Chicken with Mangos

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All Ingredients should be prepared before you start cooking this will save time and make cooking the dish easier and more enjoyable.

1 cup (250ml) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups (430ml) water
1/2 (2ml) teaspoon salt
1/4 (1ml)teaspoon baking powder
3 whole chicken breasts
1 piece fresh ginger root (2x1 inches or 5x2.5 cm)
8 green onions
1 can (15 ounces or 425g) mangoes
3 cups (750ml) vegetable oil
3 tablespoons (45ml) white vinegar
3 tablespoons (45ml) dry sherry
4 teaspoons (20ml) soy sauce
2 teaspoons (10ml) sugar
2 teaspoons (10ml) corn-starch
2 teaspoons (10ml) instant chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon (5ml) sesame oil
Directions
Combine flour, 1 cup (250ml) of the water, the salt and baking powder in a medium size bowl. Beat with whisk until blended. Let stand 15 minutes.

Cut skinless and boneless chicken into 1/4 inch (1 cm) wide strips. Mix them into flour mixture.

Cut ginger into wafer-thin slices. Cut onions into 1/2 inch (1.5cm) pieces. Drain mangoes and cut into 1/2 inch wide (1.5cm) strips.

Heat vegetable oil in wok over high heat until it reaches 375F (190C). Add chicken, one strip at a time. Cook until golden, in about 3 to 5 minutes.

Leave about 1 tablespoon (15ml) oil in the wok. Reduce heat to medium. Add ginger to oil in wok. Stir-fry until ginger is light brown.

Combine remaining 3/4 cup (180ml) water, the vinegar, sherry, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, bouillon and sesame oil. Carefully add to ginger all at once. Cook and stir until mixture boils. Add onions. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes.

Mix chicken and mangoes into soy sauce mixture. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Chinese Barbecued Baby Back Ribs Recipe

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2 tb Sugar
1 tb Dry sherry
3 tb Hoisin sauce
1/2 ts Finely chop garlic
1 ds Salt optional
1/2 c Ketchup
3 lb Pork back finger ribs cut 1 -inch wide by 3 inch long


Place ribs in nonreactive, plastic, bowl with a lid. In a separate bowl, combine marinade ingredients; sugar, sherry, hoisin sauce, garlic, salt (if desired) and ketchup. Mix well and spoon over ribs. Place cover on bowl and shake to coat ribs thoroughly with marinade. Place in refrigerator and marinate for 4 hours or longer.

Shake once or twice while marinating to coat again. To avoid mess, cover cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Take ribs from refrigerator and shake to coat again. Place ribs on their sides on cookie sheet. Don't crowd, or they won't be crispy. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn over with tongs and bake additional 20- 30 minutes. Check carefully last 10 minutes of baking to prevent burning.

Es Cendol (Cold Dessert)

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Es Cendol
---------
It is a popular Indonesian Cold Dessert that people who have
visited Indonesia usually miss a lot. :)

Ingredients: (6 servings)
------------
One pack (12 oz.) of frozen "BANH LOT" (available at oriental store)
One can of coconut milk, preferrably one made for dessert
1/4 lb. of Coconut sugar or "Gula Jawa" (brownish colored)
Ice cubes
Cold Water

Instructions:
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1. Thaw the 'Banh Lot' in cold water, rinse once or twice afterwards

2. Boil the coconut milk with coconut sugar until they are completely
mixed together

3. In an individual serving glass (or dessert bowl), put in:
- 3 to 4 tbs. of Banh Lot
- 4-5 tbs of the mixing of coconut milk and coconut sugar
- add cold water (1 tbs) and ice cubes (can be crushed, if wanted)

4. Serve immediately, more of the ingredients can be added to taste.


---------------------

Banh Lot is a Vitnamese food (but I found it taste similar to
the 'cendol' of Indonesian. It is a frozen product, hence found in
the freezer section. In the US, it is made by "Sincere Orient Foods Co."
in El Monte, Calif.

The coconut milk & coconut sugar can also be found at Oriental markets

SAMBAL BALADO -- Crispy Crunchy Beef

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Ingredients:
-----------

2 lbs beef round steak or boneless chuck
2 cups water
7 tbs peanut or corn oil
1 cup thinly sliced onions
10 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
3 tbs red hot 'Sambal Oelek' chili paste (available at Oriental markets)
or use hot chili sauce
Salt to taste
1 cup cubed ripe tomatoes

Instructions:
------------

1. Place beef in water in a 4-quart pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce
heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Discard water and cool beef
until it can be handled. Slice beef as thin as possible, then cut
into 2-inch squares. Let drain in a colander for about 10 minutes
before drying with paper towels.

