Prik Nam Pla: The Thai Sauce to Improve Anything
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Shrimp and Andouille Gumbo
Monday, December 8, 2025
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 small cup onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1 small green bell pepper, minced (about 1/2 cup)
2 stalks celery, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1 quart chicken stock or low-sodium broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
1/2 pound fresh okra, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups cooked white rice
Accompaniments:
Hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
About 2 teaspoons filé powder
Preparation
Step 1
In 4-quart heavy stock pot over moderately high heat, heat oil. Reduce heat to moderately low and whisk in flour. Cook, stirring frequently with wooden spoon or heatproof silicone spatula, until mixture becomes dark brown and has intensely nutty aroma, 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 2
Stir in onion, pepper, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables soften, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in stock. Raise heat to moderate and bring to simmer, then reduce heat to moderately low and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until mixture has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 3
Add bay leaves, shrimp, sausage, and okra and simmer, uncovered, until okra is tender, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves and stir in salt, cayenne, and black pepper.
Step 4
Divide rice among 4 large bowls. Ladle gumbo over, and serve with hot sauce and filé powder for sprinkling on top.
Garlic Eggplant & Crispy Tofu
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Stir-fried Chinese eggplant and tofu, tossed in a simple garlicky sauce and topped with green onion.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chinese eggplants (about 2 medium Chinese eggplant), or sub normal eggplant
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- 3 green onions greens and whites separated and sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
- ~¼ cup cornstarch
- veggie oil
- toasted sesame seeds for topping
For Sauce:
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce or sub vegan oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce or sub 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce + 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon black vinegar or sub rice vinegar
- ½ tablespoon ginger paste or fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon MSG optional
Instructions
- Press the tofu in a tofu press, or wrap in paper towels and place under a heavy object for 30 minutes to remove excess moisture. Cut the tofu into ~¾” cubes. Dust the tofu with about 2 tablespoon of cornstarch and toss to fully coat. (For an extra crispy coating, use even more cornstarch on the tofu, about ¼ cup)
- Remove the tops from the Chinese eggplants then quarter them longwise (creating 4 long strips per eggplant). Cut the strips into ½ inch pieces to create many small chunks. Dust the eggplant with about 2 tablespoon of cornstarch and toss to fully coat.
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Heat a swirl of veggie oil over medium-high heat in a wok or large skillet. Add the eggplant chunks and cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is crispy in some places and soft all the way through, about 5-7 minutes. Try to position the eggplant so the cut sides are in contact with the pan. The eggplant will likely absorb the oil, but there's no need to keep adding more. Once cooked, remove to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
5. To the skillet, add another generous swirl of veggie oil. Once warm, add the cubed tofu pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is golden and crispy on most sides, about 10 minutes. Once cooked, remove to a plate.
6. Add a little more oil to the skillet, once warm add the garlic and the whites of the green onion. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the sauce and mix everything together, then add the tofu and eggplant back to the skillet. Remove from heat and mix everything together. Top with the green onion greens and sesame seeds, serve immediately with white rice.
https://www.craftycookbook.com/_print/garlic-eggplant-crispy-tofu
Gahat and
Masoor Ki Dal | Recipe by Chef Ashish Kumar in shudh hindi
Ingredients
· 125 grams (1/2 cup) Gahat (horse gram) dal - soaked
· 50 grams Masoor dal - soaked
· Chopped tomatoes (quantity as desired)
· Salt (to taste)
· Crushed red chili (to taste)
· 1 tablespoon mustard oil
For tempering
· 1 small knob of ginger
· 3-4 large garlic cloves – take more if the size is smaller
· 2 green chilies
· 2 small onions
· Ghee or oil (for tempering)
· 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
· Ginger (crushed, quantity as desired)
· 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
· 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder (optional)
· 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
· Fresh coriander leaves (for garnish)
- Soak
the dals Start with 125 grams (half a cup) of Gahat (horse gram)
dal, soaked overnight. Also, soak 50 grams of Masoor dal.
