So That’s How You Make It

For a child, and even some adults, things that are off limits are particularly attractive. And when I was growing up, my mother’s kitchen was definitely off limits.

I think of that kitchen as a noisy, bustling place with the sounds of my mother chopping and the air vent working at high power. Mom has always been in control of that room and everyone has to steer clear and not disturb her rhythm.

But I was never one to stay out of the way. Even at age 5, my afternoons of watching Julia Child gave me an uncontrollable urge to make a spot for myself in the forbidden zone.

I started by asking a lot of questions. At first, my mother thought this was cute--her young daughter taking an interest in cooking. But after a stream of “whys” and “whats” she became a little irritated and suggested I go outside or watch TV.

Next I tried sneaking into the kitchen as she worked. If I saw something cooking on the stove, I’d tiptoe in and stir away, quiet as a mouse. My hope was that my mother would suddenly notice how useful I could be and give me more tasks. Instead, she would silently take over the stirring and ignore me, as if I were a ghost.

But eventually, she started to realize that I sincerely wanted to help. My first official task, perfect for a young child: crushing peanuts. With her mortar and pestle from Thailand, I crushed and pounded with intense concentration and determination. She was relieved that she could finally give me a job that wouldn’t lead me to ask pesky questions; I was happy because I had a place in the kitchen.

In the Thai community of St. Louis, my mother is quite a well-known cook. But like many accomplished home cooks, she doesn’t have many cookbooks. Maybe in some random drawer there are a couple of tattered recipes. But recipes have very little to do with her cooking style. Everything just flows together for her. She doesn’t have to think about what to add or when to add it.

This made it difficult for me to progress from peanut crusher to full-fledged cook. She could never explain how to make a dish, or even take me through the process of cooking something from beginning to end.

Still, I kept trying to learn. I would tell my mother that it was important for her to teach me her best dishes because it would seem weird for a Thai person not to know how to make Thai food. This logic would grant me a visa for a little while. But eventually, I’d ask too many questions and would be banished from the kitchen again or made to wash dishes.

As I grew older and ever more determined to make my way into the action, I learned the benefits of observation. Out of harm’s way, I would watch as my mother kneaded dough for pork buns and shaped them into perfect little balls. Pretty soon I was able to join in and make dozens of pork buns to give out to friends. This strategy of observing and then quietly insinuating myself helped me become an expert at pork buns.

Best of all, my mother noticed what I was doing. Whenever she made curry puffs, pork buns or anything involving dough, she would enlist my help. For a while it was fun, but making a million curry puffs started to become a little tedious. Once again I yearned to be more involved in the creative aspect of her cooking, to learn what makes Thai food Thai.

Because of my years as Mom’s prep cook, I would know maybe one or two steps of a dish. What I did not know was the evolution of a dish from raw ingredients to finished presentation. Even my favorites, like the curry noodles kao soi, beef noodle soup and the spicy seafood soup called yen ta fo, were mysteries to me. All I knew was that the noodles were cooked, a broth was added to the bowl and then I would complete the dish with the condiments of my choice.

Curries were especially mysterious. I would look in the pantry and see containers filled with coriander, cumin and unidentifiable products. The freezer would be jam-packed with homemade pastes. My friends enjoyed peering into the freezer and making up stories of what these concoctions really were. Little did I know that these were curry bases and sauces that my mom made in huge amounts then froze to use when she needed them. It never took long for her to whip up a yellow curry with chicken or stir-fry pork and string beans with ginger-curry paste.

Over the years, I developed a superficial understanding of Thai cooking, that it’s both complex and simple. The complexity lies in the flavors--a curry base, for instance, with specific proportions of coriander, peppers and garlic. Once you have a base, preparing the dish becomes quite simple. So would I ever get a recipe for these bases? Probably not one with specific amounts, a complete list of ingredients, or methods.

Any time I asked her what goes into a certain dish, she’d say something like, “onions, Chinese parsley, cabbage and shrimp.”

I’d ask, “Well, isn’t there garlic in there?”

“Oh, I forgot,” she’d say, “one cup of chopped garlic.”

“One cup!”

“I’m sorry,” she’d say, slightly embarrassed. “One tablespoon.”

Finally, I came up with a practically foolproof plan. I made my mother come to The Times Test Kitchen and make three dishes, including my favorite noodle dish, kao soi. Not only was she to make them, she had to come up with recipes. And she wouldn’t be able to kick me out of the kitchen.

My mother arrived in Southern California with a bag of ingredients that she was sure would not be available here (they are) and four pages of handwritten recipes. I was impressed. The recipes had amounts and a complete ingredient list. No method, but there was an ingredient list! We cooked and photographed everything and the day was a success.

So what if I had to write down changes and rework proportions as I watched her cook? I’d had a feeling that what she wrote down would not necessarily agree with what she actually did, and I was right.

However, I was sure that everything would be delicious. I was right again.

STUFFED SHRIMP IN A SILK WRAPPER

DIPPING SAUCE

3 tablespoons Thai chile paste

1/3 cup vinegar

3/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon plus 3/4 teaspoon salt

FILLING

1/2 pound ground pork

1 (4 1/2-ounce) can lump crab meat

2 tablespoons thin soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons water

1 cucumber, peeled

48 large shrimp

24 spring roll wrappers

1 egg, lightly beaten

Oil for deep frying

DIPPING SAUCE

Combine chile paste, vinegar, water, sugar and salt in medium saucepan. Boil until slightly thick, about 10 minutes. Let cool and set aside. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

FILLING

Combine pork, crab meat, soy sauce, pepper, garlic powder, cilantro, water chestnuts, sesame oil and water. Slice cucumber into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.