2. Heat 4 tbs. oil in a 12-inch skillet set over medium-high heat.
Add beef slices and fry for 5 minutes, or until beef is brown and
dry. Remove and set aside.

3. Heat remaining 3 tbs. oil in same skillet. Fry onions and garlic
for 3 minutes. Add chili paste, salt and tomatoes. Cook for 5 mins.
more. Add beef anf stir-fry for 5 mins to coat slices and
distribute flavors.

4. Serve immediately with rice (to reduce spiciness) and a cucumber/
vinegar salad.

Serve 4 as a main dish or 8 as a side dish.

Thai Stir-Fried Beef with Mint

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This is a rich, hearty dish with plenty of typical Thai flavors.
Any kind of beef may be used, but flank steak works particularly
well because it is easy to cut it across the grain, which helps
keep the meat from falling apart during stir-frying and produces
a tender result. Be sure to serve plenty of rice, because it
helps moderate the hot chilies without detracting from the
flavor. You may reduce the number of chilies by up to one half,
but traditionally this dish should have a rich, hot chili flavor.

Serves 4 to 6

1 pound flank steak

14 (2 ounces) finely chopped Serrano chilies
1/4 cup (2 ounces) finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup (2 ounces) finely chopped yellow onion

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup water (more if needed in Step 5)
1/2 cup loosely packed mint or basil leaves

Green lettuce leaves

1. Slice the beef across the grain into strips 1/4 inch thick
and 2 to 3 inches long. Set aside.

2. Pound or grind the chilies, garlic, and onion to a coarse
paste in a mortar or blender. If you use a blender you may need
to add the oil to aid in grinding.

3. Heat a wok, add the oil, and swirl it over the surface of the
pan. (Do not add more oil if you have ground the chilies, onion,
and garlic in oil.) Add the paste from Step 2 and stir-fry until
it is light golden.

4. Add the beef and stir-fry until it is a uniform tan color,
but do not overcook it.

5. Add the fish sauce, sugar, water, and mint (or basil) leaves.
More water may be added if the sauce is too dry. There should be
about 1/2 to 3/4 cup sauce, depending on how much water you
added.

Ahead of time note: The dish may be prepared a day in advance to
this point. To do so, proceed through Step 5, omitting the mint
or basil leaves. When you are ready to serve, heat the mixture
and add the leaves. If the meat has absorbed the liquid, add
just enough warm water to bring it back to the original
consistency.

6. Arrange a single layer of lettuce leaves in a serving bowl
and put the beef mixture over them. Serve the beef immediately
or keep it warm while preparing other dishes.

7. Serve with rice.

Thai Basil Chicken

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1 lb. skinned, boned chicken breasts
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions, chopped
2 TBS peanut or olive oil
4 tiny green or red Asian chili peppers, stemmed and finely chopped
3/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
2 TBS fish sauce

Put chicken breasts in freezer until firm but not frozen solid. Cut
chicken into tiny slivers. Heat up wok, add oil, and stirfry garlic and
green onions until tender but not brown, about 1-2 minutes. Add chili
peppers and cook, stirring, about 1 minute more. Add chicken and stirfry
until cooked through. Stir in basil and fish sauce, mixing thoroughly.
Serve over rice, if desired.

TOM KHA GAI

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Ingredients:
------------
2 boneless chicken breast - cut up bit sized
2-3 stalks of lemon grass - cut up into 2" pieces and separated
6 pieces of dried galangal
1 can coconut milk
2 Tblsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried crushed red chilis (optional)
7 cups water

Instructions:
-------------
Place the chicken, lemon grass and galangal in a soup pot. Add the
water and cook over medium for about 30 minutes. Add the remaining
ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. You may need to adjust the salt,
sugar and water as I find the taste varies with the brand of coconut
milk used. Serve with extra chilis and white rice.

