Missing travel? So are we! Transport yourself to Thailand’s beautiful beaches with delicious summer recipes that capture the tropical flavours of Thailand using premium Thai products that will certainly become your seasonal staples.
Perfect for cooling down in the sweltering Toronto summer, local mixologist @missrebeccaj’s Thai Colada recipe tastes as good as it looks!
Image courtesy of @cheerstohappyhour
Thai Colada
Ingredients:
2 oz dark rum
2 oz Thai coconut milk
½ fresh chopped mango
1 oz pineapple juice
½ oz basil and lemongrass syrup
Directions:
Blend over ice and serve in hurricane glass.
Garnish with basil and a piece of mango on a cocktail umbrella.
When you’re properly hydrated and ready to move onto dinner, try Toronto Chef Trevor Lui’s Macanese Portuguese Chicken Curry and Summer Tropical Rice recipes from his new cookbook, The Double Happiness Cookbook.
Image by Sonia Wong @saltnpepperhere
“It's one of the most balanced cuisines in the world. Sweet, spicy, sour, salty, almost every flavour component is present in each dish,” notes Chef Trevor Lui regarding Thai cuisine.
Macanese Portuguese Chicken Curry
Ingredients:
3 boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat and cut into bite-size pieces
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tsp table salt, plus more as needed
½ tsp ground turmeric
⅓ cup canola oil
3 cups finely chopped onions
5 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 can or tetra pack of Thai coconut milk (13 ½ oz)
1 ½ tbsp fish sauce, plus extra to taste
1 ½ cups water
1 tsp curry powder (such as Madras)
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp chile oil for garnish
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
1 lime or lemon cut into wedges, for garnish
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine chicken, paprika, salt and turmeric and mix with your hands. Let the chicken marinate while you prepare the other ingredients (or refrigerate for up to 8 hours).
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add onions, reduce heat to medium-low and sauté until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until onions are cooked through and everything is coated in a glossy layer of oil, about 5 minutes more.
Stir in the chicken and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes.
Pour in Thai coconut milk, increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a near boil. Simmer mixture until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Pour in fish sauce and water and bring to a boil. (The broth will thin as the chicken starts to release its juices.)
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the curry has thickened and the flavour has developed, about 50 minutes. (Droplets of paprika-red oil will rise to the surface; this is okay).
Stir in curry powder and cayenne and simmer for 15 minutes more. Remove from heat and let stand for at least 20 minutes for the dish to develop more flavour as it cools.
Season with more salt or fish sauce, if needed. Drizzle chile oil over the top and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with rice (or naan) and wedges of lime (or lemon).
Summer Tropical Rice
Ingredients:
1 cup Thai Hom Mali rice (rinsed well)
¼ tsp salt
½ cup brown or basmati rice (rinsed well)
2 tbsp finely chopped ginger root
¼ cup Thai coconut milk
1 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp finely chopped spring onions
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Cooking tip: Rice blends should be cooked separately as cook time varies with type of rice grain*
Rinse rice thoroughly 3-4 times until water is clear
Cook rice accordingly on your rice cooker setting
Remove rice and place in large bowl and allow to cool to a warm temperature
Add canola oil, mixing rice while applying. Add Thai coconut milk, pouring evenly around the bowl, mixing thoroughly
Add ginger root, scallions and salt & pepper to your personal taste. Mix thoroughly. Garnish optional and serve immediately.
