Eat. Drink. Tan. Massage. Cooking class.
I asked the super helpful crew at the La Laanta resort if I could shadow the cook for a bit and learn to make Pad Thai and Papaya Salad. They said YES! Their motto is “everything is possible” after all. I now have two killer recipes and newly acquired cooking techniques, which I will share with you:
Pad Thai
Serves 2
Ingredients:
8 shrimp (shelled)
1 package of flat rice noodles (Pad Thai noodles)*
1 egg
½ cup bean sprouts
½ cup carrots, shredded
1 green onion, minced
Sauce
2 tbsp tamarind paste*
2 tsp palm sugar* or brown sugar
1 shallots, minced
Chili oil* to taste
Salt to taste
Preparation:
Soak noodles in warm tap water for 30 minutes.
Prepare the sauce: In a saucepan, sauté shallots in a bit of vegetable oil until translucent. Add tamarind paste and sugar. Mix until they come together; add a splash of water if mixture is too thick. Finish with chili oil and salt. Put aside.
In hot wok coated with vegetable oil, sauté the shrimp until they start becoming opaque, add the noodles (drained) and the sauce. Mix.
Move the noodles and shrimp to one side of the wok and break an egg onto the other side. Break the yoke and allow the egg to set a bit. Fold the noodle/shrimp mixture onto the egg, add the vegetables, and toss 1 minute over the heat.
Serve with a wedge of lime and some crushed peanuts.
* Available in Asian markets or some natural food stores
Green Papaya Salad
Serves one Maya
Ingredients:
1 cup shredded green papaya*
¼ cup shredded carrots
5 cherry tomatoes
6 green beans cut into ½ inch pieces
8 peanuts
2 cloves of garlic
2 bird chilies* (omit if intolerant to spice)
1 tsp fish sauce*
1 tsp palm* or brown sugar
1 lime
Preparation:
Using a large mortar and pestle, muddle garlic and chilies to a coarse paste, add fish sauce, sugar and lime juice. Combine into a sauce. Add papaya, carrots and muddle lightly into the sauce—the purpose is to lightly bruise them so they take on the flavours of the sauce, not turn into a paste. Add tomatoes, peanuts and beans; muddle very gently to combine. Serve.
* Available in Asian markets or some natural food stores
Continue: SEA Honeymoon Day 32 – Exploring Koh Lanta and New Year’s Eve 2010
