The preparation of these crispy little flavour bombs was actually much simpler than I’d originally anticipated. The chicken mince centre was quick and easy to prepare and the wonton wrappers were very easy to work with – much to my delight given I’ve had such a bad track record working with rice paper! In fact because the chicken is pre-cooked this would be a great dish to prepare earlier for a dinner party and quickly fry (or even steam) just before serving. 

Ingredients: Money Bags

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 small brown onion finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic crushed
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 100g chicken mince
• 1 tablespoon finely grated palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped roasted unsalted peanuts
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander
• 3 spring onions
• 24x 8cm square wonton wrappers
• vegetable oil for deep frying 

Method

1. Heat oil in wok; stir-fry onion, garlic and ginger until onion softens. Add chicken and stir-fry until chicken changes colour. Add sugar and further stir-fry for 3 minutes (or until sugar dissolves). Stir in nuts and coriander.
2. Cut the upper green part of each spring onion into four long slices. Submerge these strips into hot water for a few seconds to make them more pliable.
3. Take a wrapper and place another wrapper over it on a diagonal (to make a star shape). Place a teaspoon of the filling mixture in the centre of each star. Gather the corners to make the pouch shape and pinch. Wrap a green onion slice around the neck of the pouch to hold it closed and secure with a toothpick. 
4. At this point, make the dipping sauce (recipe below).
5. Just before serving, heat oil in a wok and deep-fry the moneybags, in batches, until crisp and browned. Drain on some paper towel and serve with the peanut dipping sauce

Ingredients: Peanut dipping sauce

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 small brown onion chopped finely
• 2 fresh small red chillies, seeded, chopped finely
• 1 stick fresh lemon grass, chopped finely 
• 3/4 cup (180 mL) coconut milk 
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (140g) crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon lime juice 

Method

1. Heat oil in a small saucepan; cook garlic and onion until softened.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

I must admit  I was originally quite sceptical about the peanut dipping sauce included in this recipe. The addition of crunchy peanut butter to the recipe seemed just a bit like cheating. However, this satay sauce did not disappoint. It was absolutely, undeniably delicious. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that the moneybags soon became a mere vehicle for the delivery of satay sauce to my mouth!

Makes 12 Money bags and 1 1/2 cups of dipping sauce.

Recipe from Women’s Weekly Beginners Thai.

The first time I came across this type of dumpling was when Julia on Masterchef created them for a mushroom challenge, and she won. They looked so tasty I wanted to have a go. I searched for the recipe on the Masterchef website to no avail. So, I thought I’d have a play around with the idea and try it out myself.  According to a couple; but not all; articles I found, the bottom of them should be crispy while the tops are steamed with broth around them. I used a non-stick pan, so once the water went in the dumplings released from the pan straight away. I don’t think it matters, they tasted good anyway.  Frying off the bottom adds another layer of flavour to the traditional dumplings that are more well known.

I served these dumplings with my Mixed Mushroom Broth.

Ingredients

1 cup wombok cabbage
1 shitake mushroom
1 oyster mushroom
3 inches of wood ear fungus
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp golden syrup or Palm Sugar
1 tsp malt vinegar
2 cm piece of eshallot, finely sliced.
1tsp toasted sesame seeds
Pepper

gow gee dumpling wrappers
boiling water

1. crack some salt over the cabbage and leave for sit for about 30 minutes. This will draw out the moisture from the cabbage. Squeeze it to remove excess water.

2. Very VERY finely cut the mushrooms and spring onion.

3. Add all other ingredients and mix around

4. take teaspoonfuls of mixture, squeeze again to remove any liquid and press into an oval shape

5. Place mixture in the middle of a dumpling wrapper. Dip your finger into a little bowl of water and run around only half the wrapper (it seems to stick better this way). Fold in half and press all the air out of the dumpling and seal the edges.

6. Take the dumpling in your hands and fold the edge into little zigzags, pinching as you go to create the edging.

7. Heat a little oil in a pan and press the dumplings into the fry pan. Cook in small batches. Cook the bottoms of the dumplings, checking all the while, until golden brown.

