Serves four as accompaniment)

Ingredients:
4 cups (10 oz) shredded carrot,
2 tbsp ground ginger,
1 tbsp olive oil,
1 tbsp peanut butter,
1/3 cup slivered roasted almonds,
2 tbsp light soy sauce,
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley.

Preparation:
1. Heat oil on a large roasting pan, and when hot, add ginger and fry for about one minute.
2. In a separate bowl, mix peanut butter and soy sauce into a homogeneous sauce, and add it to ginger.
2. Throw carrot and almonds into the pan and coat with the sauce.
3. Fry for about about 3-4 minutes--carrot should be al dente and crispy.
4. Take off from the heat, add chopped parsley, and serve.