Suchit's Thai Marinade for Grilled Chicken

My friend Suchit is from Thailand. She says that, for the Thai people, the first choice for the cilantro in this dish would be to use cilantro roots instead of stems. But, since that is not always available where she lives now, she makes this delicious marinade with cilantro stems. Do not use the cilantro leaves, save those for making the dipping sauce (link below).

The nutrition facts for the marinade were created at Calorie Count.

Thai Marinade for Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts or 8 thighs

One batch marinade

Marinade Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy sauce, low sodium
1/4 cup cilantro stems or roots* (no leaves)
2 T garlic, minced
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Optional: 1 T ginger, sliced and smashed

Directions:

Add the marinade ingredients to a large zip lock bag.

Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel (do not rinse chicken) and add to the marinade, remove air, seal and refrigerate for anywhere from 4 hours to overnight.

Remove the bag from the refrigerator and heat coals on a grill. Remove the chicken from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill the chicken until the juices run clear - turn frequently.

Serve with Thai Dipping Sauce and enjoy mindfully with a skewer of grilled veggies and a bit of lovely brown basmati rice.

Suchit Approved Mushroom Tom Yum

A delicious Thai soup that Suchit cooked for me on a number of delicious occasions. Lucky me! The nutrition facts were designed at Calorie Count.

Oyster mushroom

Mushroom Tom Yum

2 Servings

Soup Toppings to be added at the table:

2-3 crushed Thai chili peppers (or jalapeno)

5 sprigs chopped cilantro
1 tomato
3 scallions

1 lime

Soup Ingredients:

1 crushed lemongrass

1/2 lb Oyster or Enoki Mushroom (see pics)

2 1/2 cups water

2 kaffir lime leaves*

2 tablespoons fish sauce
Optional: galanda**

* if you cannot find kaffir lime leaves, don't worry. The soup is good without it, but you might want to squish in more lime. You don't eat kaffir lime leaves, they are for the making of the soup stock. Look for it in an Asian supermarket. This is a plant you can grow in a pot. The link tells you how.

** galanga is similar to ginger, but tastes more of pepper (it's from the same family, but tastes different). Use it in the way you would ginger, peel and either crush or slice. Add to the recipe with the lemongrass. An Asian supermarket is your best bet for finding this too. Remember, it is similar in appearance to ginger.

Enoki mushroom

Preparation:

Clean a stalk of lemongrass, removing the outer layers. Use only the bottom 4 inches of the stalk. Crush the lemongrass with the back of your knife or a meat tenderizer – this opens the plant’s cells to flavor the stock. Tie the lemongrass into a knot (this makes it easier to remove).

Wash the mushrooms, pat dry, slice into spoon sized pieces if using oyster mushrooms and if using enoki, let them remain in long threads as if they were noodles, and set them aside.

Remove the leafy part of the kaffir lime leaves and discard the stem.

Crush the chili peppers, chop the cilantro, tomato, scallion, and make wedges with the lime. Place each in a separate serving bowl and set on the table.

Instructions for optional galanga

Cooking the Tom Yum:

Add the water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the lemongrass knot, kaffir lime leaves, and galanga (if using) to the water. Boil for a 30 minutes. Remove lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.

Add the cleaned mushrooms and fish sauce.

Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Taste. If everyone eating the soup loves spicy food, you could add the chili paste and let everyone adjust it upward with the sliced chilis at the table. Flavor can be adjusted with fish sauce, lime juice, or chilis.

Serve Tom Yum piping hot with the assorted toppings.

Optional:

During the final 10 minutes of cooking, add fresh shrimp – peeled, deveined, and sliced smaller if necessary so you can spoon them up.

Suchit's Napa Cabbage Salad V1

Suchit brought this delicious salad to my house for dinner the other day. I managed to convince her that the left overs should remain with me. :D

The nutrition facts were made at Calorie Count.

Napa Cabbage Salad V1

Salad ingredients:

1 head Napa cabbage, chopped
1 daikon radish, sliced to 1 inch "fingers"
1 cup carrot, shredded
2 serrano pepper, red preferred, sliced thinly
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Dressing Ingredients:

10 cloves garlic, minced or ground with mortar and pestle
3 T good quality fish sauce
3 T fresh lime juice
1 T sugar

Directions:

Prepare and toss the salad ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix the dressing and toss with the salad.

Suchit's Thai Yum Nua

Counting calories is not hard at all when those calories are extremely tasty! This traditional Thai salad from my good friend Suchit is fantastically high protein as well as off the charts in a variety of vitamins. When you make this at home, you are in charge of how hot and spicy it is. The Thai way would be far too hot for the non-Thai, but that is easily taken care of by reducing the number of chilis. Taste the dressing by dipping a cucumber slice into it and adjust the heat as high as you like.

The nutrition facts for this recipe are found at Calorie Count, the best FREE website to count your calories and find a lot of very supportive friends.

Yum Nua
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 pound lean tender steak such as a strip steak grilled from medium to rare as you prefer and thinly sliced

1 medium size red onion, thinly sliced
Leaf lettuce, just enough to provide a bed for the rest of the salad
Cilantro leaves, chopped (add as much as you like, perhaps 1/3 of a bunch)
10 cloves of garlic, minced or ground
5 Thai chilis or 2-3 jalapeno, grind with a mortar and pestle
1 large cucumber thinly sliced
1 tomato, cut into chunks
3 T good quality fish sauce
3 T Lime juice

Mortar and Pestle

1 T Sugar

Directions:

Grind the fresh garlic and chilis using a mortar and pestle. Then mix with the fish sauce, lime and sugar in a medium bowl. This is your dressing.

Arrange the lettuce, steak, red onion, cucumber and cilantro on a platter. Pour the dressing over the salad platter reserving some to serve at the table for those that like more dressing.

Hint for the lazy chef:

If you cannot find fresh Thai or Jalapeno peppers in your area, look in the Asian section of your grocery store for those nice little jars of already ground red chilis - my favorite brand has a drawing of a rooster on it.

If you are not a hot and spicy food person, try adding only a scant teaspoon first and increase it as you taste. If you want authentic like Suchit makes - grind those chilis and garlic!

Suchit's Thai Cabbage Salad V2

I love being invited to Suchit's for dinner. There is nothing better than having a wonderful Thai friend preparing beautiful foods like this delicious salad. That it only has 64 calories per hefty serving is a major win!

The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count.

Thai Cabbage Salad V2
Serves 4

Dressing Ingredients:

3 1/2 tablespoons of Fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons of soy sauce (low sodium is good)
1/2 teaspoon of ground fresh chili paste*
1/2 teaspoon of minced fresh garlic

Salad Ingredients:

4-5 cups shredded cabbage your choice Napa, white, purple or a combination of colors (or one bag of pre-shredded cabbage)
1/2 cup of Shredded carrot
Green-leaf lettuce leaves
Garnish: thinly sliced green beans and tomatoes make a beautiful presentation.

Directions:

Pour the lime juice and soy sauce in a small jar. Add the chili paste and garlic and shake well to mix. Set aside. Place shredded cabbage and carrot in a bowl. Mix well, taste and adjust the heat to your preference. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to mix. Serve on whole lettuce leaves for a beautiful presentation.

This dish can be made as spicy as you like - just increase the chili paste.

*Suchit always grinds her own fresh chilis to make paste and you are welcome to grind as many as you like for this salad, but if you are like me, your mind rather boggles at that thought. I like to use Hong Kong Foods Chili Garlic Sauce. All good to go in a little jar with a rooster on it and a green lid.