8. Then add about 1/2 cup -  cup of Boiling water. Rest a lid askew over the top of the pan and lower heat. Steam the dumplings until they are soft.

I purchased a selection of mushrooms from the Kelvin Grove Markets on Saturday morning, 4 varieties in a little pack. The woodear Fungus is really quite crunchy and strong flavoured, the shitake mushrooms have an earthiness to them. Oyster Mushrooms are a little sweeter, and Enoki mushrooms are fun and stringy. Put all into the one dish, it’s a flavour and texture sensation!

I served this soup with little Mushroom and Wombok Potsticker Dumplings. You can either have them to the side as an entree, or plop them in the soup.

Ingredients

Broth
2 cups Chicken Stock
2 cups Water
Pepper
Small amount of chili
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
2tsp Golden Syrup
1/2tsp Fish Sauce
1tbsp Malt Vinegar

Method

Simmer all ingredients together while you prepare the other ingredients

Soup ingredients

1 large Chicken Thigh
extra chicken stock and water, chili and ginger for poaching the chicken

3 Asparagus Spears, Cut in half lengthways
1 or 2 leaves of Wombok cabbage ribs, cut in 5cm strips
Handful Snow peas, julienned
1 Woodear fungus, cut into strips
1 clump Enoki Mushroom, stump removed, broken into smaller clumps
3 Shitake Mushroom, sliced thinly
5 Oyster mushroom, ripped in two
2 Bok Choy plants, Steamed (pop a steaming basket over the broth while it bubbles)
1 Green Shallot, Finely sliced

Method

1. Bring the chicken stock and flavours to a slow boil,  cut in the Chicken Thigh into strips and drop into the simmering poaching liquid. Simmer until just cooked through. (check by taking a piece out and cutting it. No pink in the middle)

2. Arrange the vegetables, mushrooms and chicken in a bowl and pour over the broth.

But, as usual, I digress — one of the standout dishes served up by the ‘Rat is the Larb Kai (or Larb Gai), a spicy minced chicken salad.  Full of tangy citrus flavours and the usual suspects of Thai cuisine (galangal, chilli, coriander), Larb has a fresh kick, and is best enjoyed with a side of sticky rice. The best way to do this is to take well-cooked sticky rice, and roll it into a tight ball (about the size of a ping pong ball) then press into flat disc with your hands — you then use this disc to pick up handfuls of the Larb. Oh and don’t forget to wash it all down with a nice cold beer.

For my attempt at Larb Kai, I had a couple of recipes to choose from.  One was a very simple take on Larb, from Thai Cooking by Kurt Kahrs, and the other was from the Women’s Weekly Beginners Thai, which had served us so well for Pad Sieu and Money Bags, but seemed to have a several extra ingredients than what I was used to for a Larb.  As such, I decided to take a hefty amount of creative license and feel my way in between the two recipes.

The result was pretty good, and when it came to mixing in the seasoning at the end, I really just did everything to taste, until I found a sweet and tangy balance that suited me.  I would definitely add more chilli next time, as I like my Larb to have a good kick to it!

The inclusion of the dry fried sticky rice into the mince gives the dish more body, and adds a slightly nutty flavour.  Simply pop the rice in a hot, dry wok and stir constantly until it is golden brown (8-10 mins). Then pound it in a mortar and pestle (or use a food processor) until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Finally, I absolutely botched my accompanying sticky rice, and I would say this — it’s definitely better to overdo it, and make it dryer (even if it’s verging on that overcooked crunchyness) than to have it undercooked, as it tends to makes a goopy mess of your hands when rolling if it’s undercooked!

Ingredients – Larb Kai

• 450g chicken mince
• 1 tbsp grated galangal (galangal is Thai ginger; if you can’t get galangal, regular ginger is fine)
• 1 birdseye (small) chilli, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp sticky (glutinous) rice, dry fried and pounded (see above)
• 1/4 cup of finely sliced shallots
• 1/4 cup coriander leaves
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• A few sprigs of mint to garnish (optional)

Method

NB: Before commencing the mince, start cooking 1 cup of sticky rice per the instructions on the packet.  This will be your accompanying rice.

