Prawn Bal Chow Pickle

Here's one of the best prawn recipes I've tasted so far that Ramya so generously passed on. This spicy Goan dish tastes excellent with Tiger prawns but in India they're not only expensive but are not easily available. In Bangkok however, you could walk in into any Thalat (market) or even a grocery store & find a variety of prawns both fresh & afforable. You could store this in the refrigerator for about a month. Remember to go easy on the vinegar, add it sparingly & to taste.

Ingredients
300gms prawn washed & deveined
1tsp cumin
1 ½ tsp peppercorns
3 inch or 1 tsp turmeric powder
12 dried red chilies
¼ cup Vinegar for grinding (Adjust use of vinegar accordingly)
1/4kg (25ml) gingelly oil
½ kg onions slices
3 cloves garlic peeled & sliced
5 green chilies sliced
1 ½ inch ginger chopped
1 tbsp tamarind paste (or upto taste)
8-10 curry leaves

Method:
Grind together cumin, peppercorns, turmeric & red chilies gradually adding Vinegar.
Chop prawn coarsely, heat oil in a saucepan, fry onions till golden brown
Add in ground spice & stir for a few mins.
Add in the prawn, garlic, green chilies, ginger, tamarind & curry leaves
Simmer until cooked, stirring often
Cool thoroughly in a clean dry bottle & refrigerate.

Serve: With anything you want. I specially like mine with Curd Rice!
Cuisine: Goan

Tom Yam Kung

This is one of Thailand’s famous soups a perfect blend of herbs & spice that gives you this flavorful bowl of hot Tom yam kung. Coming to the translation, Tom & Kung in Thai basically refers to soup and shrimp, the word Yam generally means salad/herbs the very essence from which the soup is made. The herbs used here gives Tom Yam a flavor of its own that you can’t seem to connect to any other dish in any other cuisine. People normally say have chicken soup to fight the cold, well I say have a hot bowl of tom yam kung & shoo the bug away.

Ingredients
Galangal 1 inch (Fresh Thai ginger)
Lemon glass 1 shoot
Kaffir lime leaves
6 peeled shallots
3 fresh red chilies (go easy on these if you cant manage the spice)
2 tbsp unsweetened condensed milk
3 tbsp Nam prik (Thai chili paste)
¼ cup lime juice (Depends if you’re using a concentrate)
1 tablespoon fish sauce or salt
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
1 cup mushroom cut in half
1/2 cup shrimp tails in tact
5 cups shrimp stock or water
1 small tomato cut in 4
Bunch of chopped coriander

Method:
Bring the stock to a boil.(to make stock simply cook shrimp in water till done, do not overcook or the shrimps will turn too tough. Now remove from the stock and set aside).
Add in sliced lemon grass & galangal (don’t slice them too thin and small, this is just to add flavour to the soup which will eventually be left out anywayz once the soup is consumed).
Add in the mushrooms
Crush the Lime leaves & chili & add to the stock along with the herbs
Now add salt, sugar & the chili paste
Add the shrimp at the end,
Turn off the gas add in the lime juice and the condensed milk (optional)
Garnish with coriander leaves

Remember to do a taste test every time you add an ingredient specially the salt, sugar & lime. I never use the exact measurements while making Tom yam. I always go by the taste & it always turns out better. And here’s a clever substitute, if you’re in Thailand try the instant Tom yam chili paste by the “MN” brand available at Villa. This doesn’t require any herbs, sugar, salt or lime. All you need are the shrimps & the mushrooms. Gives you the perfect blend you need.

Serve with Rice

Cuisine: Thai