Despite the long title, I decided I wanted to make this while browsing through Leela Punyaratabandhu's book Bangkok. Thai food reminds me of Vietnamese food and I was looking to be inspired by new dishes or interesting combinations that I hadn't tried before. Saying that though, clearly I chose the safest recipe in the book. I like to try out safer sounding dishes before trying an unusual one, simply because I don't want to spend a fortune on ingredients for a sub-par dish!
I've never heard of Leela Punyaratabandhu before picking up this book, but after a quick google it appears that she is a food blogger of SheSimmers and although I couldn't find a recipe on her site for this, here is a similar one.
Yay or Nay: Nay
First, let me say that it isn't a nay because it didn't taste good, or that it wasn't easy to cook. It was a tasty enough dinner but it was just OK. I wasn't blown away by it and I wasn't wowed by it either. On the plus side, it was good enough to warrant another try with a different recipe.
As soon as I moved to the U.S. I needed something from home to rustle up dinners while I wasn't working. I remember seeing Jamie do his thing on TV with Gado Gado. It looked delicious on screen and I had never tasted something like this before, so when I needed some inspiration I knew this was the dish to try. First, I had to buy the book, later I realised I could've just looked up the recipe online. Duh! What did we do before the internet?
Yay or Nay: Yay
Sorry, the photos are a little skewed! This was a combo of pictures from my last two tries of this recipes. Obviously the ingredients don't match but that's the beauty of Gado Gado, you can mix and match ingredients BUT keep the dressing the same! I substituted the green beans for Thai basil which I had leftover from Pho (although I think I had some Vietnamese coriander in the first pics). Anywho, it was all good, made even better with the nutty tangy dressing which is the star!!
What a surprise to see a UK TV food personality in my local library! Naturally I quickly borrowed Home Cooking Made Easy to see what I could rustle up! The recipe of Thai Beef Salad caught my husband's eye as he put it, had fish sauce - hmmm haven't heard that one before. Usually fish sauce repulses people but I guess I'm pretty badass at making my mum's nuoc mam!
Yay or Nay: A resounding YAY!
It took a few tries to find the right cut of steak at the supermarket to suit our palates. I bought half sirloin (no idea what cut this is but if anyone can educate me on this!) as opposed to sirloin as it was cheaper! I used coconut oil instead of the vegetable oil and it definitely gives it a pleasant nutty taste that is super mild. Make extra of the dressing as you'll need it to dress everything properly!
