Thai food. By Ashley.

You're in for a treat today as I'm going to be posting FOUR Thai recipes that I make all the time. Figured I would just get it all out there, and if you're like me and have a newfound love affair with Thai food, you're going to need to change your pants. I don't know how authentic any of these recipes actually are but, whatevs. You're going to love these recipes. They are so wonderfully warm and comforting, after you try them, it won't matter if they're actually authentic Thai or not. And you'll need to stock up on coconut milk and curry powder. You've been warned. So let's giver...

Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients: original recipe can be found here

Skewers:
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
4 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoon white sugar
2 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 pounds boneless pork loin/chops
16 skewers (or enough for all the meat)
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
2 Tablespoons curry powder
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used crunchy peanut butter because I think that smooth is for chumps)
2 Tablespoons white sugar
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 Tablespoons fish sauce

First, combine every ingredient for the skewers (besides the pork) in a small bowl. Cut the pork into thin slices then add to the bowl and toss to coat.

Allow to marinate for at least two hours. After you have waited patiently, thread the meat onto the skewers. Cautionary note: if you are going to be cooking these on a barbeque and are using wooden skewers, make sure you soak the skewers in water for at least half an hour so the wood doesn't burn to a crisp on the barbeque. I used a griddle on the counter as it was the middle of winter when I made these for the first time and because the skewers I used were pretty long. So preheat the oil in whatever cooking mechanism you are using and cook each skewer until browned and no longer pink, approx 3-4 mins on each side.

My dad was helping me with this while I cooked other things. I have the best dad.

You need to make your sauce at some point as well. Add the coconut milk to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the curry powder and simmer for approximately 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth, peanut butter, sugar, lime juice and fish sauce, then simmer for one minute to allow all the ingredients to come together. Serve your sauce with your skewers. Boom, done.

Okay, up next, Pad Thai courtesy of Martha Stewart. This recipe doesn't take very long so it's great for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients:
8 ounces dried, wide, and flat rice noodles (my husband recently said to me the last time we made this that he thought thinner noodles would be good too. So we'll try that one day and I'll keep you posted)
2 Tablespoons dark-brown sugar (I just used the brown sugar I have, so if that's not dark then, whatever)
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving (if you want, I would say that's optional)
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten (I use four eggs when making this as an entree on it's own)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped (the original recipe says to use cilantro, and I hate cilantro. So I never use it, but if you like it, by all means, go right ahead and eat that horrible weed)
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

First, soak the noodles in a large bowl of warm water for AT LEAST half an hour (or according to package directions), then drain. Whisk together the brown sugar, lime juice and soy sauce in a small bowl.

Next, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat, then add the scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs and cook, scraping the skillet with a rubber spatula, until the eggs are almost set, about 30 seconds. Transfer the egg mixture to a plate.

Add the noodles (they should be nice and floppy) and the soy sauce mixture to the same skillet.

Cook, tossing constantly, until the noodles are soft and coated with the sauce, about 1 minute.

Add egg mixture, and toss, breaking up the eggs gently. Serve noodles with lime wedges (if you felt like it), topped with scallion greens, parsley and peanuts.

See that? Horrible presentation BUT easiest thing ever. Next up, one of my absolute favorites Curried Coconut Chicken. From All Recipes

Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
Salt and pepper, about a teaspoon of each, or to taste
1 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons curry powder (Lately I've been using 1T curry powder and 1T garam masala, which I guess makes this dish more Indian than Thai, I suppose, but still delicious)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1 14.5 oz can stewed, diced tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
3 Tablespoons sugar

Oh gosh, even listing those ingredients makes me happy. This dish is so good it should be illegal.
Okay so first, heat the oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in the onions and garlic, and cook for one more minute. Add the chicken, tossing to coat in the curry oil. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 7-10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Pour the coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring once in a while, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. I usually do just 30 minutes and it turns out beautifully.

Serve it with rice and have the happiest meal of your life.

Now, if you've looked at the above picture, you may be wondering what that food item is on the right side of the picture. Or maybe not, I don't know your life. Anyway, it's Crunchy Thai Salad with Cashews.

Ingredients:
1 English cucumber, chopped up
1 carrot, grated
1 cup whole roasted, unsalted cashews (the original recipe makes a note to use bulk cashews instead of the ones you get in a little bag in the baking aisle because bulk are usually fresher which is such a wonderful little piece of advice)
1/2 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced (or cut into strips lengthwise, if you're in that kind of mood)

Add all of those ingredients into a bowl together. Then make the dressing:

1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, or rice vinegar
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 fresh red chili, de-seeded and minced, OR 1-2 tsp chili sauce, OR!!! 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed chili
1-2 teaspoons white sugar (to taste, I think I usually use two)
pinch of white pepper (or black pepper if that's what you have)

Mix all that shit up, then pour over your vegetables. Toss it up, and serve!!!

Okay, that's enough for today. Hope you're all enjoying your green beer, if that's your thing. And just in case I made you all too happy, I just wanted to let you know that two years ago today I was drinking green beer on a patio. What does grass look like, again?

Love love love

Ashwee