Thai fish soup

For ➍
1 tbs cooking oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 ts fresh ginger, grated
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
½ red chilli pepper, sliced (optional)
1 stalk lemongrass, bottom stalk only, bruised (substitute with peel of lemon or lime)*
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn (substitute with peel of lemon or lime)*
40 cl can coconut milk
2 dl vegetable broth
juice of ½ lime
1 tbs fish sauce
175 g shrimps, peeled & deveined
220 g salmon, cut into 2.5 cm chunks
assorted vegetables, such as spinach, snow peas, kale, tomatoes, bell pepper, etc.
1 tbs minced cilantro/coriander

In a wok or soup pot over medium high heat, add cooking oil and swirl to coat. When hot, add in the garlic, ginger, red onion, chilli pepper, lemongrass, kaffir and gently cook for about 2 m to release the aromas and flavors.
Pour in the coconut milk and broth and let simmer for 15 m. Remove the lemongrass, kaffir (or the lemon/lime peel if using)* and discard. Season broth with fish sauce and lime juice to taste.
Add shrimp, salmon, vegetables and cilantro. Cook for 3-4 m or until the shrimp and salmon is cooked through.
Add 250 g cooked dried rice noodles to turn the soup into a light dish.

*When substituting with the peel of a lemon or lime, use a vegetable peeler to get thin strips of peel  and give each strip a good bruising or twist to release the oils.
**Eventually, add some fresh tomatoes, cut into wedges.

Salmon in lime broth

For ➋

30 cl chicken or vegetable stock*

1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed, peeled, white part finely sliced 

2 shallots, peeled, finely sliced 

1 mild fresh red chili, finely sliced 

100 g mushrooms (oyster mushrooms or fresh shiitake), finely sliced 

1 ts sugar** 

1 tbs vegetable oil 

2 150 g fresh salmon fillets, with skins, bones removed 

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper 

100 g (baby) spinach leaves 

1 tbs (Thai) fish sauce 

1 tbs fresh lime juice 

Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the lemongrass, shallots, chili, mushrooms*** and sugar. Reduce the heat. Simmer for 10 m. ***

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan. Sear the salmon fillets, skin-side down, until the skin is crisp. Turn once and cook briefly on the other side, leaving the inside slightly pink. Remove from the heat and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Boil the spinach in the hot broth for 5 s, remove with a slotted spoon and arrange in warmed shallow soup bowls. 

Place the salmon on top. 

Add the fish sauce and lime juice to the broth, and spoon it around the salmon.

* Use a miso based broth instead (use 1 tbs miso paste for 30 cl water)

** Optional

*** Add mushrooms for the last 3-4 m for a meatier mushroom

Panang curry paste

For ➍
1 tbs galangal (or ginger) , peeled & chopped
2 tbs lemongrass, sliced thin
6 kaffir lime leaves, chopped *
2 tbs peeled and chopped coriander root
1 ts salt
2 tbs black peppercorns, crushed
2 shallots, sliced thin
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ts fermented shrimp paste
1 tbs coriander seeds, toasted
½ ts cumin seeds, toasted
4 pieces of mace, toasted
2 cardamom pods, toasted
4 big green peppers, toasted
10 big red dried chillies, reconstituted in water for 10 m

Pound all the ingredients together, incorporating them one at a time in a large mortar and pounding with a pestle until the paste is smooth.
Alternately, use a food processor or blender. Keep in mind that the best flavor comes from pounding all the ingredients in a mortar as the food processor oxidizes the ingredients creating a muddy flavor. It is well worth the energy of clunking the pestle. The paste will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.
Use 3-4 tbs of the panang curry paste in your curry depending on how spicy you like it.

*Use grated lime peel instead.

This batch curry paste recipe represents the Indian influences of southern Thailand utilizing plenty of dry spices. Use in a mild fish curry.

Grilled lemongrass chicken

For ➋-➍
4-6 chicken thighs, skin on or off
2 stalks lemongrass
40 g onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
juice of ½ lime
2 fresh red chilies, minced, (or ½ ts chili flakes, to taste)
3 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
2+½ tbs brown sugar

Use a food processor for this recipe.
Cut off the bulb end of each lemongrass stalk, then slice up the rest. Toss out the upper stem. Pulse to create a fragrant, watery-like paste.
Open up the chicken thighs and lay flat, preferably in a flat baking-type dish. Pour the paste over chicken, turning the pieces to get each one saturated. Use a spoon to spoon the herbs onto the tops of the chicken. Cover and marinate preferably 2-6 h.
Brush a hot grill with a little vegetable oil, then grill chicken to well done.
Plate up the chicken with a nice portion of Thai jasmine rice. And a side dish like green papaya salad.

Green curry paste

For ➋-➌
4 small green Thai chillies  (or 1 to 2 jalapeno peppers)
4 tbs shallot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 thumb-size piece galangal (or ginger), grated
1 stalk fresh minced lemongrass (or 3 tbs frozen or bottled prepared lemongrass)
½ ts ground coriander
½ ts ground cumin
¾-1 ts shrimp paste
15 tbs fresh coriander/cilantro leaves & stems, chopped
½ ts ground white pepper
3 tbs fish sauce
1 ts brown sugar
2 tbs lime juice
coconut milk

Place all the  ingredients together in a food processor, and process to a paste. If necessary, add a few tbs of coconut milk to help blend ingredients.
Set aside.
Use for instance for chicken curry.

Coconut & lemongrass chilli chicken

For ➍
3 plump stalks lemongrass
50 g fresh ginger
2 hot red chillies
2 cloves garlic
a bunch coriander
2 limes
2 tbs groundnut oil
200 g tomatoes
2 tbs fish sauce (nam plah)
2 tbs dark soy sauce
8 chicken thighs
40 cl coconut milk
8 apricots, halved

Peel and discard the outer leaves of the lemongrass. Cut the inner leaves into short lengths and put in the food processor. Peel the ginger, then slice into thin pieces and add to the lemongrass.
Chop the chillies, discarding their stems and add to the ginger with the peeled garlic.
Roughly chop the stems and half of the leaves of the coriander to add to the food processor, reserving the rest for later.
Grate the lime zest into the food processor, reserving the limes for later, then turn the machine on and let it chop everything to a coarse paste. Add a little groundnut oil and scrape the sides down with a spatula if it sticks.
Add the fish sauce, soy sauce and the tomatoes and process for a few s longer.
Warm a further tbs of groundnut oil in a deep pan over a moderate to high heat and use it to brown the chicken pieces, turning them so they colour nicely on both sides.
Lift the chicken pieces out and pour away anything more than 1 tbs of oil and juices.
Add the spice paste and let it fry over a moderate heat for 2 m till fragrant, stirring almost constantly, then return the chicken to the pan.
Pour over the coconut milk, stir, cover and leave to simmer over a low heat for 15-20 m.
Meanwhile halve and stone the apricots.
Test the chicken for doneness. Add the apricots. Leave to simmer for a few m, then add the juice of the limes and the reserved coriander leaves.
Serve with aromatic rice.