Pakuchi som tam papaya, and baby corn

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I took my mortar to prepare a little Thai style lunch around cilantro/coriander green papaya salad.

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So now we have local green papaya, let’s grate it.

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Garlic, green hot chili. Then red hot hot hot chili (very little, it’s so hot), ami ebi salty shrimps, toasted peanuts, kabosu lime juice, a little sugar, nam pla fish sauce. Then red sweet chili, green papaya, coriander leaves and stalks.

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Tam ! Tam ! Tam ! Tam !

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Fresh baby corn from Thailand.

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I’ve used it for a stir-fry. Just oil and a little garlic, to cook the white parts of negi leeks, shishito green peppers, edamame beans, then the baby corn. I garnished with sweet chili sauce.

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Brown rice.

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A nice 3 dish meal.

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Pumpkin curry with wined chestnuts, cilantro falafels

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A deliciously flavored soup curry, with kabocha, wine flavored kuri chestnuts and hanamame giant beans. And a side of cilantro falafels. Some people are genetically designed to hate cilantro/coriander and it takes a really bad taste in their mouth. That’s really sad. I have to luck to appreciate this herb and I never have enough of it.

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Soaked chick peas, mixed with onion, coriander (root, stalk, leaves), chili flakes, Sichuan pepper, salt.

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Served with a dip of harissa… well it’s mixed with tomato sauce. Cucumbers, cilantro (the leaves) and shikwasa citrus salad.

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Mmm… a dream if you love both falafels and coriander.

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Kabocha pumpkin curry :
A cut of steamed kabocha, steamed with skin. Pasted with 1/2 block of tofu, 1 tbs of Japanese curry spice mix, 2 tbs of sakekasu sake lees, salt, water. I simmered the mix till it became thick. Garnished with hanamame beans and wined chestnuts :

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White wine chestnuts :
That’s ideal if you have chestnut that start to dry a little.
Soak them 2 hours, then you can easy cut out the hard shell.
In fresh water, soak overnight, you can then take away the inner skin. Most of it. A large part of it. Actually, you want to leave a small amount for flavor. Break them in 2 or 3 parts.
Then I’ve drained the chestnuts, put in rice cooker, added a glass of white wine, a little sugar, a pinch of salt, 1/2 glass of water (to cover). Switched on. That stopped when the liquid had evaporated. You can do it in a pan or a crock-pot, simply simmer very gently.
They are good to add to sauces and dishes, just a few to pinpoint. You will discover the refined taste.

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A nice meal, rich in legumes and fragrances.

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Black bean sesame burgers and waxy squash red SE-Asian soup

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Beans patties and a soup with flavors of Thailand in company of its exotic rice.

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The patties are a random mix : boiled kuromame (soy black beans), black sesame seeds (pasted), grated garlic and ginger, minced onion, green chili and black miso. A little potato starch to bind. Pan-fried. Glossed with sweet chili sauce. On the place, yellow bell pepper and mitsuba stalks.

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Boiled cubes of tougan (waxy squash) and tororo kombu seaweed.

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I have added red Thai curry paste and fresh coriander to the broth.

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Add Thai jasmine rice. That’s a yummy lunch.

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Cilantro marinated cucumber, served 2 ways

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Two version for a fresh veggie side. Lunch and dinner.

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There were leftovers to use or lose. I’ve mixed these 3 and added a little Jalapeno Tabasco sauce. Let marinate in the fridge for the next day.

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That’s fresh, hot and flavorful.

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At lunch, I’ve added cherry tomatoes and…

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…chips made with a broken tortilla, that I’ve toasted in a frying pan.

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At night : added natto fermented soy beans and tenkasu (crumbs of tempura)

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Salmon Summer tacos (home-made masa tortilla)

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A fresh Mexican style lunch today…

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The market’s findings…

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Yeah ! Cilantro, coriander.

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2013-07-10

Masa tortillas. Well, it’s work in progress for the shape, but they taste great. It’s too simple, just add water, mix, knead, wait, spread… Just train. But I can’t buy masa harina easily, so I won’t have many opportunities for training.

If you don’t have masa harina , you can make :
wheat tortilla
corn tortilla (with grits, polenta, they are not gluten free)

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Salmon and green peppers are grilled…

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Before filling the shells…

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… on top of the veggies. I’ve added some minced hot chili that does not appear on photos (it’s red), and a few drops of Jalapeno Tabasco sauce.

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Now let’s devour that…

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