1. Heat a small amount of oil in a frypan, and add galangal and chilli, cooking until fragrant
2. Add the chicken mince, and cook over low heat for about 5-7 mins so it is cooked through.
3. Stir through the shallots, coriander and dry fried sticky rice. Add half each of the lemon juice, fish sauce, kecap manis and peanut oil, and stir through until the mixture thickens slightly.
4. Add the rest of the lemon juice, fish sauce, kecap manis and peanut oil to taste.
5. Serve with crisp iceberg lettuce leaves with slices of orange, and accompany with your cooked sticky rice. Garnish the Larb with finely sliced shallots, coriander leaves and some mint.

Serves 4

Adapted from Thai Cooking by Kurt Kahrs, and Women’s Weekly Beginners Thai.

This was the dessert we created for our first iatebrisbane.com featured flavours cook-up. I found it a little too sweet, next time I make it I’ll probably halve the amount of sugar. None of the girls here at iatebrisbane had come across Pandan until this recipe. Pandan paste is made from the leaves of the Pandanus plant, which I’ve seen growing usually quite close to the coast line. I took this photo of the Pandanus fruit when I was on our honeymoon in the Whitsundays. The scent is almost nutty, like almonds, and very fragrant. It can be used in cake and pudding recipes too. You may have seen Poh on Masterchef use it a couple of times.

Ingredients

3 sheets (5g each) leaf gelatine

100ml Milk

500ml thin cream

100g caster sugar

1/4 tsp pandan paste

1can palm seeds, drained, syrup reserved

1 jar coconut gel, drained, to serve

fresh mint sprigs, to serve

Method

1. Soak the gelatine sheets in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes or until soft

2. Heat the milk in a saucepan over high heat until it almost comes to the boil

3. Drain the gelatine and squeeze out the excess water. Add to the hot milk and stir to dissolve.

4. Place the cream and sugar in a saucepan over high heat, stirring, until it comes to the boil.

5. Remove from the heat and stir in the pandan paste.

6. Pour in the milk mixture and stir well to combine.

7. Rinse out the 1/2 cup moulds with cold water, then drain them, (this prevents the mixture from sticking)

8. Divide the mixture between the moulds and refridgerate for at least 1.5 hours

9. Dip the base of each mould very briefly in warm water and turn out onto serving plates. Spoon over a few cubes of the coconut get, palm seeds and a little of the reserved palm seed syrup. Add a fresh mint sprig to each panna cotta and serve.

So I had a big shoes to fill on Saturday when I attempted my first Pad Sieu ever — and to top it all off, I was cooking with my new wok, freshly “seasoned” (or, my best efforts at least!).

The best thing about Thai cooking is that for the most part, it’s simple, quick, and unpretentious: gather together fresh ingredients, throw them all in together, and let the food speak for itself. You can easily whip up a delicious meal, full of flavours and textures in a matter of minutes.

This particular attempt at Pad Sieu was by and large, reasonably successful.  I managed to absolutely butcher my noodles – which I hope to avoid next time around by purchasing proper wok-sized cooking implements! The addition of a squeeze of lime right at the end was a real winner – it just freshens up the whole dish, and adds to the sweet/sour effect. The only other addition I will consider in future is to crack an egg over the top prior to adding the sauces, to sweeten things up – this idea is borrowed from Thai Wi Rat’s Pad Sieu recipe, and I’m very keen to see how it affects the flavours.

Finally, the real road to victory with this recipe lies in the quality of the noodles:  do endeavour to get yourself fresh flat rice noodles from an Asian grocer, rather than buying the dehydrated variety — the fresh’uns suck up the flavour so much better, are much easier to work with, and cost roughly the same anyway. Dig around the grocers wherever they keep their fresh produce.

Ingredients

1kg fresh wide rice noodles (the wider the better, I say!)