- Pressure
cook Gahat Dal In a pressure cooker, combine the soaked Gahat dal
with its soaking water, additional water (about three times the dal's
volume), chopped tomatoes, salt, crushed red chili, and a tablespoon of
mustard oil. Pressure cook on medium heat for 20-25 minutes until the dal
is mashable.
- Add
Masoor Dal: Once the Gahat dal is cooked, add the soaked Masoor dal to
the pressure cooker. If needed, add more water. Close the lid and cook for
another 4-5 whistles on medium heat. The dals are cooked separately
because Gahat dal takes longer to cook than Masoor dal, preventing the
Masoor dal from burning.
- Prepare
the tempering : Crush 3-4 large garlic cloves and 2 green chilies
along with small pieces of ginger. Chop two small onions.
- Cook
the tempering: Heat a ladle of ghee (or oil) in an iron pan. Add 1
teaspoon of cumin seeds, then the chopped onions. Sauté on medium heat
until transparent. Add the crushed garlic, ginger, and green chilies, and
sauté for 1 minute.
- Add
spices to tempering : Incorporate 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder,
1 teaspoon of Kashmiri chili powder (optional), and 1/2 teaspoon of
coriander powder. Mix and sauté on low heat for 1 minute.
- Combine
dal with tempering : Add 2-3 ladles of the cooked dal to the
tempering and mix well . Cover and cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes to
enhance flavor and cook out the raw taste of the spices.
- Final
mix: Add the remaining dal to the pan and mix thoroughly (10:36).
Cover and cook on low heat for another 5 minutes.
- Garnish
and serve: Garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (11:20)
and serve hot, ideally with rice or mandua roti (as mentioned in the video
description).
Fish Cutlet | Spiced Fish Cakes | Fish Kabab Recipe | Fish Kebab
Sunday, March 16, 2025
Ingredients for Fish Cutlets:
Fish: Cod, Halibut, - any white boneless fish chunks- 300 gms
To be boiled with w/fish:
- Salt- 1/4 tsp
- Pepper- 1/4 tsp
- Green cardamom-2
- Cloves-2
- Cinnamon, 1” pieces- 2
- Coriander/Cilantro/Parsley leaves- 5-6 sprigs whole
- Boiled potatoes- 2 medium ones (75 gm each)
- Onion, fine chopped- 1 medium
- Ginger, fine chopped- 1” piece
- Green chilies, chopped- 2 small whole chilies
- Coriander/Cilantro or Parsley leaves, fine chopped- 5 tbsp
Spices:
- Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
- Garam Masala powder- 1/2 tsp
- Cumin powder- 1/4 tsp
- Salt - 1 tsp or to taste
- Oil- 3 tbsp
Preparation:
- Boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker till 2 whistles. Let the pressure release, drain the water & allow the potatoes to cool. Alternatively, boil the potatoes in an open sauce pan till tender but not too soft. Drain and allow to cool.
- To boil the fish pieces, place the pieces in a pan, add water sufficient to cover the pieces. Add all the ingredients indicated above. Give a mix and boil the fish pieces till tender. Depending on the type of fish should take 7-8 mins on medium to low heat.
- Once cool, peel the skin & mash both the potatoes & fish pieces separately.
- Fine chop the onion, green chillies, ginger and coriander leaves/ cilantro.
Process:
- Mix the mashed boiled fish and potatoes.
- Add the chopped onions, green chilies, ginger and coriander leaves/ cilantro.
- Add the spice powders and salt. Mix to combine well.
- Take out small portions & form kebabs/patties.
- You should be able to make 8-10 kebabs/paties based on size.
- Now take a frying pan & heat oil & arrange all the kebabs. If required fry in 2 batches.
- Fry on one side on low heat for around 6-7 mins till golden.
- Flip it on the other side & continue to fry for 6-7 mins. If required, keep turning till it is golden/ light brown on both sides.
