FISH SAUCE (Nam Plah)   Fish sauce is probably the most commonly used ingredient in Thai cuisine.  It’s also used in Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese cuisine, in much the same way soy sauce is used in other Asian cultures.  Soy sauce may be used as a substitute in Thai cooking, but its flavor has a […]

INGREDIENTS   You can use any vegetables you like in this recipe.  I shoot for either a nice color combination or, in order to clean out the fridge, I’ll use just what I have on hand. I have written “more or less” on some of the ingredients.  This is to allow for personal preferences with […]

After a week of undertaking exhaustive research of the poultry industry of Thailand, I have arrived at two conclusions.  First, there are a lot of chickens and eggs in Thailand.  Second, I would rather cook and eat chicken and eggs than read about them.   I had already surmised my first conclusion more than twenty […]

As a child, I hated spinach.  My mother tried every tactic of persuasion to get me to eat it—to no avail.  Yes, I knew it was good for me—just like every food that seemed disgusting was “good” for me.  No, I didn’t want to be like Popeye—who would want to be a one-eyed, muttering and […]

This sauce has all of the components that I look for in a recipe: It’s simple, quick-to-make, flexible and delicious…especially on grilled steak.   I recommend refrigerating this sauce for an hour or so before serving it.  This allows all of the fresh ingredients a little time to “marry”.  It will stay good in the […]

The only drawbacks of this sauce are that you have to peel a lot of garlic and its aroma while cooking is very strong.  Make sure you have plenty of ventilation in your kitchen.  We’re talking exhaust fans and/or opened windows.  A little of this sauce goes a long way and it should yield over […]

This is a multi-purpose marinade and it compliments the recipe after this one, a garlic sauce.  It is great as a pre-seasoning for grilled steaks, chicken, pork, duck and firm-fleshed fish such as swordfish, shark or mahi-mahi. It can also be used as an additive—in small amounts—to season other sauces.  It keeps in the fridge, […]

I use a lot of garlic in my recipes.  I mean, a lot of garlic.  Having owned a restaurant for 12 years and, prior to that, working as a cook for almost 28 years, I don’t think that I peeled a single clove of garlic, at least not that I remember or care to remember.  […]