Thai Calamari with Dip

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• SERVES 3-4 as an Appetizer
• 2 large frozen (or freshly prepared) squid tubes; OR 3-4 medium tubes. If frozen, thaw quickly in a bowl of cool water.
• 1/2 cup semolina flour (a type of granular wheat flour available at health food or specialty food stores)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup (or more) vegetable oil (such as canola) for frying
• optional: bed or lettuce or fresh coriander for serving
• DIPPING SAUCE:
• 1/4 cup thick (good-quality) coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1-3 tsp. brown sugar (or more to taste)
• 1 fresh red chilli, minced OR 1 tsp. chilli sauce (or more if you like it extra spicy)
• 1 inch galangal or ginger, finely grated
• optional garnish: handful of fresh coriander and/or 1 tsp. ground peanuts

Preparation:

1. First, make the sauce by mixing all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. Taste-test the sauce for saltiness and spiciness. Add more fish sauce if not salty enough (if too salty, add more lime juice). If not spicy enough, add more chilli sauce or fresh chilli (if too spicy, add more coconut milk). Set sauce aside until later. Note: If you find the sauce is too thin, simply place in the refrigerator until you're finished frying the calamari (it will thicken up in cooler temperatures).
3. Pour semolina flour into a shallow bowl or onto a plate. Stir in the salt. Set aside.
4. Place [thawed] squid tubes horizontally in front of you on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife and cutting towards you, simply make slices about 1/2 inch wide. This will create rings that are about 1/2 inch wide.
5. Open up the calamari rings and roll them one by one in the flour and salt mixture until they are covered. Place floured rings on a clean plate next to the stove.
6. Pour oil into a small or medium-sized frying pan (the larger the pan, the more oil you will need). The oil should be about 1 inch deep.
7. Turn heat to medium-high, until the oil begins to bubble or "move" from the bottom of the pan. To test if oil is hot enough: using a pair of tongs, dip one of the calamari rings into the oil. If it sizzles and begins to cook, the oil is ready. Turn heat down to medium (or around #6 on your dial).
8. Place as many rings into the oil as can comfortably fit at one time. Be sure to stand back, as sometimes the oil can splatter and "pop" as the calamari cooks. Allow to fry about 1 minute, then turn the rings over to cook on the other side. The calamari should turn a light golden brown. Do no over-cook, or the calamari will turn rubbery.
9. When rings are done frying, remove from the oil and place on an absorbant towel or paper towel to drain.
10. Serve immediately while still hot. If desired, place calamari on a bed of lettuce or fresh coriander. Serve with the coconut dipping sauce, and ENJOY!

Stir-fried Sea Crab with Curry Powder

Ingredients
500-600g sea crab
50g onion (cubed)
40g green peper (cubed)
10g chopped garlic
40g chopped green onion
40g chopped Thai celery
20g red chilli (sliced)
2 duck eqqs

Ingredients
20g oyster sauce
10g fish sauce
10g sugar
3g peper powder
10g Chinese spirit
5g tapioca flour
10g curry powder
50g roaster chilli paste
50g milk
200g stock

Method
1. Beat the eggs with milk, chilli paste and ½ tsp of curry powder, then set aside.
2. Clean the sea crab and set aside. Heat vegetable oil at medium heat, fry the crab until 70-80% cooked and set aside. Stir-fry garlic, onion and green pepper until get the aroma. And ½ tsp of curry powder, add stock and other ingredients and seasoning. Cover the pan with a lid for 1-2 minutes.
3. Sprinkle tapioca flour, add green onion, celery, red chilli and beaten egg over the pan. Use the low heat and cook for a while. Taste it. Put in the plate and garnish with Thai celery and red chilli.

Thai Seafood Hot Pot

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 oz dried rice stick noodles
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• Zest of 2 limes (about 1 tbsp)
• 1-2 Thai red chiles, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 stalk lemongrass, minced
• 6 sprigs cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 2 sprigs basil, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup canned straw mushrooms
• 12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 4 large sea scallops, cut in half
• 1 cup frozen calamari rings, thawed
• juice of 1 lime

PREPARATION

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Stir in noodles; remove from heat. Let stand until noodles soften, 7 to 10 minutes; drain. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook shallots, garlic and onion until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add stock, juice from tomatoes, coconut milk, vinegar, fish sauce, lime zest, chiles, sugar and lemongrass. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add cilantro and basil; reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 minutes.
2. Remove garlic, cilantro and basil from pot; add tomatoes and mushrooms. Return to a simmer. Add shrimp and scallops; cook 2 minutes. Add calamari and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Divide noodles among 4 bowls; top with broth and seafood; garnish with remaining basil and cilantro.

Stuff Squid ( Pamuek Yut Sai Mu Nueng Manow )

Ingredients for 2 people

100 gms Pork Mince

4 Garlic Cloves1 Teaspoon Pepper

1 Teaspoon Salt1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce

1 Large Whole Squid

Ingredients for Soup

1 Chicken stock cube

200 ml Water

50 gms Mixed Red and Green Chillis

1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Serve WithSliced

Thai Cabbage

Must be served warm

Preparation of Squid

1. Peel the garlic, put the pork mince and garlic together with the salt and pepper in a blender and blend it until the garlic is well mixed in.

