Thai-style Fish Cake

Ingredients:
10 oz mackerel flesh
2 lemon leaves
4 sprigs green string bean or suitable amount of peas
suitable amount of mint leaves
suitable amount of chili dices

Seasoning:
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp fish gravy
2 tsp cornflour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp red curry paste
3/4 tsp Thai shrimp paste (mixed with some water)

Sweet and sour sauce:
1 tbsp Chinese parsley (chopped)
2 tbsp peanut (crushed and stir-fried)
1 tbsp tomato juice
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 red perennial chili (chopped)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 shallot (chopped)
1 1/2 tsp caltrop starch
3 tbsp water

Cooking:
1. Sauce: Mix all ingredients well. Cook over low heat until boiling. Add Chinese parsley and peanuts to form a sweet and sour sauce. The sauce can be made well in advance and refrigerated for 2 to 3 days.
2. Scald and dice peas. Tear lemon leaves to pieces.
3. Wash mackerel and wipe dry. Scoop out its flesh with a spoon. Add 1/8 tsp salt. Mash the flesh with the back of knife. Add no. 1 and seasoning. Stir in one direction until sticky. Mold the mash into cakes of round and thin shape. Deep fry the cakes until golden. Serve with sweet and sour sauce. Garnish with mint leaves and chili dices.

*pic from gettyimages

Crispy Shrimp

Ingredients:
450 g medium size shrimps
150 g Li Pu taro
2 tbsp white sesame seeds

Seasoning for shrimps:
1/8 tsp salt
pinch of pepper

Marinade for taro:
1/6 tsp salt
1/6 tsp sugar
2 tbsp self-raising flour

Batter ingredients:
1/2 cup self-raising flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp cooked oil

Cooking:
1. Shell and devein shrimps, rinse. Pat dry and mix with seasoning. Set aside.
2. Slice taro into slivers and marinate for 30 minutes. Add ini white sesame seeds.
3. Mix batter ingredients. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to ferment for 30 minutes. Add cooked oil. Mix well.
4. Arrange taro in a skimmer. Coat shrimps with batter and put onto taro slivers. Deep fry until golden brown. Dish up. Serve hot.

*pic from gettyimages

Stir-fried Crab with Chili Paste

Ingredients:
1 crab (around 1 lb)
1 sprig Chinese celery (sectioned)
3 oz mint leaves (trimmed)

Seasoning:
½ onion (shredded)
1 sprig lemongrass (mashed)
1 tsp garlic (crushed)
1 tsp shallot (crushed)
1 red perennial chili (finely chopped)
1 tsp curry powder
1 ½ tsp Thai shrimp paste (mixed with some water)

Sauce:
10 black pepper seeds
½ tsp chili paste
1/3 cup water

Preparation:
Chop crab into chunks. Wash and drain well. Sprinkle a little corn-flour. Deep-fry over high heat.

Cooking:
Heat 3 tbsp of oil with a wok. Saute seasoning. Put crab into wok and stir-fry for a while. Add sauce. Stir well. Keep covered for a while. Add celery and mint leaves. Stir well. Serve.

*pic from gettyimages

Stir-fried Salted Fish with Kale

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz salted fish
1 1/3 lb kale
2 slices ginger
1 tsp garlic (crushed)
1 red chili (sectioned)
1 tsp Thai shrimp paste (mixed with some water)

Seasoning:
1 tsp fish gravy
½ tsp sugar
3 tbsp water

Preparation:
1. Clean salted fish with wet towel. Cut into chunks. Deep fry over low heat until cooked.
2. Trim kale. Cut diagonally into sections. Wash and drain well.

Cooking:
Heat 2 tsp of oil. Saute ginger, garlic and shrimp paste. Add kale. Stir-fry for a while. Add seasoning. Stir-fry again. Keep covered for a while. Add red chili and salted fish. Stir well. Dish up.

Fried Mussel in Thai Style

Ingredients:
1 pack frozen mussel (with shell)
1/4 onion (shredded)
1 tsp garlic (crushed)
1 tsp shallot (crushed)
1 tomato (sliced)
1 red chili (carved)
a few mint leaves

Seasoning:
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp chili paste
1/4 tsp sugar

Preparation:
1. Defrost mussel. Take out flesh with a knife. Wash and scald. Drain well.
2. Rub mussel shells with sea salt. Scald in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain well.

Cooking:
Heat wok with 3 tbsp oil. Saute onion, garlic, shallot and mussel. Add seasoning. Stir-fry quickly. Thicken the sauce with a little cornflour solution. Return mussel to shell. Garnish with tomato slices, red chili and mint leaves. Serve hot.

*pic from gettyimages

Tom Yan Soup

Ingredients :
12 oz prawn (medium)
10 oz tomatoes
5 oz straw mushrooms
2 dried red chillies
2 slices Laos root
2 lemon leaves
2 sprigs Chinese parsley
2 sprigs lemongrass
1 red perennial chili
1 green perennial chili
5 cups stock

Seasoning :
1 tbsp fish gravy
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tbsp chili sauce

Preparation :
1. Shell prawns (with tail intact). Cut a slit in between and devein. Wash and wipe dry. Slice tomatoes (with seeds removed). Scald straw mushrooms. Rinse and cut into halves.
2. Put dried chili (with seeds removed) into a wok (without oil) and bake for a while. Pat lemongrass until loose and cut into sections. Slice red and green chili (with seeds removed). Wash Laos root, lemon leave and parsley.

Cooking :
Heat wok with 1/2 tbsp oil. Add shrimp head and shell. Stir fry until red. Add stock and all section 2 (preparation) ingredients. Boil. Turn to cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Discard the residue, leave soup only. Add tomatoes and straw mushrooms. Boil for 5 minutes. Add shrimp flesh. Allow to boil until cooked. Mix with seasoning. Dish up. Garnish with parsley.

*pic from gettyimages

Shrimp Toast

Ingredients:
12 fresh uncooked large shrimp
1 egg
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 slices sandwich bread
1 hard−cooked egg yolk
1 slice cooked ham (about 1 ounce)

Seasoning:
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch pepper
1 green onion
2 cups vegetable oil

Preparation:
1. Remove shells from shrimp, leaving tails intact. Remove back veins from shrimp. Cut down back of shrimp with sharp knife. Gently press shrimp with fingers to flatten.
2. Beat 1 egg, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a small bowl until blended. Add shrimp to egg mixture and toss until shrimp are completely coated.
3. Remove crusts from bread. Cut each slice into quarter. Place one shrimp, cut side down, on each bread piece. Gently press shrimp to adhere to bread. Brush or rub small amount of egg mixture over each shrimp.
4. Cut egg yolk and ham into 1/2 inch pieces. Finely chop onion. Place one piece each of egg yolk and ham and a scant 1/4 teaspoon chopped onion on each shrimp.

Cooking:
Heat oil in wok over medium−high heat until it reaches 375F. Fry 3 or 4 shrimp−bread pieces at a time in the hot oil until golden, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Drain on absorbent paper.