Nam Tok Neua or Waterfall Beef

Nam Tok (literally, waterfall) is the North Eastern Thai or Isan food. The name “Nam Tok Neua”, or “waterfall beef” refers to the juices that flow out of the meat when it is cut, due to its being lightly grilled and so slightly rare in the center.

It is a popular Thai dish in among North Eastern Thai people or beef lovers. Actually most of the ingredients for Nam Tok are the same as “Laab” accept the meat and the process of cooking the meat is different. We use chopped meat in Laab and cook with the small amount of water in a pot. For Nam Tok, we use a big piece of meat and use grilling as the process of cooking.

For 2 servings

Ingredients

280 - 300 g.                 Beef loin (sirloin, tenderloin) or rib eye steak

1 - 2 cloves                  Garlic, chopped fine

Pinch of salt

1 tsp                             Sugar

1 tsp                            Vegetable oil (optional, if the meat has not much fat)

1 tsp                            Oyster sauce

½ tsp                           Soy sauce

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15 leaves                     Mints

4 - 5 leaves                 Culantro ( Eryngium foetidum leaves ) cut into ¼ inch long

4 - 5 leaves                 Kaffir lime leaves, cut into thin stripes

1 tbsp                         Galangal, chopped fine

2                                  Shallots, slice thin

1 ½ tbsp                     Lemongrass, chopped fine

1 tbsp                         Ground roasted sticky rice

½ tsp                          Ground Thai chili pepper (adjustable)

1 – 1½ tbsp               Fish sauce (adjustable, different brand of fish sauce has different level of sodium)

1 – 1 ½ tbsp              Lime juice

2 – 3 tbsp                 Chicken broth or beef broth (optional, if the mixture is too dry)

Vegetable Side Dish

(These vegetables are not processed; they are just plain fresh vegetables. We use them for breaking the feeling of hot and spicy on the tongue from a spicy food and at the same time we can get more nutrition from the vegetables beside from the meat and herbs in the mixture.)

  

Cabbage or Chinese Napa

Snake beans

Or any salad vegetable (like lettuce or cucumber) 

                            You can also follow the instructions from this video!

Instructions

1. Marinate beef with garlic, salt, sugar, (oil,) oyster sauce and soy sauce for at least ½ hour.
2. Grill the meat on charcoal, on gas or (broil) in oven until brown on both sides and the meat medium rare to medium cooked.
3. Slice the meat into ¼ inch thick and remove to the mixing bowl.
4. Add fish sauce, lime juice, beef broth, ground chili, ground roasted sticky rice, mints, cilantro, galangal, shallot, and lemongrass. Mix all well.
5. Add fresh vegetables on the side of the mixture and serve with hot sticky rice.

Gai Yang Ta Krai or Chicken Lemongrass Skewers

Gai Yang Ta Krai or Chicken Lemongrass Skewers is another outdoor summer food, but you can still have this dish on a rainy day by using oven grill or pan grill. You can have different kinds of meat for this dish – like pork, lamb or beef. The overall process of making this dish is pretty easy.

If you have the fat lemongrass then you can cut the lemongrass into half lengthwise, it is good in a way so you can get more favour and scent from lemongrass on your meat.

Ingredients

2              Large skinless boneless chicken breast (about 500 g) cut into chunks (³⁄₄” x 2” x 2 ½“)

6              Lemongrass, cut into 6 -7 inches long

3 cloves  Garlic 

Lemongrass sticks

3              Coriander roots

1 tsp        Fresh ground pepper

1 tsp        Crashed coriander seeds

¹⁄₃ tsp      Salt

1 tbsp      Honey or palm sugar
2 tbsp      Thick cream of Coconut milk

2 tbsp      Soy sauce

1 tbsp      Oyster sauce

1 tbsp       Vegetable oil

Instruction

1. Pound garlic, coriander roots with mortar and pestle or chop very fine.
2. Marinate chicken with garlic, coriander roots, ground pepper, crashed coriander seeds, soy sauce, salt, honey or palm sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, oil and water  for 2 -3 hours.
3. Cut lemongrass into 6 -7 inches, and cut the smaller end of each lemongrass into pointy shapes.
4. Thread the meat into the lemongrass sticks – 3 pieces for each stick until finish all and ready to grill.