Peel shrimp to tail. Butterfly along back, removing vein. Stuff cut portion of each shrimp with 1 teaspoon filling, mounding filling over shrimp.

Cut wrappers diagonally to make triangles. Cover with damp towel to prevent drying.

Place 1 shrimp on 1 wrapper triangle about 1/4 of way from corner with tail hanging over longest edge. Carefully wrap corner over shrimp and roll shrimp in wrapper about 3 times. Fold top corner over shrimp and continue rolling and tucking to achieve snug fit around shrimp with shrimp tail hanging out. Brush beaten egg where edges come together to seal wrapper.

Fill medium-sized, heavy saucepan halfway with oil and heat on medium-high until 400 degrees. Fry shrimp until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Serve with Dipping Sauce and cucumber slices.

48 shrimp rolls. Each shrimp roll with 1 teaspoon sauce:

79 calories; 229 mg sodium; 18 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.05 gram fiber.

KAO SOI

GARNISH

1/4 cup oil

3 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup Thai chile sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup fish sauce

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup sugar

2 limes cut in wedges

1/2 cup chopped shallots

1 cup fresh Asian egg noodles set aside from curry recipe, fried until crisp

CURRY

6 dried New Mexico red chiles, stems removed

1/2 cup shallots, peeled

1/2 cup cloves garlic, peeled

1/3 cup coriander seeds

1/4 cup cumin seeds

3/4 tablespoon curry powder

3/4 cup water

5 cups coconut cream

6 cups water

2 cinnamon sticks

3 pounds chicken thighs and chicken legs with skin

2 (1-pound) packages fresh Asian egg noodles, less 1 cup for garnish

1/3 cup fish sauce

3 tablespoons sugar

GARNISH

Heat oil in small saute pan over medium heat. Add red pepper flakes and saute 1 minute. Pour chile oil into small bowl. Mix together Thai chile sauce and vinegar and put in another small bowl.

Put fish sauce, green onions, cilantro, sugar, lime wedges, shallots and fried noodles in individual small bowls.

CURRY

Roast chiles, shallots and garlic on baking sheet at 300 degrees 10 minutes.

Combine roasted chiles, shallots and garlic with coriander seeds, cumin seeds, curry powder and water in food processor and puree until smooth.

Pour into large pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add coconut cream, water, cinnamon sticks and chicken. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer uncovered 30 minutes. Stir in fish sauce and sugar.

Bring water to boil in medium pot. Add egg noodles and cook until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and divide among 6 large bowls. Divide chicken pieces and curry among bowls. Garnish as desired.

8 servings. Each serving:

1,239 calories; 1,446 mg sodium; 198 mg cholesterol; 62 grams fat; 132 grams carbohydrates; 43 grams protein; 6.94 grams fiber.

SWEET COCONUT RICE WITH CUSTARD

2 cups sweet rice

Water

1 cup coconut cream

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon jasmine essence

5 eggs

1/2 cup palm sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup coconut milk

Soak rice in water to cover 3 hours. Drain. Place in steamer and steam 25 minutes. Rice will be slightly sticky.

Put rice in bowl and stir in coconut cream, sugar, salt and jasmine essence. Cover until ready to serve.

Process eggs, palm sugar, brown sugar and coconut milk in blender until smooth. (Palm sugar may need to be warmed in microwave to properly measure.) Pour into 1-quart bowl and place in steamer. Steam until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Serve rice topped with custard at room temperature.

6 servings. Each serving:

711 calories; 1,270 mg sodium; 177 mg cholesterol; 21 grams fat; 121 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams protein; 2.17 grams fiber.

How to Stuff a Shrimp

1. Peel shrimp to its tail and butterfly it along the back, leaving the shell of the tail intact. Fill each shrimp with pork mixture, mounding it outside and over the top of the shrimp.

2. Place each shrimp 1/4 of the way in from 1 point of the spring roll wrapper triangle, with the tail hanging over the longest edge of the triangle. Fold the point of triangle closest to the shrimp over.

3. Roll the shrimp tightly in wrapper 3 times. Fold the top corner of the wrapper down over the shrimp and continue rolling and tucking tightly around shrimp. When you get to the end of wrapper, brush the seams with beaten egg to seal.

4. Deep-fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

prop credit:

* Plates, bowl, napkins, placemat and tray from Windows, Pasadena.

* (H1), Leaf plate, napkin and placemat from Windows, Pasadena. Pottery bowls and chopsticks from Windows, Pasadena.

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Essential Ingredients

Some of the ingredients in these recipes may be unfamiliar to some cooks. However, all of them can be purchased at Thai markets, and many are available in larger supermarkets.

*Coconut cream: Unlike canned coconut milk, which is coconut milk and water, coconut cream is the thick cream that rises to the top of the milk. It is far richer than coconut milk and has a stronger flavor. It is sold in a can, as is coconut milk, and is usually sold in the same section of the market. It may also be purchased frozen. If coconut cream cannot be found, use coconut milk but don’t shake the can before opening and use just the thick cream from the top.

*Fresh egg noodles: You will find these noodles in the refrigerated section of most Thai and Chinese markets. Use the variety that are 1/4 inch wide if possible.

*Jasmine essence: Also known as Mali flavor, it is the extract of jasmine flowers. It is sold in small bottles, usually less than 1 ounce, and is clear in appearance.

*Palm sugar: From the sap of the coconut tree. It is light brown in color and has a deep, slightly roasted flavor.

*Sweet rice: The flavor of this rice is not actually sweet. It is distinguished from other varieties because of its glutinous quality. The grains are white and opaque.