Link: https://youtu.be/Ur9GG6EPt1c?si=5aQkqptGU5kEQQlV
The larb recipe one FT editor’s been honing for 20 years
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
I have been making this recipe since I came across it in the 2004 Asia cookbook of the British travel writer and photographer Alastair Hendy. We are now blessed with many more cookbooks exploring Asian cuisine. Hendy’s book was a gateway for me though, and this recipe has remained a constant over the past two decades. It is essentially minced meat as a base for the combined zing of lime juice, chilli, fish sauce, lemongrass and Thai basil. Like some of the best dishes, it adapts to personal taste easily. I like mine with some crunch from the toasted ground rice and fried onions. And Thai basil makes a big difference. Drink A crisp, dry Riesling from Clare Valley in South Australia (Tony’s home state). Substitutions Larb is usually made with chicken or pork but most proteins work. Meera Sodha offers a version with oyster mushrooms in her latest book Dinner.
Tip
Fresh lemongrass and lime leaves both freeze well, so buy multiples as you will want to cook this again.
Alastair Hendy’s chicken larb
To serve four
- Quantity Ingredient 2-3 tbs uncooked rice
- 3 sticks of lemongrass, hard outer layers removed
- kaffir lime leaves, stalks removed
- Vegetable or rapeseed oil
- 6 fat cloves of garlic,
- finely sliced 500g minced chicken
- 5 tbs lime juice
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 2 tbs fish sauce
- 2 red chillies, chopped finely (can use more or less according to desire for heat)
- A handful of Thai basil, chopped
- A handful of coriander, chopped
- Fried, crispy chopped onion (shop bought, or sliced shallots fried until crispy)
- Make the toasted rice. Take the raw rice and toast in a dry saucepan until light brown. Then grind in a mortar and pestle, or coffee/spice grinder, to a relatively fine consistency.
- Finely chop the lemongrass and lime leaves, and fry them in oil until a little frazzled or softened.
- Remove them and place on a plate with paper kitchen towel to drain the oil.
- Fry the garlic slices in oil, until golden, taking care not to burn or darken. Then drain on some kitchen towel.
- Fry the minced chicken until cooked through and the liquid from the meat has been reduced.
- Mix the lime juice, caster sugar, fish sauce and chillies together. Mix everything together in a bowl. Adapt to your taste — more chilli or more lime juice etc. Serve with rice.
Recipe information
Total Time
15 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
½ stick (¼ cup) unsalted butter
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
⅛ tsp. kosher salt
⅔ cup aged dark rum
Preparation
Combine ½ stick (¼ cup) unsalted butter, ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg, ¼ tsp. ground cloves, ⅛ tsp. kosher salt, and 2 cups water in a 1½–2-qt. saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and bring just to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, about 10 minutes until fragrant and slightly reduced. Remove from heat and stir in ⅔ cup aged dark rum. Serve hot.
Editor’s note: This hot buttered rum recipe was first printed in the February 2006 issue of ‘Gourmet.’ Head this way for more of our best Christmas cocktails →
Tips from readers:
We've used this recipe exclusively for the last 3 years. It's SO easy and delicious. We discovered that the addition of a splash of cream, half & half or a dollop of whipped cream smoothes it out. This year, we swapped the water for oat milk, just to see what would happen. It was SO mellow! New favorite! Also, I melt the butter with the spices before adding the liquid. I think it makes the spices pop a little more. Perfect winter warm-up drink!
delicious as written but even better if you sub half the water with apple cider (reduce sugar) and add a squeeze of lemon. also tossed in some star anise, yum.
Add a splash of cream/half&half to each cup for extra richness!
Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup(s) (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3/4 Cup(s) firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 Cup(s) granulated sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon(s) vanilla
- 1-1/2 Cup(s) all-purpose flour
- 1 Teaspoon(s) Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
- 1/2 Teaspoon(s) salt (optional)
- 3 Cup(s) Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
- 1 Cup(s) raisins
Cooking Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F.
- In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.
- Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
- Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
- Add oats and raisins; mix well.
- Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
- Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack.
- Cool completely.
- Store tightly covered.
Serving Tips:
Bar Cookies: Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered. 24 BARS.
Variations: Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts. Substitute 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolate pieces for raisins; omit cinnamon. Substitute 1 cup diced dried mixed fruit.
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