2 tsp sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

600g chicken thigh fillets, chopped coarsely

250 grams (1 or 2 small bunches) baby bok choy

4 green onions, sliced thinly

2 tablespoons kecap manis (pron: “ke-chap mannis”; sweet soy sauce)

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp grated palm sugar

1 lime

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander

1 tbsp friend onion

Method

1. Place noodles in large heatproof bowl; cover with boiling water, separate with a fork, and then drain – this process stops the noodles sticking together.
2. Heat oil in a large wok; stir-fry garlic and chill until fragrant.
   Add chicken and stir-fry until lightly browned. Add the bok choy and green onion, and stir-fry until green onion softens and chicken is cooked through.
3. Add the noodles, along with the kecap manis, sauces and sugar, and stir-fry, tossing gently to combine.  Avoid a heavy hand here – keep it gentle, and try not to break the noodles (as I learned, this takes practice!).
4. Squeeze over the juice of a lime (to taste). Remove from heat, and add coriander, tossing gently to combine.
   Serve sprinkled with friend onion and some fresh coriander on top.

Serves 4

Adapted from Women’s Weekly: Beginner’s Thai

Note:I halved the quantity of noodles and chicken when I cooked it up, but kept the other quantities the same.  I like a lot of sauce in my stir-frys, and I love that glossy look it gives the noodles at the end!

Enter Thai, and a world of delectable satays, fish cakes, stir fried noodles, a gamut of spices, relatively unknown sweets and desserts, and one big unknown: the wok.

And what better way to kick off our foray into Thai cooking than to head on down to Chinatown to gather the ingredients for a Thai feast!

So on Saturday we three iatebrisbane girls packed our baskets and green bags and made our way to Chinatown in Fortitude Valley. On the menu was Tung Tong (Money Bags), Pad Sieu (Sweet Soy Fried Noodles), and a Pandan Pannacotta.

I absolutely love exploring Chinatown. The massive variety of smells and flavours, combined with the delightful overload of colours and languages makes for a thoroughly exciting shopping trip. I also get a giddy thrill from the inevitable language barriers — that 3% doubt as to whether you’ve actually purchased the ingredient you’re meant to – and what the effect will be if you haven’t! – throws a delightful element of uncertainty into your cooking.

With shopping lists in hand, our first stop was A & J Trading, on Brunswick St.  I always start with A & J, as it’s generally great value for money, and has a pretty thorough range.  With very tight aisles, it can be a little intimidating on your first visit, but it’s well worth heading along – just make sure you’re not in a rush, as it’s easy to spend more than an hour exploring the wares.

A & J features a huge mix of pan-asian flavours: Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Malaysian, and Thai (amongst others!). There are sauces, spices, pastes, noodles, fresh veg and seafood, and an array of cooking implements. We walked away with the majority of our ingredients, and I with my first wok (15″, carbon steel, for the great price of $14!).

The next stop was Burlington Supermarket, in Duncan St.  I’m not sure if it’s the wider ailes (which make for a much calmer shopping experience!), but Burlington always seems to have any odds and ends that you can’t find in A & J.  With similarly diverse offerings, it was Burlington that delivered the Pandan Essence for the pannacotta that had evaded us thus far.

Last on the list were our fresh meats and herbs.  There’s an absolutely sensational butcher’s in the McWhirters Building that does fresh meats for very reasonable prices, and an equally brilliant fruit & veg shop that sells massive bunches of fresh herbs for $2 a pop, along with other great specials.

Our baskets and bags heavily laden with fresh produce and an array of sauces and oils, and oodles of noodles (oh, yes!), we headed home to commence our Thai Feast.

We will continue to experiment with Thai flavours over the coming weeks, so stay tuned for updates on our very first theme of Thai Tastes.

We would love you to post your own ideas and recipes in the comments too! Feel free to cook along at home!

Thai Tastes – July / August 2009

• Tung Tong (Money Bags, including a near-death wok experience!)
• Pad Sieu (Sweet Soy Fried Noodles)
• Pandan Pannacotta