Papaya Salad (Som Tam)

 

Five Spice Egg & Pork Belly ( Kai Pa Lo)

Ingredients

Spices
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 10 cilantro stems (or more) save the leaves to add right at the end of cooking
- 8-10 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp clove powder
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 5  pc star anise
- 3-4 Tbsp oil
- 2 lb pork belly cut into 1.5-inch chunks
- 20 boiled and shelled eggs
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce (preferred Thai brand Golden Mountain Sauce)
- 2-3 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 3-4 Tbsp black sweet soy sauce
- 10-11 cups of water
- Jasmine rice for serving the dish with

Instructions

1. Crush coriander seeds, peppercorns, cilantro stems, garlic, and clove powder together and set aside.
2. Use a big wok or a big pot put on a stove use medium heat. Put oil and wait until it gets hot add the crushed spices stir until you sensed add brown sugar stir occasionally don't let it burn.
3. Stir fry pork until it is lightly seared.   Add eggs, add salt, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce gently stir, then add water, star anise, and cinnamon sticks.  Turn the heat on high until the mix is boiling then turn down the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Add cilantro and then serve over a bed of rice. 

Tom Yum Soup

Ingredients:

2 stalks lemongrass sliced
3 Kaffir lime leaves ripped up
2 Thai hot peppers sliced
1 cup of coconut milk
2 cups of water
2 cubes of bouillon
2 cups of sliced beef
1 slice of lime

Instructions:

1. Mix the coconut milk and water in a saucepan then add lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves, and the Thai hot peppers. Bring to a boil.
2. Then add the bouillon and beef.  Cook until the pot comes to a boil again and then turn off the stove.  Do not stir the pot until it boils.
3. Once boiling, remove from the heat and serve in a bowl.  Squeeze lime juice on top.

I did not add galangal because I don't have any. Tom Yum should be sour, spicy, salty, and savory. If you don't have coconut milk, no worries as you can use only the water and that will make clear Tom Yom. If you want to add fish sauce, more hot pepper, or more lime then go for it. For meat, you can use shrimps, chicken, pork or a combination. 
I hope you enjoy the soup. It's very good with ramen noodles or Jasmine rice.

Also, for those of you that are new to these ingredients just be aware that the lemongrass and Kaffir lime leaves are there to add flavor to the dish and are not really meant to be eaten. You can if you want but they are not easy to chew and the flavor might be overwhelming.