Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Thai Lunch with Friends

An impromptu Thai lunch with friends. Yesterday, Michelle asked if she can hang out in the house today before her 2 pm appointment. We have been playing invitation tag for several weeks already and finally our schedules matched.

I thought of serving Thai food, it seems healthy and very easy to make. I also invited some of the girls. Those who were able to attend were Pia, Catherine and Marianne. I told them it would have to be an early lunch because Michelle has to leave before 2 pm.

I experimented with Lemongrass/Pandan Tea because I know it will go well with the food. I researched the net, found a recipe I liked and just adjusted according to taste.

Lemongrass/Pandan Tea

8-10 stalks Lemongrass

4 cups water

Drop lemongrass stalks in boiling water and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let it steep for about 2 hours.

1 bunch pandan leaves (I don't know how many, just bought from the grocery)

8 cups water

Boil until water turns a bit green/yellow in color. Steep for two hours.

Strain the leaves. Add

1 cup sugar syrup (Boil 1 cup sugar in half cup water.)

2 T. Honey

1/4 C. calamansi juice

Chill and pour over ice.


I cooked Bagoong Fried Rice. Really easy to make! Well ... I think as long as there is someone who will prepare the ingredients?

Bagoong Fried Rice



700 grams Thai Jasmine Rice, steamed

1/4 C. cooking oil

1 head garlic, crushed

2 T. Thai Shrimp paste ( not our ordinary bagoong)

2 T. brown sugar

Brown garlic in oil, add the shrimp paste and brown sugar. Sprinkle water on the rice and toss until cooked. Garnish on top with the following:

2 egg-omelet, cut into strips

1 green mango, shredded ( I used the shredder from Bangkok given by Tita Jit)

100 grams dried Hibe, fried

hand chopped roasted peanuts or cashews

250 grams Mekeni pork tocino, fried and cut into small cubes
shallots, sliced


I also made Pomelo Salad




200 grams Sunsweet Green Lollo(if you buy in Rustan's) or a.k.a. Salad Supernova (if you buy in SM)

10-12 pieces shrimps, boiled and peeled

chopped roasted peanuts

pomelo segments

Dressing

3 T. lime juice

3 T. Thai fish sauce

3 T. brown sugar

3 shallots, sliced

1/4 t. Thai chili flakes

Thai Grilled Pork - I found this recipe online but I can't remember the web page.




1 K. liempo ( I asked the butcher of SM to slice the frozen liempo about 1/2 inch thick, or even thinner but not as thin as bacon slice) FYI, the thinner the meat, the more tender it is when grilled.

Marinade

2 T. brown sugar

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 t. rock salt

1 T. Thai fish sauce

Marinate for ONLY 1 hour before grilling.

We enjoyed our lunch! They all liked what I cooked and am very happy to be with old familiar faces. I hope we can do this more often.

9 comments:

  1. the food was muy delicioso! thanks again Li, till the next lunch, or dinner... :)

    -Marianne

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  2. Thank you, Marianne! Yes! Until the next lunch or dinner.

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  3. Your entries shows a lot of hardwork and passion!
    Very Nice!

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  4. i made these , and it was fab! your blog is my new found friend:) thank you for sharing your recipes..

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    1. Hello Marijo. I am happy to share my recipes with everybody. Thanks for checking out my blog.

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  5. Hi Lia, I finally found the blog I've been looking for so long. Thank you for sharing your recipes and passion for cooking and good food. Keep up the good work! :)

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    1. Hello Mitch! I am so sorry for the late reply. I just discovered most of the comments are in another folder!

      Thank you for visiting my blog.

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  6. Thanks for sharing information about thai food... it's beneficial...I know the Thai restaurant which offers best thai lunch menu Salt Lake City. It offers exceptional Dine-In, Banquet Room, and Catering & Food Delivery Service.

    ReplyDelete