THE EVERYTHING® THAI COOKBOOK (38 page)

1. Place all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake well to combine.
   
2. Serve over crushed ice and garnish with a sprig of mint if desired.
   

Pass on the Wine

Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage served with Thai food. Three brands are domestically brewed—Singha, Amarit, and Kloster. In each case, the barley is homegrown, but the hops come from Germany.

1 whole ripe pineapple

1 bottle dark rum

1 bottle light rum

1 bottle coconut rum

3 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, cut into 3-inch lengths and tied in a bundle

1. Remove the pineapple greens and then quarter the remaining fruit. Place the pineapple quarters and the lemongrass bundle in a container large enough to hold all of the liquor.
   
2. Pour the rums over the fruit and stir to combine. Cover the container and let infuse for at least 1 week at room temperature.
   
3. Remove the lemongrass bundle and discard.
   
4. Remove the pineapple quarters and cut into slices for garnish.
   
5. To serve, pour some of the rum into a martini shaker filled with ice; shake well. Pour into martini glasses and garnish with a pineapple slice.
   

What Not to Eat

Lime leaves, lemongrass, and Siamese ginger are all great flavoring agents, but they are really difficult to chew. Don't eat them.

1 small mango, papaya, banana, or other tropical fruit, peeled and roughly chopped (reserve a bit for garnish if desired)

4 tablespoons lime or lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1∕ cups orange or grapefruit juice

1∕ cups pineapple juice

–½ cup (or to taste) rum

1. Place the chopped fruit, lime juice, ginger, and sugar in a blender and process until smooth.
   
2. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and process until well combined.
   
3. To serve, pour over crushed ice and decorate with fruit slices of your choice.
   

2 tablespoons puréed mango

1 teaspoon mango schnapps

(optional)

½ teaspoon lemon juice

Chilled champagne

Place the mango purée, mango schnapps, and lemon juice in a champagne flute. Fill the flute with champagne and stir.

1–2 teaspoons creème de mango or mango schnapps

Chilled dry champagne

Pour the creème into a champagne flute and fill with champagne.

Wine Choices

Pairing wine with Thai food is not an easy endeavor because of the complexity of flavors that appear in a single dish. Sparkling wine or champagne act to quell a bit of the fire. (As does a cold glass of beer!) Slightly chilled Alsacian-style Rieslings, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Blanc can also do the trick. If you are absolutely set on drinking red, please do. Try a full-flavored, yet fruity, wine such as a Zinfandel. Or if you want a cold glass of red, chill a bottle of Beaujolais. Its low tannins help offset the heat of the chilies.

Thai-Inspired Cooking

1 pound thin carrots, peeled and cut into quarters lengthwise

4 tablespoons water

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

–¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½–½ teaspoons paprika

½–1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

1. 1. Place the carrots in a pan large enough to hold them comfortably.
   
2. Cover the carrots with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Drain the carrots and return them to the pan.
   
3. Add the 4 tablespoons of water, the olive oil, and the garlic; bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until just tender. Drain.
   
4. In a small bowl, stir together remaining ingredients; pour over the carrots, tossing to coat.
   
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
   
6. The carrots may be eaten immediately, but develop a richer flavor if allowed to marinate for a few hours.