Pad Thai

Pad Thai is a Thai rice noodles dish that became quite famous worldwide. Usually it's the only dish people know from Thai cuisine... 
Pad Thai is prepared with a special Pad Thai sauce which combines opposite tastes like sour and sweet and salty, but the combination is absolutely perfect: after you've prepared this delicious sauce I would like to see if you won't lick the spoon.... 

 


INGREDIENTS: 
Servings: 2

150-180g wide rice noodles
50g firm tofu
10-12 medium fresh shrimps
1 egg
handful of soy bean sprouts
cashew nuts
chilli
1 garlic clove 
3cm cube of ginger
1/2 lime
4-5tbs vegetable oil
fresh coriander leaves

For Pad Thai Sauce:
2tbs fish sauce
2tbs oyster sauce
3tbs tamarind juice
1/3 palm sugar round brick  



One of the most important ingredients for the Pad Thai Noodles is obviously the Pad Thai Sauce.

1. If you have dry tamarind, soak 2tbs of tamarind paste in 1/3 glass of water for a half an hour, then pass it through a stainer to get the juice.
2. Chop palm sugar in small pieces as it comes in dry round bricks.

3. Mix the ingredients for the sauce in a small sauce pan and bring it to boiling over medium heat, then boil for a couple of minutes.
Note: Pad Thai Sauce is a perfect mix of saltiness, sweetness and sourness.    
4. Peel the shrimps and devein them.

5. Cut tofu into thin match-sticks.

6. Soak rice noodles in warm water for 5 minutes and then drain them. 
Note: The noodles should be still a bit firm.

7. Pour vegetable oil in a wok pan and put the wok over high heat.
8. Add squeezed garlic and grated ginger. 
9. Add tofu and fry it for a couple of minutes.

 
10. Add an egg and scramble it.
Note: I usually use tongs to mix the ingredients in my wok pan.
11. Add shrimps...

 
 12. Add rice noodles and the sauce. Stir well!!!

 12. At the end add soy sprouts, stir well and switch off the heat.
Note: As the dish is cooked over high heat, so you need to add all the ingredients one after the other with just a quick stirring.

13. Crush some peanuts or cashew nuts (I prefer these) and chop some fresh coriander.
14. Serve your Pad Thai noodles sprinkled with some chilli, crushed peanuts, chopped coriander and a slice of lime aside, you will squeeze it over the dish just before eating.  
   

      ขอให้เจริญอาหาร! (kŏr hâi jà-rern aa-hăan!)

Mussels and Shrimps Spaghetti

Fresh and fragrant, relatively fast to prepare...
The secret to the fullness of the flavour is to keep the water from the mussels and to prepare a stock with the shrimps shells. The precious liquids will contribute enormously to the flavour.
Usually the fresh parsley is added but I advise to use both parsley and basil. This hint will assure a further unmistakably Mediterranean flavour.   



INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2


160g spaghetti
100g mussels (without shells)
10-12 shrimps
10-12 cherry tomatoes
2-3 garlic cloves
chilli
fresh basil
fresh parsley
salt
EVO oil 

1. Peel the shrimps and devein them, keep the shells.


 
2. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a frying pan and add 1 garlic clove cut into halves.
3. Fry the shrimps shells and heads till they get orangey.

4.Add half a glass of water and cook for 2-3 minutes over a high heat.


5. Pour the mussels water to the pan and keep cooking for 2-3 minutes more.
Note: If you were using the fresh mussels, cook them till they are open in another pan and keep the water.

Note: I usually use the frozen mussels for this recipe, so I unfreeze them and use the water.



6. Make a little cut over the cherry tomatoes' peel.

7. Cook spaghetti half way (if the package indicates 14 minutes of cooking, cook for about 10) and while you are boiling spaghetti, boil cherry tomatoes for 2-3 minutes, then peel their skin.

8. Pour 2-3 tbs of EVO oil in a pan and heat it with a garlic clove.
9. Filter the shrimps stock and add it to the pan.

10. When spaghetti are almost ready drain them, keeping some of their water and finish cooking in a pan with the shrimps' stock.

11. Cut peeled cherry tomatoes into halves and add them to spaghetti along with the peeled shrimps and mussels. Cook till spaghetti are ready.
Note: If it gets too dry add some water that you kept from boiling of spaghetti. 
12. Chop some fresh parsley and basil finely and add the herbs to the dish.

 

  

BUON APPETITO !!!!

    
       

Tuna, Salmon and Green Peas

I had some fish fillet leftovers from sushi cooking so this dish came out really handy using these small pieces of salmon and tuna. 
You may serve it as  main dish or as a condiment for short types of pasta. 


