Thai Pork Roast...take 2 the spicy version

I've done a similar version of this roast, and posted it here.  I amped up the flavor this time by marinading it then roasting with more Thai Red Chili's.  Right tasty stuff that the whole family ate and requested I do again.  Soon.

What makes it Thai? Well inclusion of Thai red chili's for one.  Lemon grass, cilantro and fish sauce also add to the Thai flavor profile.  The clincher however is the can of coconut milk.  All combined its that salty sweet spicy profile that the Thais are known for.

As you are using coconut milk line your baking dish with foil.  It cooks down to a thick paste that is nearly impossible to chip off when done.  Seriously. line it with foil and forget about it.  Easier to dispose of a wad of foil than cleaning off baked on coconut milk.

Thai Pork Roast

• 3 lb pork loin roast
• 1/3 c soy sauce
• 1 T fish Sauce
• 1 T Lemon grass puree
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 10 Thai red chili
• 1 can coconut milk

Night before you want to roast off the meat take your pork roast and put it into a ziplock gallon sized food bag. Combine 1/4 c minced cilantro, soy sauce, fish sauce and garlic.  Pour over the pork roast, massage into the meat.  Seal bag and refrigerate, turning occasionally to ensure good even contact of marinade with the meat.

1/2 hour prior to baking preheat oven to 350F and pull meat out of fridge and set on counter to room up to room temp for more even roasting.  Line baking dish with foil.  

Chop 7 Thai red chilies. Mince 1/2 c cilantro.  Sprinkle evenly over the bottom of the foil lined baking dish.  Remove pork roast from ziplock bag and toss out excess marinade.  Place pork on top of the bed of chopped chili and cilantro.  Shake can of coconut milk well.  Pour over the pork roast.

Sprinkle 1/4 c chopped cilantro over the top of the pork roast.  Take remaining 3 chilies and remove stem, slice lengthwise.  Place slice chili half, cut side down on top of pork roast.  Arrange so they are evenly spaced.

Roast until meat thermometer or oven probe reaches 150F (about 1 hour).  Pull from oven and let rest 15 minutes before carving and serving.

Pork Roast all set for the oven

Thai Chicken Green Curry

Here we go again...I've seen it used and called for in lots of recipes but I could never find the stuff.  Curry Paste, that is.  Then, suddenly an Asian market opened up and there it was in the colors and flavors of the rainbow.  Lucky me.

The brand I used is Maesri Green Curry paste and can be found on Amazon if you can't find it at a local market.  Do buy it online as a last resort as its pricey, I paid only $1.29 at my local Asian Market.   That tiny 4 oz can may seem like such a little bit, but it is potent and goes a long way.

The stuff is really tasty.  Its a paste as the name implies and the green version has lemon grass, thai chili, curry leaf and a host of other goodies in it.  It is FLAMING HOT so use it sparingly and taste often to get the right amount of heat.  You can always add more but you can't take it away once in.

Thai Chicken Green Curry

• 1 1/2 lb chicken, cubed
• 1 bunch green onion thinly sliced, 1/2 c green tops reserved
• 1 T garlic
• 1 14 oz coconut milk (not the low fat variety)
• 1 14 oz can baby corn, cubed
• 1 14 oz can bamboo shoot sticks
• 1 T fish sauce
• 1 T minced cilantro
• water
• cooked rice

In a large wok add a tablespoon or two of oil.  Heat to shimmering over medium high heat.  Add chicken and stir fry until browned and cooked through.  Add onion and garlic and stir fry 1 minute longer.

Reduce heat to medium add coconut milk, baby corn, bamboo shoots and fish sauce.  Heat to boiling.  Add water as needed if the coconut milk starts to thicken to keep it at the consistency of light cream.  Cook just a couple of minutes until veggies are warmed through.  Top with chopped cilantro.

Serve hot over rice and garnish with reserved green onion tops.

Chicken in Thai Peanut Sauce

Or is 3 little red Thai Chili enough?

Well it took forever and a day to happen but we actually got our own Asian market.  The Hong Kong Supermarket opened to little fanfare in my corner of the San Gabriel Valley.  Wish they had a party as I would have been there earlier.  Great little place, full of all sorts of Asian ingredients that I had to drive half an hour or more for in the past. Yeah...now its just minutes from my house.

This recipe is based, loosely on a couple I've made or tried before.  The ingredients aren't entirely Thai, but are Asian in nature and go together very well.  Quite tasty even.  I'm sure the combo of ingredients has some Asian grandmother somewhere turning in her grave, but they work.

Substitutions.  If you aren't blessed with an Asian Market most of the ingredients can be found fairly easy in the Asian Section of your local groc.  The exception has always been the fresh produce and such that I needed to trek to neighboring communities to find the goodies.

Thai Red Chili were the bane of my existence for several years now.  Never could find the silly little things. A good substitution is a RED jalapeno. Its not quite as hot, nor as sweet as the Thai Chili but it makes a reasonable facsimile.

Beech mushrooms are another hard one to find.  They are very mild in flavor. They have round tops and long bean sprout looking stems.  Cut off the root end about 1/4" up the stem and you are good to go.  If you can't find them a thinly sliced oyster mushroom is a good work around.

Lastly this recipe is nearly vegan, all you need to do is swap out extra firm tofu for the diced chicken and you are set for Meatless Monday.

Chicken in Thai Peanut Sauce

• 3/4-1 lb chicken breast, diced
• 2T soy sauce
• 1T fish sauce
• 1 T grated fresh ginger
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 3 Red Thai Chili minced
• 2 bunches green onion, sliced
• 1 can sliced water chestnut
• 8oz Beech mushroom - cleaned and trimmed
• 1/2 c Peanut Butter (creamy)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 T Mirin or Seasoned Rice Vinegar
• 8 oz chow mein noodles cooked according to package direction
• Dry roasted peanuts

Combine chicken, soy, fish sauce, ginger and garlic.  Toss to combine.  Cover in non-reactive bowl and marinate in fridge for at least an hour.

(reserve 1 cup sliced green onion top for garnish)

Heat a wok over medium high heat, add enough oil to cover the bottom.  Strain chicken, reserve marinade.

Add chicken and cook until opaque.  Add onions and chili and stir fry until onions are wilted, approx 2-3 minutes.  Add mushroom and cook until wilted about 2-3 minutes longer. Add reserved marinade and stir to dissolve.

Add peanut butter, coconut milk and mirin.  Stir until peanut butter is dissolved.  Cook over low heat and simmer 5 minutes.  Watch closely and add water as needed to keep the sauce the consistency of cream.  Stir in cooked chow mein noodles.  Serve hot with peanuts and reserved green onion tops as garnish.

In answer to the not so rhetorical question at the beginning of this post, Yes, 3 red Thai Chilis are enough.  2 would be too weak, and 4 too much.  Of course if you don't mind your tonsils being incinerated go for 4 or more.