Because Everybody Likes to Eat

This week we enjoyed a visit from our favourite Swede! Henrik relocated to Singapore late last year and decided to come and see our babies (yes, they're our babies, what are you going to do about it?) here in Pattaya. First off, he came bearing gifts -- 1.2 kg of Swedish Daim chocolates, to be exact. We had Starbucks every day, had loads of fun with the babies, and generally enjoyed the company of a great friend. Thanks for the visit, Henke!
On Wednesday we "helped" our English students prepare another meal. This time, we made Thai food -- green papaya salad and a noodle-fish salad. It was a perfect day -- it was hot, as usual here, but not stifling. The sun was shining, and the breeze felt cool(ish) instead of searing for a change. The air was filled with the sounds of twenty children yielding kitchen knives and other sharp implements. Papayas, tomatoes, and onions were chopped. Chilis were pounded. Fish sauce was poured. More chilis were added. Peanuts were crushed. Everything was mixed together in a fantastically sweet, sour, salty, spicy dish and devoured. Then we ate sweet sticky rice with mango. A lot of sticky rice with mango.

Green Papaya Salad (2 servings):

• 1 1/2 tbsp palm sugar
• juice of one lime
  
• 2 cups shredded green papaya
• 1 cup shredded carrot
  
• 6 green beans, chopped into 1" sections
  
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp dried shrimp
• 2 chili peppers
• 5 cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed roughly

We started by crushing the garlic, chili peppers, and green beans with a mortar and pestle. Then we added the sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, and dried shrimp. Then we added the papaya, carrot, and peanuts and mixed thoroughly. Yum.

Sticky Rice With Mango (6 servings):

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and sliced
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup glutinous (short grain) rice
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 pinch of salt

Soak the rice in water for at least one hour or preferably overnight. In Thailand, sticky rice is traditionally steamed in a basket over a pot of boiling water, but a rice cooker will do the job nicely. While the rice is cooking, simmer the coconut milk with sugar (don't boil, as the coconut milk will curdle.) Once the rice is cooked, pour 3/4 of the coconut milk over the rice and mix. Let sit. Save the remaining 1/4 of the coconut milk over the rice just before serving with the mango.

This is supposed to be a recipe for six, but in our case it's a recipe for two (or in BG's case... one.)

Finally, here's a recipe for BG's favourite Thai dish. No big surprises here!