Thai Spicy Mixed Vegetable Soup - Kaeng Liang (แกงเลียง)

(Serve 6-8 as a main course)

64g peeled shallots, sliced
6g whole white peppercorns
100g cooked shrimp meat
4 cups (~ 1 liter) broth
300g firm-flesh winter squash (kabocha or calabaza are ideal), cut into 1-inch cubes
300g zucchini, cut into 1-inch cubes
300g chayote, cut into 1-inch cubes
300g baby corns
200g mild-flavored mushrooms (button or oyster are great), cut into bite-sized pieces
500g large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Fish sauce, to taste
20g fresh lemon basil leaves

In a mortar, pound together the shallots and peppercorns into a smooth paste. Add the shrimp meat and continue to pound until the shrimp and the paste become homogenous. If you don't have a mortar, use equal amount of ground white pepper and blend that with the shallots and the shrimp meat in a small food processor until you get a smooth paste.Put the broth into a large pot along with the paste; bring to a boil.Immediately add the pumpkin, zucchini, chayote, corns, and mushrooms to the pot; bring to a gentle boil once again.Add a tablespoon of fish sauce to the pot.Once the vegetables are tender but still hold their shape, add the shrimp.Once the shrimp is cooked through, immediately turn off the heat.Add more fish sauce, if needed.Stir in the lemon basil leaves.Serve with rice as a main course.
Note: Angle luffa is also an ideal vegetable for this soup. Feel free to play around with the amounts of vegetables. If you like zucchini but not chayote, omit the chayote and double the amount of zucchini. Etc. But in terms of the kinds of vegetable to use in this soup, traditionally the Thai people don't venture too far from this recommended list.

 

Spicy Green Apple Salad (ยำแอปเปิ้ล)

Makes about 2 cups

One medium Granny Smith or very firm and tart apple
One medium (50g) shallot
Two small tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice
Lime juice, to taste
Fish sauce, to taste
Dried red pepper powder, to taste
About 2-3 tablespoons of chopped cilantro leaves

Put 2-3 cups of iced water in a bowl; keep it handy.Core the apple and cut it in half. Slice each half lengthwise into thin slices. Make stacks of 4-5 apple slices and cut them lengthwise again into thin matchsticks.Soak the apple matchsticks in the prepared iced water.Slice the shallot thinly lengthwise.In a mixing bowl, toss together the shallot slices, tomatoes, the well-drained apple matchsticks, and cilantro.Season to taste with fish sauce, lime juice, and dried red pepper powder.Serve immediately as a topping for grilled or pan-fried fish. (This salad goes particularly well with a piece of halibut, lightly salted, dusted with flour, and pan-fried until the skin is golden brown and crispy and the flesh is moist and flaky.)

Variation: Throw in about ¼ cup of roasted cashews.

Enjoy! (:

Spicy Salad of Boiled Pork Sausage (ยำหมูยอ)

Have this as an appetizer with a cold pale ale, or serve it as an entrée with rice.
Spicy Salad of Boiled Pork Sausage - Yam Mu Yo
Serves 4


 
1 1/2 pounds (700g) Vietnamese-style boiled pork sausage
Six 2-inch tomatoes (250g), quartered
1/4 large Vidalia onion or any sweet onion1 (about 130g), sliced thinly lengthwise
2 large ribs of celery (about 88g), cut into 1/2-inch slices crosswise
2-3 tablespoons of lime juice, more or less to taste
2-3 tablespoons of fish sauce, more or less to taste
4-5 Thai bird's eye chilies, more or less to taste, finely chopped
1/2 cup (12g) cilantro leaves
Slice the pork sausage into 1/4-inch thick, bite-sized pieces. (These sausage rolls come in different sizes. This one you see here measures 3.5 inches in diameter, so I had to quarter it.) Transfer the sausage slices to a large mixing bowl.Add the onion, tomatoes, celery, and chilies to the mixing bowl.Season with lime juice and fish sauce, toss, and correct seasoning as needed. I'd start out with a tablespoon each of lime juice and fish sauce since the flavors of the tomatoes and the pork sausage vary. You can always add more as needed. For this salad, I don't add any sugar, because the tomatoes are already very sweet.Top with cilantro leaves and serve immediately.
1 If you can't find sweet onions, use a yellow, white, or even red onion. You may want to cut it into thin slices as instructed and soak the onion slices in iced water for 10-15 minutes to get some of the raw flavor out of them. Be sure to drain the onion slices very well and pat them dry before adding them to the salad.