TOAM YUM GAI (THAI SOUP)

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Ingredients:
------------
Generic Chicken Broth (We're making a stock here -- this one is worth
keeping in it's own right as a stock stock recipe.)
2 tblsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Sesame Oil
3 whole cloves (like in the cigarettes, not garlic--don't use
the cigs...)
2 bay leaves
1 decent sized sprig of fresh thyme (ad libbed with about 1 tsp
or 1 tblsp of powdered thyme)
1 medium sized onion cut into pieces
2 largish carrots cut into pieces
1 chicken cut into pieces. (Some boneless skinless chicken pieces,
plus some thighs with the bones bashed once with the back of a
knife would be ok too -- the point being to get the flavor from
the marrow out.)
6 cups of water

Everything else:
----------------
As many mushrooms as you want, cut any way you want, of any kind you
want
Likewise with shrimp if you want (I hate shrimp, so can't help you
here)
1 stalk lemongrass cut into 2 inch pieces. (I read this to mean one
whole stalk, ie, several leaves worth)
2 slices galanga root (more if you like chewing on them.)
4 Kaffir lime leaves (Tastes like eucalyptus to me.)
As much cilantro leaves as you like.
1 tsp chili sauce (this is the red sauce found at the tableside
of vietnamese restaurants. I used more because it glops out
like ketchup... Somewhat hot)
2 tblsp Fish sauce (nuoc nam or something of that ilk--it's made of
some kind anchovies usually.
1 1/2 tblsp lemon juice
Optional: sliced hot peppers--enough for 2 or 3 slices per serving.

Instructions:
-------------
Use a large covered stockpot. Heat olive and sesame oil on high heat.
Add cloves, bay leaves, thyme, (these should be pounded a bit first to
crack the fibers and release more flavor) and onion, carrots. Cover 2
minutes, stir if you want.

Add chicken on top, and pour ONE cup of water over the tops of the
chicken. Cover. Cook 5 minutes on high.

Add remainder of water, cover, continue heating till it starts to boil,
then turn heat down and simmer covered 30 minutes. Skim off foam
occasionally Remove chicken, debone, and cut into bite sized pieces.
Strain soup, avoid getting the sediment at the bottom. (What you do
with the leftover veggies after making a stock is up to you. I think
they end up in Minnesotan hot dishes....)

Take 4 cups of the stock, heat until it begins to boil, turn down the
heat till it is just simmering. Add galanga, lemongrass, Kaffir lime
leaves (bash them a bit to break the fibers--it allows them to release
more flavor). Add mushrooms, chicken, (shrimp if you must). Stir in
the fish sauce, chili paste. Cover, cook for another 5 minutes. Serve.

Add lemon juice (just have slices of lemon or lime that you can squeeze)
cilantro, and thinly sliced jalepenos or other hot peppers at the table.
Fresh liquorice basil also adds a nice touch.

Comments/Modifications:
-----------------------
We cheated and used Swansons reduced salt chicken stock for the water in
the beginning because we used boneless skinless chicken. Can't tell if
it hurt or helped.

Also had 4 shiitake mushrooms which had been soaking for several days,
so they were cut up, and the soaking juice was added along with the
chicken and mushrooms. About one cup of this. Big win.

THAI TOMYUM GUNG (SHRIMP) / GAI (CHICKEN)

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Ingredients:
------------
2-3 stalks of lemon grass
~2 lbs of tiger shrimps or boneless chicken meat
5-6 lime leaves (sorry, I don't know what they are called;
maybe you have seen them--small shiny green leaves)
some lemon juice & fish sauce
2-3 small red/green chili peppers
1 can of straw mushrooms
1.5 tblsp of Thai chili paste with soya beans oil (dark redish-brown
color), which comes in a jar that can be bought at any Thai
grocery
cilantro/parsley for garnishing and the nice smell

Instructions:
-------------
Boil some water (half of the pot) in a 1.5qt sauce pan. Put in lemon
grass, and the chili paste. Put in the shrimps and the mushrooms. Let
it boil for 10 minutes. Put in the "lime" leaves and sliced chili
peppers (1 min). It's done!!

Now you can mix it in a serving bowl with some lemon juice and fish
sauce. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Thai Jasmine rice.

THAI SALMON PARCELS

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(serves 2)

Ingredients:
------------
2 4-5oz salmon fillets
4 sheets filo pastry
1 oz butter
1 tsp grated ginger
1 clove garlic (pressed)
1 spring onion (finely chopped)
1 Tblsp fresh coriander (finely chopped)
zest & juice of 1 lime
salt & pepper

Instructions:
-------------
Mix together lime zest and juice, garlic, spring onion, ginger and
coriander.

Melt butter. Lay out 1 sheet of filo, and brush with butter. Lay
second sheet on top, brush with more butter. Lay a salmon fillet about
2-3 inches from short side of pastry, season to taste and put half of
lime mixture on top. Fold short end of pastry over salmon, then fold in
the 2 long sides. Fold the salmon over twice more, and cut off the
remaining pastry. Do the same with the other fillet.

Put the parcels on a well-greased baking sheet, and just before baking
brush with the remaining butter.Cook at gas mark 5 for 20-25 mins, until
brown and crispy.