It’s almost the weekend! There are so many great things to look forward to like time with family and some great home cooked meals. Wait! I know what you’re thinking! Before you grab your take out menus and do a quick order for dinner, try these simple Thai recipes. Irene created three Thai-inspired recipes that are ridiculously easy and you will likely have all of the ingredients in your pantries and refrigerators right now! Irene creates these dishes for her family and they are a huge hit with her girls and her often picky husband. Create that weekend take out ambiance by serving these dishes in those cardboard take out boxes that you can find at your local dollar store and serve with chopsticks for some added fun and variation. Here is the menu:
- Thai Mango Salad
- Fresh Spring Rolls /w Peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce
- Egg Noodle Chicken Pad Thai
Sometimes creating food from scratch seems like a daunting task at first glance, however, like my Greek Take Out Menu at Home menu, available here, until you buckle down and try making food from scratch for yourself, you will never realize how easy it could be! And not to mention the cost savings! If you go out and buy some Thai food staples I listed for you below, you will be able to make quick Thai-inspired dishes in a flash any day of the week!
Here are some staples to buy:
- Peanuts
- Fish sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Sesame oil
- Peanut oil
- Brown sugar
- Vermicelli rice noodles
- Egg noodles or rice noodles
- Spring roll wrappers
- Chicken stock
Here is the list of fresh produce (most of these are already in your fridge!):
- Mangos
- Red bell pepper
- Red onion
- Cilantro
- Mint
- Basil
- Green onions
- Limes
- Thai chili pepper
- Garlic
- Cucumber
- Bean sprouts
Proteins (check your freezers!):
- shrimp
- chicken (can substitute with pork, beef or tofu)
My guess is you already have most of these ingredients in your homes. If you don’t, they are readily available at your local grocery store. I hope you enjoy these quick, easy and family friendly recipes that Irene has created for her family and for those of us who are quick to pick up the take out menus, like myself! Please let us know how you like these recipes, we always welcome your feedback.
Warm Regards,
Jules
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Thai Mango Salad
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 large firm Mangos
- 1 red bell pepper
- ½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, stems removed
- 2 tbsp. toasted unsalted peanuts, crushed
- Dressing:
- 2 tbsp. fish sauce
- 4 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 red thai chili pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped
Instructions
- For the dressing, whisk together all ingredients until sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
- For the salad: Core and remove seeds from red bell pepper and thinly slice. Peel and thinly slice mangos lengthwise.
- Add sliced mangos, peppers, red onion and cilantro in a bowl. Toss with dressing and garnish with peanuts and additional cilantro.
- Prep Time: 45 mins
Fresh Spring Rolls with a Peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 12 rolls 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked thin Vermicelli rice noodles, prepared according to package directions
- 18 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked
- ¼ cup english cucumber, cut into matchsticks
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 24 fresh mint leaves
- 24 fresh basil leaves
- 12 medium cilantro sprigs
- Twelve 6-inch spring roll wrappers
- Dipping Sauce:
- ¼ cup hoisin
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- ½ tsp. sesame oil
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped unsalted peanuts
- 1 small red thai chili pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped
Instructions
- For the dipping sauce, whisk together hoisin, garlic, vinegar and sesame oil. Place in a dipping bowl and top with chili’s and peanuts. Set aside.
- For the spring rolls: Cut shrimp in half horizontally and place in a bowl. Arrange your ingredients in the following order, shrimp, rice noodles, basil, mint, cilantro, cucumbers, bean sprouts.
- Place a clean damp kitchen towel on a flat working surface. Fill a wide shallow bowl with hot tap water. Submerge a spring roll wrapper in the bowl with the hot water. Let it soak until soft, about 10 seconds.
- Lay the wrapper down flat on your damp towel. Working quickly as you don’t want the wrapper to dry out, lay 3 shrimp halves in a row, cut side up, just above the center of the wrapper, leaving about 1 inch of space on each side.
- Layer a small portion of rice noodles over the shrimp. Lay two pieces of mint across the noodles. Then lay 2 basil leaves and top with one sprig of cilantro. Lay 3 -4 cucumber match sticks and top with 4 -5 bean sprouts
- Fold the bottom edge of the wrapper on top of the filling. Then tightly but be gentle so you do not tear the wrapper, pull the left edge of the wrapper over the filling and the folded bottom edge, putting pressure on the roll with your fingertips to make the roll as compact as possible.
- Pull and roll the left side over the right side of the wrapper, keeping the filling as compact as possible. Press the edges of the wrapper together to close. Wet a paper towel and cover rolls to keep them from drying out while you roll remaining. Repeat this process until all 12 of the spring rolls are assembled. Serve with the hoisin sauce.
- Prep Time: 45 mins
Egg Noodle Chicken Pad Thai
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 400g wide egg noodle pasta or wide rice noodles
- 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 red Thai chili, seeded, finely chopped
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp. peanut oil or canola
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- ½ cup sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup of cilantro, stems removed
- 2 tbsp. toasted unsalted peanuts, crushed
- Lime wedges
- Sauce:
- 4 tbsp. fish sauce
- 2 tbsp. sodium reduced soy sauce
- Juice from 2 limes
- 3 tbsp. brown sugar
Instructions
- For the sauce, whisk together all ingredients until sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
- For the noodles: Cook as per package instructions (al dente). Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Heat a Wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Add the oil along with the garlic and chili’s. Stir until translucent.
- Add the chicken and stir fry until half way cooked. Add the red pepper and stir fry until chicken is cooked through and red peppers are tender but not too soft.
- Add chicken stock, noodles and sauce. Gently stir fry until well coated. Add fresh basil and stir for another minute until basil softens. Remove from heat, toss in green onions and cilantro. Stir gently and place on platter. Top with peanuts, sprig of cilantro and lime wedges.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