 

INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2

~100g tuna fillet
~100g salmon fillet
~100g shrimps
200g green peas
1/2 medium onion
2 garlic cloves 
salt
EVO oil

   
1. Chop onion into pieces.
2. Lay a large knife blade flat over the garlic cloves and strongly press it with the palm of the other hand.
Note: You don't need to peel garlic to do so.
Note: This way garlic will release it's flavour slowly and it won't prevail over the other flavours.
3. Cut salmon and tuna into 1-1.5cm cubes.
 
4. Heat 3-4 tbs of Olive oil in a frying pan and add garlic cloves and chopped onion.
5. Cook over the medium heat till onion gets transparent.


 6. Add tuna and salmon and stir carefully, keep cooking over the medium heat till the fish gets lighter in colour.

7. Add green peas and cook for 5 minutes, still over the medium heat.

8. At the end add shrimps and salt the dish to your taste.
Note: Shrimps are very fast to cook so don't cook too much, couple of minutes will be enough. 

9. You may sprinkle the dish with some pepper or chilli if you like it, but I left it's natural flavour to delight my palate...
     

 

ENJOY !!!

Fettuccine with Zucchini and Shrimps

Who sometimes doesn't have time to cook? But I'm sure if you are reading this blog you don't mind having a nice meal, right? 
You won't need many ingredients and the preparation won't take much time, so this recipe can become your "save the dinner" dish! 




INGREDIENTS: 
Servings: 2

160-200g fresh fettuccine
2 medium zucchini
150g peeled shrimps
2 garlic cloves
chilli
salt
5tbs EVO oil  


1. Boil water for pasta, salt it and start cooking your fetuccine half time that is indicated on the pack. 
Note: Minimum 1 litre of water for each 100g of pasta.

2. Meanwhile wash zucchini and cut them into disks, 0.7-0.8 cm thick.
3. Pour some EVO oil into a frying pan and and add some chilli to taste and 2 garlic cloves without the skin, cut into halves.

4. Add zucchini disks to the oil and fry them both sides till a nice golden colour.
5. Transfer fried zucchini to a large plate, do not salt them as they may release their juice and become too watery.

6. In the same pan pour some water from pasta and add drained fettuccine.

7. Add peeled shrimps and cook till pasta is almost ready, if it gets too dry add some more water. 

8. If you prefer the sauce to be a bit more "sticky" you may add half a teaspoon of Roux.

Note: "Roux" in cooking slang means a mix of butter and flour used to thicken sauces. You may read more about Roux HERE. 


9. When past is ready add fried zucchini and mix well, add salt if needed as you didn't salt zucchini...

Buon Appetito!!!

    

Grilled Calamari Stuffed with Shrimps

Creamy, juicy stuffing and smoky grill taste... Calamari are stuffed in different ways. The that I suggest today is prepared with uncooked stuffing as I like it to be jelly soft and creamy. As an option for grill cooking you may opt for pan frying, but remember not to overdo with oil, just spread some to have the oily surface.  Cooking time won't have changes in this case. 



INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2

8 calamari with tentacles
8 shrimps
4 tbs crumbled bread
4 tbs grated Parmigiano 
1 garlic clove
4 tbs white wine
parsley
EVO oil

Note: Make sure your fish is really fresh!!

1. Clean calamari: 

- pull the tentacles out and the intestines will also go off,

- pull the bone off calamari's body,

- wash the body and pressing with fingers remove calamari's purple skin,

- throw the beak away: press between the tentacles and the eyes, so the beak will tear away,
- then cut the tentacles and throw the intestines, if you want you may keep the ink bag and cook a different recipe with it, for example this Ink Risotto from HERE,
- grate the tentacle suckers with the nails so the tiny rings from the suckers will tear away.   
 
Or as an alternative ask your fishmonger to do it for you.... 
 


2. Wash the calamari bodies carefully outside and inside and wash the tentacles as well.

3. Chop the tentacles into tiny pieces.
4. Chop the parsley finely.
5. Mix calamari tentacles, parsley, bread crumbs, Parmigiano and white wine.

6. Cut the shrimps into pieces and add to the mix. 
  

7. Fill the calamari bodies with the mix and  
seal each with a toothpick.
8. Heat a hotplate till it's very hot and cook stuffed calamari for about 3-4 minutes each side or till it's grilled nicely.

9. Serve with some extra virgin olive oil poured over and some lemon juice...

   ENJOY !!!