We really love having dinner parties! It's a fun way to express creativity when creating the menu and setting the table. This month, we hosted a fun Thai themed dinner party. I've been wanting the chance to practice the Thai cooking I've been practicing and this was the perfect opportunity.
Fischer helped me this week make the gold glittered mason jars by painting the inside of the jars with modge podge and rolling gold glitter around inside the jars and letting them dry. Then I just lit tea lights inside of them and they glowed beautifully.
For my table settings, I kind of used a mix of my own china as well as some wooden bowls from Thailand that I borrowed from my Mom. The chop sticks were mainly for looks at the Thai people don't typically use them, main just a fork and a spoon. But the chop sticks ARE actually from Thailand that Kyle brought back with him on his last trip so I chose to use them anyway :). The Bamboo place mats I found at the Dollar Tree (Yep, that's right... $1 each) back ten years ago in my first year of marriage! I use them all the time and LOVE them. And the table runner I got when I was in Thailand back in 2006.
My friend Molly has been teaching me how to cook some Thai dishes.I love Thai food so much but I'm not always the best chef in the kitchen and needed some help. Our kids go to the same schools and our paths keep intersecting and so one day I just asked her if she would help me and she agreed! My favorite part of cooking lessons with her though, has been becoming such great friends with her. We have the sweetest time together and then the icing on the cake is me learning how to to make some yummy dishes!
My dinner party menu consisted of:
- Beef Satay w/Thai Peanut Sauce (I forgot to get a picture, but you can find a great recipe here)
- Masamaan Curry Chicken (A Mild Yellow Curry Sauce) **Recipe Below**
- Chicken Fried Rice
Sauces and Sides:
-Thai Peanut Sauce
-Stir Fry Sauce
-Thai "Wai Wai" Noodles
-Roasted Peanuts
(These three things are what my Granny always serves Curry with so I felt like I should have them too.)
For dessert I served a fruit salad with some exotic fruit I found at the local Asian market: Dragon fruit, Rumbuton, and Logan fruit with Ice Cream (I looked for coconut ice cream but couldn't find any, so I just had vanilla).
Fried Rice Tips:
Everyone has their own recipes that they love for fried rice, and I had one tried and true I had been using for years. But I asked Molly to teach me how to make it better because hers tasted like what I ate in Thailand or a good, authentic restaurant and mine tasted like, well hamburger meat with soy sauce and some rice.
Molly's tips are:
- Use a good sauce made up of: Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce, and Oyster sauce. Start with 2 tbsp of Soy and 1 of the fist and oyster and add little bits at a time to taste. This sauce makes a huge difference!
- Use half white, half brown rice. Under cook both before you fry it in your wok or pan. Because you are cooking it again, it will help it not end up mushy if you undercook it whenever you first boil it.
- As you are frying, toss the rice (eggs, veggies, and meat) as you would a salad while it sizzles and cooks over medium heat.
- Add the sauce sparingly to taste
Molly's Massaman Curry Chicken Recipe
(serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
**Do not be afraid of these ingredients, if you don't know what they are or cannot find them in your local grocery store, you can order them on Amazon or check a local Asian Market... don't be afraid of it either!**
2-3 Chicken breasts, sliced 1inch
3 cups of coconut milk (more if needed)
1 large spanish onion sliced (1/4 cup)
4-5 Potatoes peeled, quartered, and boiled
3 large carrots peeled, sliced and boiled
2 tbsp roasted peanuts (optional)
3 kaffir lime leaves
3 tbsp massaman (yellow) curry paste
1/4 cup fish sauce (more to taste)
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup chicken broth
Directions:
1) Heat oil and cocunut cream (the thick part at the top of the can of coconut milk) in a frying pan until oil appears on surface, then add the massaman curry paste and cook until fragrant.
2) Place the remaining coconut milk in a large pot with the chicken and simmer until tender.
3) Combine the massaman curry suace, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, sugar and chicken broth potatoes, carrots and onions.
4). Heat to boiling and cook for 5-10 minutes.
5) Adjust taste and add more fish sauce if needed.
6) Serve over rice and enjoy!
It was such a fun and delicious dinner party! You should try it and let me know how it goes!
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