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This is my version of a spicy calamari I had at a new Thai restaurant in Chatham- Thai Passion. I reviewed it a couple weeks ago.

This salad got my attention- it was fabulous- although I realized it was a bit over the top with the flavoring. I really enjoyed it but while I was trying to decide how to replicate this salad, I decided to tone it down a bit. At the same time, I didn’t want to lose the essence of the dish- which was a lot of spicy, savory, tangy and a bit of sweet. Writing about it makes me want to eat some- my mouth is salivating. If you live in the area- you should go try it in Chatham. If you don’t live in the Jersey area, try the recipe I have created.

As I mentioned before, this version is a bit toned down. I used tamarind concentrate, lime juice,Worcestershire sauce, palm sugar, sriracha sauce, etc. Once the dressing was made, all I had to do was to cook the calamari. I will attach the video that goes with this recipe.

Try this salad- it is a great dish to make in the summer time…

• ¼ pound calamari, defrosted and cut into ½ inch rings
• 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Heat a non-stick frying pan and add the olive oil on high heat. Add the calamari and sprinkle salt. Saute on high heat for two minutes just until the rings turn opaque. Turn the heat off and drain on a paper towel.

• 2 cups mixed greens
• ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
• ½ cup green beans, blanched
• 1 medium tomato, cut into 1-inch squares

Toss the mixed greens with the basil, mint, green beans and tomato. Add the calamari and mix well.

Vinaigrette

• ½ teaspoon tamarind concentrate
• Juice of half a lime
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon tamari
• 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil

Add the tamarind, limejuice, Worcestershire sauce, tamari, fish sauce, sriracha and palm sugar into a small bowl. Drizzle the olive oil while whisking the dressing. Pour the dressing on top of the salad and toss lightly before serving.

Since I was cooking the tofu pad thai, I decided to make a curry to go with it. I used similar ingredients to the pad thai including tamari, tamarind concentrate and palm sugar.

I marinated the shrimp simply in garlic and tamari. Tamari is a great ingredient that provides a delicious saltiness to any dish. It is a more concentrated version of soy sauce so a little goes a long way.

I used a yellow onion and lemon grass for extra flavor and coconut milk provided a delicious creaminess even though I used light coconut milk. I always have it on hand and I end up using it for a lot of dishes including rice.

The curry was really good and complemented the pad thai really well. It would go really well with just plain rice since it has a lot of flavor on it’s own.

Try this easy coconut shrimp curry next time you are in the mood for Thai food…
Click here for the recipe… »

I made this dish after reviewing a restaurant Nine Thai in Chatham, NJ. It was a really good restaurant with a friendly staff and great food. I gave it a great review and decided to replicate their pad thai at home.

I have been eating pad thai for years now and love ordering it at restaurants. I have always thought this dish as extremely complicated and hard to make.

Since I had to replicate a dish, I decided to take this one on. After a bit of research, I realized the noodle dish is really not hard to make- it just has a lot of ingredients. Once you have them on hand- it doesn’t take that long. You can control the amount of fat and salt when you make popular take out dishes at home.

In this case, I made it super healthy with tofu, bean sprouts and garlic chives. I had most of the ingredients at home- like tamarind, fish sauce, tamari, etc. I decided not to add any meat but it will be delicious with chicken or shrimp.

If you love eating pad thai in a restaurant, definitely make this homemade version- it is delicious.

• 10 oz extra firm tofu, cut into thin strips about an inch long
• 2 teaspoons tamari

Place the tofu strips in a zip lock bag with the tamari and marinate for 2 to 3 hours.

• ½ pound rice noodles- soaked in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain and keep aside.

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons palm sugar
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 1 teaspoon chili paste with garlic

Mix the tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar and chili paste in a small bowl and keep aside,

• 3 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• 2 medium shallots, sliced thin
• 3 green onions, chopped (white parts only- save the green parts for the garnish)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup garlic chives, cut into 1 inch long segments (optional)
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 2 eggs, beaten with 1 teaspoon salt

Garnish

• 1 cup chopped salted roasted peanuts
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped (the green parts only)
• One lime cut into wedges

In a large frying pan or a wok like sauce pan heat the olive oil and add the marinated tofu. Saute on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or till the tofu is golden brown. Add the shallots, white parts of the green onions and garlic. Saute on medium high heat for a minute. Add the garlic chives and sprouts and mix well. Move all the mixture to the side of the pan and make a well in the middle. Drop the eggs and scramble for 30 seconds and then mix with the rest of the mixture. Add the drained noodles and mix well. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tamarind mixture and mix well. Add the peanuts, cilantro and green onions. Mix well and check for seasonings. Squeeze the lime and serve.

This is a great way to use up leftovers. I had quite a bit of the potato salad left over from the Thai themed barbecue. I wasn’t sure what to do with so much potato salad.

As I was thinking, potato cakes came to mind- especially since I also had the leftover mango salsa.

I added panko bread crumbs, an egg and some cheddar cheese to the salad and mixed it all really well. I shaped them into small cakes and sauteed them with a little oil. It took almost no time to make- and so easy. The best part was that they tasted delicious with the mango salsa. For myself I drizzled a bit of sriracha sauce which added a nice tangy, spicy aspect to the dish.

We had the potato cakes for lunch. I made a salad on the side- perfect for a weekend meal.
Click here for the recipe… »

I am all for making things from scratch but I do like to use all the conveniences I can find at the store. For this recipe I bought packaged, shredded cabbage, carrots and broccoli slaw. It saved me a ton of time and made everything a lot easier.

To complete a well-balanced menu, I was going to make a coleslaw dish with the Thai style burgers and potato salad. The recent Bon Appetit issue had a whole article on tamarind and it’s virtues. I am quite familiar with tamarind as I use it for all different things including using it in drinks, dressings and as a condiment.

They talked about pairing yogurt with tamarind concentrate to make a delicious, tangy dressing. I added my own twist by adding roasted cumin to the creamy dressing which gave the dish a nice nutty flavor. Overall, the dish went well with the burger and the potato salad.

What else do you need? Yes, I know what you are thinking- where is the dessert??? Stay tuned for tomorrow and you will have a great recipe for a dessert as well…
Click here for the recipe… »