Cookin Corner

[hhfarang]

Many (if not most) of the recipes I've found myself interested in recently call for Kosher salt. I had to look it up to find out the difference; this salt is a coarser grained salt and has a slightly different chemical (mineral?) makeup than regular table salt.

Has anyone seen Kosher salt here? I've looked around at some of the major supermarkets and all I've seen is regular table salt.

[bkistheone]

who cooks when food is so cheap... AND who has an oven?

[Dannie Boy]

Many (if not most) of the recipes I've found myself interested in recently call for Kosher salt. I had to look it up to find out the difference; this salt is a coarser grained salt and has a slightly different chemical (mineral?) makeup than regular table salt.

Has anyone seen Kosher salt here? I've looked around at some of the major supermarkets and all I've seen is regular table salt.

I've not looked, but would imagine the only place that might sell it would be Villa Market.

[Dannie Boy]

who cooks when food is so cheap... AND who has an oven?

I think you will find that many people who live in Thailand on a permanent basis have both an oven and cook their own food - of course they will eat out out but certainly not all the time.

[Arlo]

who cooks when food is so cheap... AND who has an oven?

Me and me! I eat at home way more than I go out to eat. My oven gets plenty of use.

[Arlo]

Many (if not most) of the recipes I've found myself interested in recently call for Kosher salt. I had to look it up to find out the difference; this salt is a coarser grained salt and has a slightly different chemical (mineral?) makeup than regular table salt.

Has anyone seen Kosher salt here? I've looked around at some of the major supermarkets and all I've seen is regular table salt.

I've not looked, but would imagine the only place that might sell it would be Villa Market.

I have looked at most places in town and have never found it. Looked at a few places in bkk and nothing. I am sure it could be found in bkk if searched for really good. Its very common in the states so I bring a big box back when I can.

[NOKYAI]

who cooks when food is so cheap... AND who has an oven?

Me and me! I eat at home way more than I go out to eat. My oven gets plenty of use.

Same here!

Yes I eat out once a day, but for the first time in my life I have the time to make my own sausages, burgers, ? Wine, and cook for friends usually on a Sunday Lunch. It's quite social for the chaps to cook once a week, taking turns and a thai partners to try European home cooked food

[JW]

Love to cook and eat at home and wouldnt be without my ovens. Results range from pretty good to bin material!

[Takiap]

I have grown to be quite fond of trying my hand at a few different dishes although to be honest, I don't always stick to whatever recipe I'm trying. More like guesswork and some good old trial and error.


Last week I made some curry using goat meat from the nearby Muslim village and it turned out really nice but since my kids want to eat what I eat, I can't add much heat.


Today I've made a pot of "whatever" stew.


1 kg of bite sized pork
3 medium onions
1 full head of garlic
2 inches of fresh ginger root
1.5 tbsp coriander seeds
1 cup of peas
1 large carrot
2 large potatoes
1 large tomato
Salt
Pepper
1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
Some vegetable oil


Fried onions, fried spices, made garlic and ginger into a paste and added that. Added my meat and cook for a few minutes. Added water and all the vegetable and slow cooked until most of the chopped up potato had cooked away to thicken things up.

Not sure what one would call such a dish, but it's quite healthy and the kids love it. Certainly better for them than my MIL's favorite dish for kids - omelet on rice or fried rice.


BTW......can anyone point me in the direction of cloves?


Cheers

[buksida]

Cloves and a whole range of spices can be found in Makro.

Revival of this thread has got me wondering ... can you buy habanero and jalapeno seeds in Thailand? Would like to start growing them and experimenting with hot sauces as the Thai ones are sugary crap and anything imported is triple priced.

[Dannie Boy]

Cloves and a whole range of spices can be found in Makro.

Revival of this thread has got me wondering ... can you buy habanero and jalapeno seeds in Thailand? Would like to start growing them and experimenting with hot sauces as the Thai ones are sugary crap and anything imported is triple priced.

Not sure whether they are, but of course the local Birdseye type chilli seeds are widely available. I grow them and get an enormous crop from each plant which I use fresh but also let them dry and then grind into a powder.

[Takiap]

Buksi


I was at one point buying just about every sort of seed I could find, but never came across what you're looking for. I would suggest you order some on Ebay. I have done so in the past and never had any hassles at all.


Will look for cloves at Makro the next time I'm there.


As a side note......G-Market has also increased their selection of spices but for some strange reason they seem to stock different spices and/or different brand in different places. I just stocked up on a few spices from there on the weekend.

Packets of cumin seeds -15 baht each
Packets of cinnamon sticks - 12 baht each
Turmeric power - 15 baht each
Cinnamon powder - 15 baht each

[Takiap]

Cloves and a whole range of spices can be found in Makro.

Revival of this thread has got me wondering ... can you buy habanero and jalapeno seeds in Thailand? Would like to start growing them and experimenting with hot sauces as the Thai ones are sugary crap and anything imported is triple priced.

Not sure whether they are, but of course the local Birdseye type chilli seeds are widely available. I grow them and get an enormous crop from each plant which I use fresh but also let them dry and then grind into a powder.

DB.......You should try growing a few of the other varieties which are common here. I've done so in the past, and like you, I always got huge crops. Also grown bell peppers using seeds from fresh bell peppers. Never got a big crop, but a fair amount.

BTW....All the different types of basil you get here are even easier to grow, and I highly recommend the lemon basil. As long as they get water and plenty of sun, they'll grow. Add some chicken droppings, and you'll end up with a crop big enough to supply half of Asia.

[Dannie Boy]

Cloves and a whole range of spices can be found in Makro.

Revival of this thread has got me wondering ... can you buy habanero and jalapeno seeds in Thailand? Would like to start growing them and experimenting with hot sauces as the Thai ones are sugary crap and anything imported is triple priced.

Not sure whether they are, but of course the local Birdseye type chilli seeds are widely available. I grow them and get an enormous crop from each plant which I use fresh but also let them dry and then grind into a powder.

DB.......You should try growing a few of the other varieties which are common here. I've done so in the past, and like you, I always got huge crops. Also grown bell peppers using seeds from fresh bell peppers. Never got a big crop, but a fair amount.

BTW....All the different types of basil you get here are even easier to grow, and I highly recommend the lemon basil. As long as they get water and plenty of sun, they'll grow. Add some chicken droppings, and you'll end up with a crop big enough to supply half of Asia.

And if you let a few of them flower, they self seed and you have a perpetual supply!!

[Takiap]

Yes DB, they go quite crazy but then you end up waiting for a new harvest because they lose a lot of flavor once they flower. Seeds are cheap enough, so just keep harvesting enough to prevent flowering.

Like I've said, if you've never tried lemon basil then please do. It smells and tastes fantastic in an almost endless number of dishes.


Something else you might want to grow is Pandan. Not sure if any of you have tried it, but fried Pandan Chicken is awesome. You need to pick some leaves and allow them to wilt before using, although it seem many Thais don't actually know this. They insist on using the green leaves because artificial pandan fillings are green. Nonetheless, green leaves will NOT add any flavor to your food.


CHEAT: Add a few wilted pandan leaves when you cook your rice, and you'll get really fragrant rice. For those who don't know, pandan is Asia's equivalent of vanilla.

Easy to grow, quite attractive, and great for the kitchen.