Food can be a strong reminder of memories associated with a particular dish. Every time I cook one of my favorite Thai meals, inevitably I think of Mom.
She passed away five years ago after a steady decline from Alzheimer’s disease. My spouse and I cared for her the last five years of her life until we couldn’t handle the level of care she required anymore, and we moved her into a care facility. By the time we moved her, she had no idea who I was anymore and required help dressing, bathing and eating. It was a tough five years to get through.
But every time I cook Tom Yum Soup, Thai Steak Salad, Larb, or Fish Curry Steamed in Banana Leaves, it brings back happy memories of a childhood in Bangkok, learning to cook with her in the kitchen and exploring the city’s open-air markets with her.
For Mother’s Day this year, I share Mom’s favorite recipes with you and hope that they create good memories for you around your meal. Most ingredients can be found at an Asian grocery store such as HMart.
Tom Yum Seafood Soup with Makrut Lime
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 cups water
Juice from 2 limes
2 makrut limes (optional), sliced in half
4 makrut lime leaves
4 tablespoons Thai chili paste with soya bean oil (my favorite brand is Pantai)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 zucchini or yellow squash, sliced into chunks
8-10 white mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
1 large firm white fish fillet (red snapper, bass, etc.), cut into large chunks
8 medium-large shrimp, peeled, de-veined and rinsed (shells set aside)
Directions
In a large saucepan, bring water to boil.
Tieshrimp shells in cheesecloth and add to water and simmer for 20 minutes. Then discard shells.
Add lime juice, makrut limes, makrut lime leaves, chili paste, fish sauce, stirring to completely dissolve chili paste, then lower heat to a simmer.
Add zucchini or squash and mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add fish and shrimp and simmer for another 3 minutes and serve hot.
Steak Salad with Lime and Lemongrass Dressing
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 pound top sirloin
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons dried galangal powder
2 stalks of lemongrass, very thinly sliced, about 3 tablespoons
2 tablespoons fish sauce
Juice from 1 lime, about 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon sweet rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon Sriracha chili sauce (more if you like it spicy)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
Salad greens, washed and spun dry
1 shallot, thinly sliced
Directions
Marinate the steak with oil and galangal powder for an hour or two in the fridge.
Prepare the dressing by combining lemongrass, fish sauce, lime, sweet rice wine vinegar, sugar, water, Sriracha chili sauce and sesame oil. Mix thoroughly.
Over high heat in a cast-iron pan, sear steak about 3 minutes on each side and let rest for a minute before slicing thinly.
Arrange salad greens in serving plate. Arrange sliced steak over greens, sprinkle shallots on top and drizzle with dressing, making sure to spread the sliced lemongrass evenly over the salad.
Larb
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 lb. ground pork, beef, chicken or turkey
Juice from one and a half limes
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons Thai jasmine rice, roasted in a pan until golden and then ground in a mortar and pestle or blender until it’s the consistency of grains of sand
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped spring onions
To taste: 1 teaspoon — or more, if you want the larb to be spicier — Thai dried red chili peppers roasted in a pan a few minutes until fragrant and then ground in a blender
Romaine lettuce leaves or napa cabbage leaves
1 tablespoon (15 ml.) peanut or safflower oil
Directions
Heat oil in a saucepan over high heat.
Add ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey and stir to quickly brown. NOTE: If you’re using ground chicken or ground turkey you may have to add another tablespoon (15 ml.) of oil since the ground chicken and turkey are much more lean.
Remove saucepan from heat and add lime juice, fish sauce, ground roasted rice and ground roasted chili peppers. Stir until totally incorporated. Add chopped cilantro and scallions and stir.
Serve immediately.
Fish Curry Steamed in Banana Leaves
Serves 2
Ingredients
Chopped spinach blanched in boiling water enough to equal 1 cup (240 ml.) after blanching
1 egg
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
3 halibut, cod, or rockfish fillets cut into 2-inch pieces
1 banana leaf (you can find these frozen at Asian food stores)
1/2 red bell pepper, cubed
16 basil leaves (Thai basil is best, but any variety will do)
2 teaspoons red curry paste (more if you like it spicier)
1 teaspoon fish sauce
Sprigs of cilantro for garnish
Directions
In a bowl combine coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce and egg and beat well until all curry paste is dissolved into the liquid.
Add sliced fish and let marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour.
To make a boat from the banana leaves, cut a 4-inch piece of banana leaf following the grain. Pinch each end together into a point and hold it together with toothpicks to make them into the shape of a boat. Alternately, simply line a ramekin or oval bowl with the piece of banana leaf, cutting it to fit the bowl. Even if you succeed in making a boat, I would recommend placing the boat in a bowl before adding fish and steaming in case the boat falls apart in the steamer.
Into the bowl lined with banana leaf or banana boat, put about a half-inch layer of spinach.
Spoon some pieces of fish into the boat or bowl until it’s almost to the top.
Add a few pieces of the cubed bell pepper.
Spoon some of the egg/coconut milk/curry liquid into the boat, enough to almost cover the fish, and top with 4 basil leaves.
Repeat until all bowls/boats are filled.
Using a large steamer on high heat, steam each bowl/boat for about 20 minutes.
NOTE: some water may collect in the bowls from the steaming banana leaves and spinach, so you can use a turkey baster to siphon out the water if there’s a lot in the bowls.
Garnish with a sprig of cilantro and serve hot with rice or potatoes.