Cooking Dried Squid

The Thai / Lao men like to eat dried squid as an appetizer with Lao sticky rice, the classic Thai / Lao hot sauce , and beer. With beer, the Dried Squid is the appetizer of choice for the Thai / Lao men unlike the 'beer and peanuts’ in North America.

The Thai and Lao people preserve food with salt and dry food in the sun. The Dried Squid can be purchased at an Asian supermarket. Barbecue the Squid over a grill or broil under high heat for about 3 minutes. Serve the dried squid with the classic Thai / Lao hot sauce or roasted tomato chili sauce. The Dried Squid is extremely chewy.

Also watch the Classic Thai / Lao hot sauce, the Cooking Lao Sticky Rice, and the barbecue videos.

Thai Jasmine Fried Rice

I poste this recipe in honour of Mother's Day. This Thai Lao recipe is my mother's specialty. From my mother's love, class, and pride, I share her Thai Jasmine Fried Rice recipe with you. Happy Mother's Day!

Stir Fry Recipe for Thai Jasmine Fried Rice - Pad Khao Chow:
1 sprig of Thai basil chopped
1 sprig for green onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 egg
½ cup of frozen peas and carrots thawed
2 cups Thai jasmine rice cooked - Khao Chow
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce

Instructions on making Fried Egg Strips: Crack an egg into a small bowl, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and mix with a fork. Set the stove element to high heat and place a wok over the element. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and garlic into the wok. Add the eggmixture and swirl the egg around the wok. Fold the fried egg in half then flip it again to cook the other side. Place the fried egg on to a cutting board. Once the fried egg is cooled, cut in half and slice the egg finely and thinly into long strips. Fried Egg Strips are also used in Pad Thai Pho Noodles

Instructions on making Thai Jasmine Fried Rice: Set the stove element to high heat and place a wok over the element. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and garlic into the wok. Add the thawed vegetables and mix for 1 minute. Add the cooked jasmine rice. Add 2 tablespoons each of oyster sauce and soy sauce. Mix to incorporate all ingredients and break out the jasmine rice clumps. Once the rice is broken, add chopped Thai basil and green onions. Place the fried jasmine rice into a serving bowl and top with the fried egg strips.

Baked Cassava Dessert Squares

In my video, I show the method used in Thailand and Laos which is finely grating fresh cassava. You can purchase grated frozen cassava but you’ll need to first thaw the packages before mixing the cassava with the other ingredients. The cassava mixture may be steamed and then tossed into coconut flakes. Check out steam cassava with coconut flakes

Recipe for Baked Cassava Dessert Squares:
3-4 cups of cassava finely grated
1 egg (optional)
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups fresh coconut milk

Mix all ingredients together in a large boil. Pour the cassava mix into a 7 x 10 inches baking pan. Bake in the oven in 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 50 minutes or until the center of the dessert is firm. Cool and then cut into squares.

Thai and Lao ways are always from scratch so my Thai & Lao Food video shows you the fresh and tastier method.

Roasted Tomato Chili Sauce

The Roasted Tomato Chili Sauce is excellent for dipping barbecue meat and Lao sticky rice The Thai and Lao method would be to barbecue the vegetables over an open fire or coal. In my video, you'll see that I've broiled the vegetables in an oven. The roasted tomato chili sauce and the eggplant chili sauce are the gourmet version of the Classic Thai / Lao Hot Sauce.

Vegetarian and Dipping Sauce Recipe: Roasted Tomato Chili Sauce3 chilies
2 garlic cloves with skin
¼ of a whole onion
¼ of whole red pepper
1 tomato
2 sprigs of cilantro
2 sprigs of green onions
2-3 tablespoons fish sauce

Place chilies, garlic with skin, onion, red pepper and tomato in a roasting pan. Broil under high heat for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven. Remove chilies and garlic from the pan and flip over the other vegetables. Broil again for another 15 more minutes. Remove from the oven and allow vegetables to cool.

In a Thai / Lao Mortar & Pestle Set, add garlic without the skin, and add chilies. Pound with a pestle until chilies and garlic are smooth. Add onions and pound until smooth. Remove skin from red pepper, cut into pieces, and pound until smooth. Remove skin from tomato, cut into pieces, discard the core, and pound until smooth. Add chopped cilantro and green onions. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of fish sauce. Mix the ingredients until all are incorporated.