The dish today is called Dried Beef in coconut Milk, or "neua pad kati". You are supposed to prepare the beef first by drying it with salt. Then roasting it until done. Next you are supposed to pound it to separate the fibres. As you can see from the picture of the ingredients below, we just used salted dried beef. Other ingredients are red shallots, palm sugar and tamarind paste. Here you can see the fruit but you can use the bottled version instead.

To cook is very simple. Heat the coconut milk up in a wok. Add the dried beef and stir well. Season with fish sauce, palm sugar and the tamarind paste. The latter will give it a sour taste. Keep stirring until the coconut milk dries out. Finally add the chopped shallots. That's it. A nice dish which isn't spicy. Come back next week to www.thai-blogs.com for another recipe.

The dish we have for you today is chicken fried with ginger. You can also do it with pork. In the ingredients below, you can see spring onion, onion, straw mushroom, chicken, ear mushroom and ginger in the middle. The seasoning we used was oyster sauce, fish sauce and fermented soy bean sauce.

Prepare everything in advance as stir-frying is very quick. Cut the chicken and mushrooms to bite size. Fry the crushed garlic until it is golden brown. Add the chicken. Next comes the ginger followed closely by the two types of mushrooms. Season with sugar, oyster sauce and fermented soy bean sauce. If it doesn't taste saltier enough then you can add some fish sauce. Finish with the spring onion and the onion. Don't overcook as it is best to have it a little crunchy. Come back next week to www.thai-blogs.com for another Thai dish.

This is another one of those simple stir fried dishes. This one is based around kale which is a green leafy vegetable. It is believed to have anti-cancer properties so a good idea to have it in your diet. In the ingredients photo below, you can see carrots, garlic, kale stalks, kale leaves and chicken in the middle. You can use mushrooms instead of carrots. You can also make this a vegetarian dish. The kale is separated like this because the stalks will need to be cooked for slightly longer. You might like to use baby kale if the stalks of this one is too tough.

Heat some oil in a wok and add the chopped garlic. Cook until golden brown. Next add the chicken that has already been cut into bite size pieces. A few minutes later add the kale stalks first and the carrots. Follow this with the leaves. Season with soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Add stock if it starts to dry out. Don't fry for too long if you like crispy vegetables like me. Come back next week to www.thai-blogs.com for another Thai food dish.

When it comes to Thai food, presentation always counts for a lot. I like experimenting with new recipes and even if I think the results might taste good, a Thai person would first comment on how it looks. Just take a look at this stir fried dish. It looks delicious even before you try it. A nice arrangement of complimentary colours. This one is stir fried prawns and snow peas. In the ingredients below, you can see crushed garlic and prawns on the left and snow peas and straw mushrooms on the right.

It is easy to cook for beginners. As stir frying is very quick, you need to prepare everything in advance. Wash, shell and devein the shrimps. Also prepare the snow peas by pulling the string from the pod. In a wok, fry the crushed garlic until brown and fragrant. Next comes the prawns. Don't overcook so follow these quickly with the mushrooms and finally the snow peas. Add some water or stock if it drys out. Season with oyster sauce, fish sauce and a teaspoon of sugar. Very quick and easy to cook with good results. Also a nice change from the hot and spicy meals. Come back next Friday for another Thai food dish at www.thai-blogs.com.

Our Thai dish today is called "pad buap moo" or stir-fried pork and angled sponge gourd. It is also commonly cooked with prawns or chicken. The sponge gourd can grow up to three feet in length. However, you need to choose one that is young and still soft to the touch. As it grows mature it will become bitter. You can eat it raw like a cucumber or stir-fry it like a zucchini. In the ingredients below, you can see the unpeeled sponge gourd at the top, the pork, garlic and the peeled sponge gourd. In the center is an egg.

Prepare the gourd by peeling it and then cutting diagonally into bite-sized pieces. Add the chopped garlic to the wok and fry until golden brown. Add the pork and stir fry a short while. Next comes the gourd. Add a little stock if it starts to dry out. Though not too much as there is a certain amount of moisture in the gourd. Give it a good stir for a few minutes. Season with oyster sauce and soy sauce. The last ingredient is an egg which you break into the wok. Stir this in well and it should cook itself. As with anything, do not overcook. Come back next week to www.thai-blogs.com for another Thai food recipe.

One of the dishes that I often cook is stir-fried vegetables. You can adapt this in so many different ways depending on what vegetables you have in stock. If I have bought a curry from the roadside, then I usually supplement the stir-fry with some extra meat. Either pork or chicken. In the ingredients below you can see cabbage, chicken, carrots and garlic in the center.

As usual, heat up some oil in the wok and then add the crushed garlic. Try to use Thai garlic as it is believed to be healthier for you. Once it is fragrant and golden brown, add the chicken slices. Give it a good stir and fry for a few minutes. If it starts to dry out, add a little stock or water. Next comes the vegetables. Season with oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Don't overcook, leaving it still a little crispy. Come back to www.thai-blogs.com next Friday for another Thai dish.

This week we have something different for you. It is a dip that you can have with green mangoes. Thai people don't often eat fruit without some kind of dip. Another popular dip with green mango is a mixture of sugar and ground chilli. In the picture below, you can see the following ingredients: green mango, red shallots and fish sauce. On the right there is palm sugar, ground dried shrimp and hot chillies.

To make the dip, you need a pot to which you add the mixture of sugar, fish sauce and a quarter cup of water. Simmer over a low heat and stir continuously. When it becomes a thick syrup, add the chopped shallots and keep stirring for a few more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the dried shrimp and sliced chillies. The mango should still be green and also slightly sour. Peel and cut into slices. We will post another Thai dish with pictures of the ingredients next Friday at www.thai-blogs.com.