Thai Salad

This is a fantastic tasting and filling noodle/salad dish that is from the January 2012 edition of Australian Women's Health.

makes 2 servings

- 110g extra-firm tofu drained and cut into 2cm cubes
- 110g buckwheat soba noodles
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1/2 red capsicum, sliced into 3cm strips
- 1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame, microwaved for 1 minute and cooled
- 2 tbs chopped coriander
- 2 tsp black seasme seeds ( i just toasted white ones)

Dressing

- 1 tbs creamy peanut butter
- 2 tbs rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbs reduced-salt soy sauce
- 2 tbs fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp brown sugar

1.combine all dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor or whisk together until smooth.

2. Toss 1 tablespoon dressing with tofu and set aside to marinate. Reseve rest of dressing.

3. Cook noodles according to package directions then drain and rinse.

4. In a large bowl, toss cooked noodles with remaining dressing.

5. Add carrot, red capsicum, edamame, coriander and mairnated tofu. Toss gently.

6. Sprinkle with seasame seeds. Serve immediately or refrigerate overnight.

Thai Red Curry and Lentil Soup

This interesting mix of cuisines produces a soup which is wonderfully fragrant, spicy and very moorish. The red lentils melt into the soup and produce a lovely richness. The recipe is one I got from my mother, and I'm not sure where exactly she got it but she said it was from a Donna Hay book.





Serves 4-6

2 tsp peanut oil

1 T Red Thai Curry paste (you can add more if the one you are using is not very spicy but remember the nature and heat of the soup itself will intensify the heat of the chili)

4 cups vegetable stock

2 cups coconut cream

4 Kaffir lime leaves (scrunch these a bit to release the flavour before adding but try not to rip them as it will be hard to remove them later)

1 cup red lentils

100g button mushrooms, quartered (optional)

400g can baby corn, drained (or 100g fresh)

80g snow peas or green beans, halved and cut into 2 cm lengths

1 T sugar


1. Fry the curry paste in the oil for 2 min.
2. Add the vegie stock, coconut cream, Kaffir lime leaves and lentils. Bring to the boil then simmer until lentils are cooked - about 20 min.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, simmering for 3 min or until vegetables are tender.

Tofu in Blackbean Sauce with Rice Noodles

Here is a recipe from the book "Vegetarian 30 minute Thai cookbook" by Sarah Beattie. The dish goes particularly well with the wide flat rice noodles that are commonly used for pad thai. You can add an extra crunch by scattering a tablespoon of chopped peanuts or cashews over the top before serving if you like. 

Serves 4-6

2 T vegetable oil 

250g/9oz/ 1 1/2 cups cubed firm beancurd(tofu) 

3 medium onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 t grated root ginger

1 fresh chilli, crushed and finely chopped

1 t shredded lemongrass (if you are using the leaf rather than the stalk it's easiest to do this with a pair of clean scissors - i used the leaves because I have lemongrass in my garden and its easier to get to than the stalk) 

3 medium carrots,sliced

125g/4oz/1cup mangetout (snow peas) (I used broccoli instead)

140g/5oz/ 3/4 cup blackbean sauce

90ml/ 3fl oz/ 1/3 cup water

1. heat the oil. Pat the beancurd dry and fry in batches in the oil until nicely browned. Drain. (I like to heat under the grill with no oil for a oil-free version.)

2. Fry the onions, garlic, ginger, chilli and lemongrass for 1 min. Stir in the carrots and cook for a further minute.

3. Add the mangetout and cook for a further minute. 

4. Add back the fried beancurd. Stir in the blackbean sauce and water. Allow to simmer briefly, then serve. 

(if you are serving with noodles you can add them to the pan at this point and fry for a further 2 minutes or so.)