05 Alternative Thai Recipes – Tastes that Go Beyond the Usual

This is the kind of dish that makes you feel happy all over. Probably served at the impromptu little beachside cafes close to Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort, this dish is most popular at the restaurants in Bophut and others in the south.

15g of white fish fillet, a handful of toasted cashews, 2 sticks of lemongrass make sure to remove the outer layer, 2 peeled shallots, 1 clove of garlic, a handful of coriander roots intact, handful of mint, 1 to 4 birds eye chillies - decide on the quantity depending on how hot you want the salad, 1 green unripe mango, juice of 2 to 3 limes, a small tsp. of palm sugar or castor sugar, a pinch of sea salt or Maldon, 1 tbsp. light soy sauce, 2 tsp. fish sauce and 5 tbsp. of any oil to fry the fish.

Start with the dressing, add the garlic, three coriander roots and the chillies to a pestle and pound; a blender will do if you don't have a mortar and pestle. Remember to add a pinch of salt when pounding. Next add the lime juice, followed by the palm sugar and last the fish sauce. Check the taste; it should be salty, sweet, sour and spicy. Next peel the mango and julienne, also, thinly slice the lemongrass and shallots. Next, fry the fish; do this by soaking the slices of fillet in the soy sauce and shallow frying it in a wok with the 5 tbsp. of oil. Fry each side for about 2 minutes or until crisp. Once done, mix in all salad ingredients and break the fish into small chunks and lay it on the salad.

This is the perfect dry curry, which can be prepared in a wok. To prepare this dish, you will need, 200gms of pork loin sliced to about 1 cm, 1 tbsp. of Penang curry paste, the store bought variety is fine provided you get a Thai brand, 1 tbsp. of plain oil, 1 can of coconut milk, 1 tsp. palm sugar, 2 to 3 tbsp. of fish sauce, 2 to 3 long red chillies sliced at an angle and a handful of Thai basil.

Open the can of coconut milk, scoop up 2tbsp of the thick cream that has formed on the top and add it to a wok. Do this even if there is no cream. To this add the oil and let it cook for about 2 minutes on a medium heat. Next, add the curry paste and fry in the oil for another 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the palm sugar, slices of pork and the fish sauce. Leave this for another 3 minutes and add another 5 tbsp. of the coconut milk and the chillies. Check the taste, and adjust salty and sweet flavours, finally add the handful of basil. You can top up the dish with a few crushed kaffir lime leaves and ground peanuts. Enjoy!