   

   Skewers on charcoal

5. Serve with Cucumber pickles (see recipe) and steamed rice or sticky rice, and or just serve with cold beer.

Moo Daet Diao or Thai Style Pork Jerky

Moo Daet Diao (literally, a day of sunshine pork) is Thai style pork jerky. We have two different kinds of pork and beef jerky in Thailand, the first one we can find in China town, on Yaowarach road, this one we don’t call Moo Daet Diao but it is called Moo Pen, means pork sheets, this Moo Pen is sweet jerky. Pork and beef jerky in China town, Bangkok has been selling for nearly hundred years and has been very popular. I remember when I was a child living in Southern Thailand, every Chinese New Year my young adult brother or sister who worked in Bangkokwould come home and bring us pork jerky in the red bright colourful tins. Nowadays you can find pork and beef jerky from Chinatown at the luxury shopping centers in Bangkokor other big cities and also it is one of the most popular souvenirs for the tourists who visit Chinatown in Bangkok.

The other one, Moo Daet Diao, is normally found at Som Tum vendors or Issan style restaurants. Som Tum or Papaya salad is one of Issan or North-Eastern Thai food so it is understood that Moo Daet Diao is Issan or North-Eastern Thai food. North-Eastern of Thailand is a biggest part of the country and is a flat land, growing rice is main economic activity, and majority of population are farmers. This Moo Daet Diao is perfect food for the farmers base on the style of work in the field all day and tropical climate which is warm all round year so they need the food that will not go bad easily, and they use a few ingredients like fish sauce and salt as the preservatives and flavour.

And for restaurants and street vendors, they develop the simple Moo Daet Diao from upcountry to be more cities’ style with more flavour and taste by adding more kinds and differences of ingredients.

Ingredients

1 kg.              Pork lion, cut into long stripes about ½ inch x ½ inch thick

3 cloves         Garlic, chopped fine

2 tsps            Ground black pepper

3 tsps            Coriander seeds, roughly crushed

4 tbsps          Sugar or Honey

½ tbsp           Salt

2 tbsps          Soy sauce

3 tbsps          Oyster sauce

2 tbsps          Vegetable oil (add this oil if using roasting in oven method)

Vegetable oil for deep frying (deep-frying method)

Instruction

1. Marinate pork with garlic, ground pepper, coriander seeds, sugar or honey, salt, soy sauce, oyster sauce and 2 tbsps oil (add oil in marinade if you bake it in oven) marinate over night in the fridge.
2. Spread on a rack and dry in the sun for a few hours and deep fry in hot oil until nice brown colour. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. OR
3. Bake in oven at 70 °C/160 °F for 3 -4 hours or until cooked.
4. Serve with steamed sticky rice.

Moo Yang

Moo Yang (literally, grilled pork)

Last weekend we had some friends came over. One of the dishes that I made was Moo Yang, and some of my friends asked for the recipe so I just post it here.

Moo Yang is pretty common dish in Thailand and we make this dish for a beer party or any relaxing occasion. You can find Moo Yang at a restaurant too but may not exactly be like my recipe.

The weather is warming up; the BQQ season is coming so this dish is perfect for a nice warm sunny day with friends or family. You may like to try something different - Moo Yang with sticky rice.

Ingredients

 1 kg.              Pork loin,(best with pork loin with some fat) slice into ¾ inch thick (from any size you wish)

4 - 5 cloves    Garlic, chopped and pound with a pestle

4                    Big coriander roots, chopped and pound with a pestle

2 tbsp            Honey or Sugar

½ tsp             Salt

2 tsp              Fresh ground black pepper

2 tbsp            Soy Sauce

1 tbsp            Oyster sauce

2 tbsp            Oil

1 tbsp            Cooking wine

Instruction

1. In a bowl, combine garlic, coriander roots, honey or sugar, salt, ½ tsp ground pepper, soy sauce, oil and cooking wine. Mix well.
2. Add pork into the mixer and coat totally, and grind or sprinkle black pepper on each layer of pork totally and cover with plastic wrap or transfer pork to a bowl with a lid. Marinate over night in the fridge.
3. Grill on charcoal or oven both sides until cooked. (If the pork is very dry you can apply some more oil).
4. Cut into the size you wish and serve with steamed sticky rice.