Sawadee Ka* - A Night of Thai Food with Friends

Dan and Lisa have been inviting Steve and I over quite often and cooking us some authentic Thai food that they learned to make while they were missionaries in Thailand. I can't tell you how obsessed I have become with Thai food. So when the suggestion came to make Thai food for Secret-Secret I jumped all over that. With apprehension. Only because I wanted to make sure I made something delicious and authentic that Dan and Lisa wouldn't turn their noses up at. Not that they ever would, I was just feeling intimidated since I knew they would make something incredible.

Luckily I got over myself and made one of my husband's favorite dishes: Thai Green Curry. It was spicy and rich and coconutty, just the way we like it. I was so happy to have found frozen kaffir lime leaves at our Asian Supermarket. It really added authenticity.

While peppers are hard to come by in Thailand I added them for color and extra flavor. A more authentic vegetable would have been Thai eggplant, but our local grocery store that usually carries them was fresh out. The bamboo shoots were crunchy and a wonderful addition to the curry.

It was served over fragrant Jasmine rice which is one of my favorite rices.

Lindsey busted out these amazingly flavorful and crispy fish cakes with cucumber/peanut relish.

I had seconds of this it was so good. The warm and crispy fish cake was complimented by the cool and crunchy cucumbers. Just lovely.

While living in Thailand, Dan and Lisa had a favorite restaurant they liked to frequent called Jumbo. They loved it so much, one of their cats is named Jumbo. One of their favorite dishes was called Ba Mee Giao Moo Dang. It's essentially a wonton soup with noodles and bits of pork. They said they used to be able to get a large bowl of this at Jumbo for just $0.60!! They have since learned to make it at home here in Canada, but it's not as cheap or quick to make. They said in Thailand when you ordered a bowl of Ba Mee Giao Moo Dang it was quickly assembled and on your table within 2 minutes. At home, it requires the preparation of about 8 or 9 different elements and becomes an all day affair. But it's sooo good and soooooo worth it!

Dan wouldn't tell us everthing that was in it (he was too busy savoring every bite), but what I do know is that the wontons are made of a pork and shrimp mixture, there was red pork (BBQ'd pork), chinese green vegetables, egg noodles, fried garlic and shrimp crisps on top.

At the table, each person doctored up the flavor by adding sugar.

Fish sauce.

Crushed peanuts.

And chili's.

The addition of these condiments was really what sent the flavor of this dish over the moon. You had to just keep adding and adjusting the flavors until you got it just how you wanted it.

Everyone's loving the Thai feast.

As a refreshing drink after supper, Joel and Lindsey brought young coconuts. Dan busted out his meat cleaver and chopped a hole in the top of it.

Add a couple of straws and you've got some refreshing coconut water to drink. Very earthy and delicious.

For dessert, Lisa made us some Mango with Sticky Rice and Coconut Milk. It may not look like much but it was SO GOOD. The ripe mango is sliced fresh and placed on top of the sticky rice and warm, sweetened coconut milk is drizzled over top. Lisa didn't have an exact recipe but I found one here.

This night was a fantastic way for me to satisfy my strong Thai cravings. Every dish was so scrumptious and you can bet there'll be more Thai food in our future.

What Thai dishes are your favorite?

*By the way, Sawadee Ka is Thai for hello.