Mussels in Thai red curry with Cambodian rice

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1kg mussels
70g red curry paste
165ml coconut cream
300ml water
1 onion, halved and sliced
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 handful sweet Thai basil leaves
peanut oil

Recipe:

Fry the red curry paste in oil. Add coconut milk, water, onion, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and stir. Cover the cooking pot with a lid and cook the sauce during 5 minutes. Then add the mussels, cover the cooking pot again with a lid, cook on high heat during 5 minutes until all mussels have opened. Add the Thai basil the last minute of cooking.

Serve with rice.

Tagliatelle with wild asparagus

Serves 2

Ingredients:

olive oil
1 shallot, halved and sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 bunch of wild asparagus, cut into pieces
200 ml soy cream
sea salt
black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
250g tagliatelle
parmigiano reggiano

Recipe:

Heat the olive oil in a wok, add the shallot and garlic, stir-fry 1 minute, then add the asparagus, stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes, add the soy cream, season with salt and pepper, heat, then add the lemon juice, stir and add the cooked tagliatelle to the sauce, divide between two plates, sprinkle with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

Spaghettini vongole Thai style

Serves 2

Ingredients:

500g vongole
11 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 small shallot, halved and sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 Thai chili pepper, chopped
Thai basil, chopped, to taste
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp Thai soy sauce
olive oil
250g spaghettini

Recipe:

Heat some olive oil in a wok and add shallot, garlic and chili pepper, then add cherry tomatoes, stir-fry 1 minute, then add sugar, fish and soy sauce, stir-fry and add the vongole, cover wok with a lid until all shells have opened , add Thai basil, stir, add the cooked spaghettini, divide between two plates.

Venus Kitchen

Champagne Drappier Carte d'Or from Rob The Gourmets' Market Brussels
Oysters and shrimps from Toucan Sur Mer Brussels

Mussels with Hoegaarden

recipe for 1kg (2 small portions or 1 large portion):

1kg mussels, olive oil, 1 chopped garlic clove, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped celery stalk, salt, black pepper, Belgian Hoegaarden beer

Heat some olive oil in a large pot, add garlic, onion and celery, fry 2 minutes, then add a splash of Hoegaarden beer, salt and pepper, add the mussels, toss, cover pot with a lid and steam the mussels for about 5 minutes until all shells have opened (toss the pot a few times during steaming), serve.

dipping sauce: mayonnaise mixed with some mustard à l'ancienne and some white wine vinegar

Serve with fries or bread and drink with Hoegaarden.

Bouchot mussels with Thai herbs

Bouchot mussels with Thai herbs and jasmine rice

mussel recipe (serves 2, small portions): 800g bouchot mussels, 2 sliced shallots, 1 chopped Thai red chilli pepper, 2 chopped garlic cloves, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 big handful Thai sweet basil, peanut oil

Heat some peanut oil in a wok, add shallot, chilli and garlic, stir-fry 1 minute, add fish sauce and sugar, then add the mussels, cover with a lid, steam mussels for 3 minutes, then add the basil and stir, cover wok again to steam a little further until all mussel shells have opened, serve in two small pots

New: Moon Kitchen

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Coconut noodle soup

 

Serves 2: 
180g Thai rice noodles, cooked following the instructions on the package 

Ingredients for the soup: 
400ml/2 cups water 
400ml/2 cups coconut milk 
2 stalks lemongrass cut into 1,25cm/0,5 inch lengths 
6 slices of galangal 
1 chopped red Thai chilli pepper 
1 sliced onion or 4 small Thai sliced shallots 
4 Thai coriander stems with roots and leaves, chopped 
1 1/2 vegetable stock cube 
juice of 1 lime 
1 1/2 tbsp sugar or agave syrup 
2 tbsp soy sauce 
10 sliced mushrooms

Put the water, coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, chilli, onion/shallot, chopped coriander roots and stock cubes in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Lower heat and cook for 10 minutes (stir regularly to prevent the soup from overboiling), then add the lime juice, sugar or agave syrup, soy sauce and mushrooms and simmer for a few minutes.
At the end of cooking add the chopped coriander leaves.
Divide the cooked noodles and the soup over 2 bowls.

Alternative recipe: Replace the mushrooms by 6 dried shiitakes, soak them for 30 minutes in the 400ml water used for the soup, cut into small pieces, put them in the water again and boil from the beginning.

Mama noodles

New: Vegan kitchen

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Japanese takeaway

Edamame, wakame su and kappa maki

Thai mushrooms

300g/10oz mixed mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 Thai chili peppers, chopped
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp agave syrup or sugar
1 handful Thai basil (any kind you like)
peanut oil

Heat the oil in a wok.
Add the garlic and chili peppers and stir-fry 1 minute.
Then add the mushrooms, stir-fry for about 4-5 minutes.
Add the soy sauce, then the agave syrup/sugar, stir-fry 1 minute.
Add the Thai basil, stir-fry 1 minute.
Serve with rice.

Hot and spicy spaghetti

Hot and spicy spaghetti at Another Hound, Siam Paragon, Bangkok

Papaya salad

Vegetarian papaya salad with sticky rice at Kum Poon, CentralWorld, Bangkok

Green curry

Vegetarian green curry with rice vermicelli at Nara Thai Cuisine, Erawan, Bangkok

Soba noodles

Vegetarian Tokyo soba noodles at Greyhound Café, Emporium, Bangkok

Green curry with eggplants and mushrooms

Green curry paste:
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 small Thai shallots or 1 to 2 regular shallots, chopped
5 fresh green Thai chili peppers, chopped
1,5 inch/4cm piece galangal, peeled and chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced
4 stems Thai coriander with roots and leaves, chopped

Mix all ingredients in a blender.

Other ingredients:
1 can/400ml coconut milk
4 Thai eggplants, each one sliced in 6
10 mushrooms, quartered
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp sugar or agave syrup
1 handful Thai sweet basil leaves (bai horapa)
peanut or coconut oil

Fry the curry paste in oil.
Add the coconut milk and stir so that the paste dissolves.
Then add eggplants, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add mushrooms, sugar and soy sauce and simmer 5 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender).

Add the basil the last minute of cooking.
Taste to see if more soy sauce is required.
Serve with Thai rice.

Optional: add some faux chicken pieces (add at the beginning of cooking together with the eggplants)