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Underwater Chicken
Underwater Chicken
You won’t find underwater chicken on a Thai menu. This dish is typically found in the rural countryside. Some real Thai home cookin. The chicken is marinated in soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar; with the addition of lemongrass, garlic, shallots, and chilies that are individually pounded in a mortar with a pestle. So why is it called underwater chicken? Once the pot you’re cooking the chicken in is hot, add the chicken in with all of the marinade ingredients. Then, place a large enough metal bowl filled with cold water over the pot of chicken. The water needs to be changed out every 20 minutes with more cold water. The water should be scooped out instead of taking the bowl off of the pot. You want to keep the steam in. Once finished, scoop out the chicken with a slotted spoon. Strain the stock of the marinade ingredients and eat with the chicken and steamed rice.Lets talk about the science of what’s happening. The purpose of having a bowl of cold water over the pot of chicken is to create low pressure, the exact opposite of a pressure cooker. The chicken and the marinade are added to a dry pot. As the meat is cooking, it releases it’s natural juices. This why you have to use bone in chicken instead of boneless. Boneless = lack of juices. The juices turn into steam. Instead of covering the pot with a lid allowing the steam to release, the bowl of cold water holds in the steam juices, turning into liquid and dripping back down into the chicken. The steam will only condense if the bowl of water is cold. If the water gets hot, the steam will be escape and there will be no juice condensation. This whole process keeps the pot from burning and creates enough juice to braise in. Science.
Ingredients
- 4 bone in chicken thighs skinned, cut into 3-4 pieces
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 stalk lemongrass pounded in a mortar
- 6 slices galangal pounded in a mortar
- 6 garlic cloves pounded in a mortar
- 1 large shallot pounded in a mortar
- 2 Thai chilies pounded in a mortar
- 6 lime leaves torn
Garnish
- lime leaves julienned
Instructions
- Skin your chicken thighs and cut into 3-4 pieces with a clever. Marinate the chicken with the rest of the ingredients for 30 minutes.
- Heat up a pot over medium heat. Pour in the chicken and all of the marinade.
- Place a bowl of cold water on top of the pot. Change out the water every 20 minutes with more cold water. Scoop it out with a bowl instead of lifting it off of the pot. You want to keep the steam in.
- At 60 minutes, take off the bowl of water.
- Scoop out the chicken with a slotted spoon. Serve with steamed rice. Garnish with julienned lime leaves.
Mayak Eggs
Mayak Eggs
Mayak eggs are soft or hard boiled eggs marinated in sweet/salty/spicy marinade. They are always served over steamed rice, with generous amounts of the marinade spooned over the eggs.
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 green onions chopped
- 1 green chili chopped
- 1 red chili chopped
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Add the room temp eggs to a pot of boiling water. Boil for 5-6 minutes for a runny yolk. 8-10 minutes for a hard yolk.
- Run the eggs under cold water. Add ice cubes to help stop the cooking time.
- Mix together the soy sauce, corn syrup, and water.
- Stir in the Thai chilies, garlic, and green onion.
- Peel the eggs. Pour the marinade over the eggs in a container. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- Put 2 eggs over some steamed rice.
- Carefully cut the eggs in half. Spoon over the marinade. Garnish with sesame seeds.
Spicy Garlic Shrimp
Spicy Garlic Shrimp
I’ve been on a chili oil kick. Craving spicy. This happens to be the easiest shrimp recipe you’ll ever make. 5 minutes prep. 4 minutes cooking time. Spicy, sweet, and savory shrimp. Get ready to have your bunghole cauterized. Serve with steamed rice. This would even be tasty tossed in noodles.When choosing shrimp, 31/40 count peeled and deveined shrimp work the best for this type of stir fry. They only require 2 minutes of cooking.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb 31/40 ct. shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 2 tbsp chili oil
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 green onion chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
Garnish
- fried shallots
- fried garlic
Instructions
- Mix together the chili oil, oyster sauce, and honey. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a large sauté pan over high heat. Sauté the garlic for 30 seconds.
- Add the shrimp. Cook for 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pan with the cooking wine. Stir in the sauce. Cook for 1 more minute.
- Add in the green onion and cilantro. Turn off the heat.
- Garnish with fried shallots and garlic.