2. Clean out the inside of the squid. Cut off the head and try to keep the body of the squid intact as a hollow tube.

3. Stuff the pork mince mix into the squid until its full.

4. Score cuts into the top of the squid - this will allow the steam to reach the meat to cook it.

5. Steam for 10 minutes.

Preparation for the Soup

6. Take a small pot pan, add water & the chicken stock cube and bring it to boil until the cube has dissolved.

7. Put the chilles in a blender and blend until they are fine pieces. If you prefer, you can cut them by hand, but they must be fine.

8. Add the chillis to the soup and remove the soup from the heat.

9. Place the steamed squid on a serving plate, squeeze the lemon juice over the top of the squid.

10. Pour the soup around the base of the squid, and place some of the chilli pulp on the top for show.

Notes

Ideally this should be served on a heated metal plate with candles heating the base of the dish.

Thai Seafood Curry

Ingredients:

• An Assortment of FISH and SEAFOOD, for example (to serve 4 people):
• 1 large fresh (or frozen) fillet salmon
• 1 large fresh (or frozen) fillet red snapper (or other "white" fish such as halibut)
• 6-8 large sea scallops
• 8-10 fresh large tiger prawns
• several handfuls of mussels or clams
• VEGETABLES:
• 1 small Japanese eggplant, or 1/2 Chinese eggplant, cut into bite-size chunks (be sure to leave nutritious skin on)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, OR 2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
• approx. 1 cup fresh basil
• CURRY SAUCE:
• 1 can good-quality coconut milk
• 1 tsp. tamarind paste (OR substitute juice of 1 lime)
• 2 shallots, sliced OR 1/2 cooking onion, sliced
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. frozen prepared lemongrass (available at Asian grocers), OR 1 stalk fresh lemongrass (instructions below)
• 2 kaffir lime leaves (available in the freezer at Asian grocers)
• 1-3 red chillies (depending on how spicy you want it (mild = 0-1 chilli, medium= 2 chillies, hot= 3 chillies)
• 1/2 tsp. fenugreek (seeds)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• OTHER:
• 1 can pineapple chunks, drained (OR 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into cubes)

Preparation:

1. For complete instructions on how to buy and cook with lemongrass, see: All About Lemongrass: Your Guide to Buying, Preparing, and Cooking with Lemongrass.
2. First, prepare all the vegetables and set next to the stove within easy reach.
3. Rinse and cut the fish into smaller segments (e.g. 2-3 inches long). Rinse the shellfish in cold water, and remove shells from prawns. Place the seafood next to the stove alongside the vegetables.
4. Make the curry sauce by placing 1/2 can coconut milk plus all other curry sauce ingredients in your food processor. Process well to form a thick paste-like sauce.
5. Add the rest of the coconut milk and continue processing a few seconds to blend.
6. Taste test the sauce, adding more fish sauce (1 Tbsp. at a time) until desired salt-level has been reached (you may require anywhere from 1 to 3 more tablespoons).
7. Pour sauce into a wok or deep frying pan. Place wok/pan over medium-high heat until sauce begins to bubble. Add all the vegetables except the basil, and stir well.
8. Reduce heat to a comfortable simmer (medium to medium-high heat). Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the eggplant has softened. Stir occasionally.
9. Next, add the segments of salmon and snapper (or other fish), stirring well to incorporate into the sauce. Cook approximately 2 minutes.
10. Finally, add the rest of the seafood plus the pineapple, stirring well to incorporate.
11. Continue stirring ocassionally while the seafood finishes cooking (about 2 more minutes, or until prawns have turned bright pink).
12. Do a final taste test, adding more fish sauce if not salty enough. Cooking Tip: Curries usually require a generous amount of salt to arrive at their peak of flavor. With Thai curries, this adjustment is usually made with fish sauce instead of salt. If you happen to pour too much fish sauce into the dish, or if you find the curry too salty, a tablespoon or two of lime juice will solve the problem.
13. To serve, ladle the curry into a serving bowl. Sprinkle the fresh basil leaves over the curry, and serve with plenty of jasmine rice (white or brown). Enjoy!

Steamed Mussels with Lemongrass, Thai Basil, Chilies, and Coconut Juice

Ingredients:

1 lb mussels (washed and bearded)
6 stems of Thai basil leaves (use only the leaves)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 clove shallot (minced)
3 bird’s eye chilies (finely chopped)
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil

For the broth:

Juice of 2 small coconuts/3 cups
1/2 inch galangal/ginger (lightly pounded)
1 lemongrass stalk (trimmed, smashed, and chopped)
3 bird’s eye chilies (smashed)
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt to taste

Method:

Bring the coconut juice, galangal/ginger, lemongrass, and smashed bird’s eyes chilies to boil over high heat. Add the lemon zest and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice and salt to taste. Remove from the stove, strain the broth and set aside. Discard the aromatics.

Heat up the cooking oil in a wok or deep saucepan that can later be covered. Add the minced garlic and shallots and cook until lightly browned. Stir-in the chopped bird’s eye chilies, then add the mussels and the broth. Add the basil leaves, cover and cook until all mussels are open. Add salt to taste, dish out and serve hot with steamed rice.

Delicacy from the Sea

Welcome to my Delicacy from the Sea blog. Here you will learn about Delicacy from the Sea cook and tips on how to cook Seafood.