I really like Thai food and Vietnamese food, is it easy to cook at home?

Question

I really like Thai food and Vietnamese food, is it easy to cook at home?

Answer 1

The pho soup base is difficult to make, but I reguarly make spring (fresh) rolls with noodles, shrimp, basil, lettuce and such.  

Pad thai is suprisingly easy.

The only thing that bothers me is having to smell the fish sauce before cooking.  Once its cooked and in the food I dont mind it (most thai and viet cuisine uses fish sauce) but keeping it in the cupboard and opening the the bottle is unpleasant.  

Happy cooking!

Answer 2

I think the most difficult part of any Asian cooking is the prep.  Cutting all the vegetables and getting everythign ready.  Once that is done, everything else is completed relatively quickly.

Answer 3

Here a easy way for you to start with

http://thaifood.about.com/od/oodlesofnoo...

Answer 4

I LOVE Thai food as well, and have only had a few Vietnamese dishes.  But I have cooked my own Thai food at home, it's relatively easy if you can find the right ingredients.  Check out this website... www.thaifoodtonight.com  They are a mother and daughter duo that teach basic but DELICIOUS Thai dishes you can make at home.  I don't know about you , but I learn best by watching..so this hits the spot.  Good luck!!

Answer 5

Easy if there is an Asian market close by where you live.  There are a lot of ready made sauces or soup bases, you just add the noodles or meat or vegetables.

Thai & Vietnamese food use herbs and spices.  But you can easily find them in Supermarket.

Answer 6

There are a lot of Vietnamese dishes that are simple. Some of these are:

1) Boild chicken served with shredded lime leaves and the the mixture of salt+pepper (ground)+ lemon water (a very little).

2) Tofu and Chive Soup with Shrimp

1/2 block soft tofu, cut into bite cubes

1 cup chive, cut into 2-inches length

5-6 shrimps, shelled, deveined and minced

fish sauce, salt, sugar and pepper

Bring some water to boil over medium high heat, add minced shrimp (break into small pieces), bring back to boil, skim off foam. Add tofu, bring back to boil. Add chive and season with fish sauce, a pinch of sugar, salt and fresh ground pepper.

3) Stuffed Hairy Gourd Soup

1/2 small hairy gourd

8 shrimps, shelled, deveined, minced

2 sprigs cilantro, 1 green onion

Salt and pepper

Season minced shrimp with salt and pepper.

Peel and cut gourd into 6 rings, scoop out the seeds from the rings, stuff with shrimp paste.

Put the stuffed rings into a small sauce pan, cover enough water, bring to boil over medium high heat. Clean foam that rises. Reduce heat and let it cook until the gourd is soft and translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Add chopped green onion and garnish with some cilantro, serve.

4) Fried tofu in onion sauce

1 block firm tofu

3 green onion, finely chopped

2 T fish sauce (or to taste)

6 T boiling water

1-2 T sugar (or to taste)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Heat oil in a medium pan over medium heat.

Cut tofu into medium thin pieces.

Fry both sides until golden brown.

Disolve sugar in boiling water, add fish sauce and onion then microwave for 30 secs.

Soak the fried tofu into onion sauce then remove them quickly, sprinkle onion on top. Serve hot with white rice.

5) Fried Catfish with Ginger Lime Dipping Sauce

Serves 4 to 6

Chubby 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

5 tablespoons fresh lime juice (2 or 3 limes)

21/2 tablespoons sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce

2 pounds catfish fillet

1/4 cup cornstarch, potato starch or tapioca starch

Canola or corn oil, for deep frying

1. Make the dipping sauce first. In a small bowl, combine the ginger, lime juice, and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Taste and adjust the flavors with more lime sugar or sugar as needed. The ginger and lime should both be prominent, but not to the point that they make you wince and pucker. Add the fish sauce, starting out with 2 tablespoons and adding more as your palate dictates. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the ginger bloom before serving.

2. Blot the fish dry with paper towel and then cut each fillet into squarish pieces, each about 2 by 2 inches big.

3. Use a medium saucepan, flat-bottomed wok, deep skillet, or 5-quart Dutch oven to fry the fish in. Pour in the oil to a depth of 3/4 to 1 inch and heat over medium-high heat to about 350ºF on a deep-fry thermometer. (If you don't have a deep-fry thermometer, stick a dry bamboo chopstick into the oil; if bubbles rise immediately to the surface, the oil is ready. )

4. As the oil heats up, toss the fish in the cornstarch, lightly tapping off the excess. Working in batches, slide the fish into the oil and fry for 2 to 4 minutes, flipping midway, until the fish is golden and lightly crisp. Scoop from the oil and drain on paper towel or a rack placed inside a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining fish. When you're about to serve, if any pieces of fish have softened, briefly refry them to crisp them up. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

6) Roasted Chicken Breast in Coconut Juice

2 chicken breast halves (skin-on, bone-in), cut into 6 pieces

6 boiler onions

1 pack baby portabella mushrooms

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 garlic, finely chopped

4 sprigs of cilantro, finely chopped

1 cup coconut juice

1 T white wine

soy sauce, salt, pepper, oil, butter, cornstarch

Soak chicken in coconut juice for 1 hr, remove and reserve juice for later use.

Season chicken with salt, pepper and soy sauce.

Clean and wash mushrooms and bolier onions throroughly.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat oil and butter and brown the chicken breast over medium heat, 3-5 minutes each side. The coconut juice will give the chicken a nice golden brown color. Place chicken in the oven for 5-10 more minutes.

Meanwhile, add more butter into the skillet and saute the boiler onions until golden brown, set aside. Add more butter in, add shallot and garlic and cook until fragant. Add mushroom and stir to cook until nice and soft, salt and pepper to taste, add boiler onions back in. Pour in the coconut juice, bring to a boil. Add chicken in with the brown juice from roasting. Add wine. Thicken the sauce with 1/2 t cornstarch. Add more salt and soy sauce to taste, turning the chicken to coat with sauce. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro and fresh ground pepper on top then serve.

To find more, please contact me via email.

Answer 7

Its not hard at all, its just difficult to find all the ingredients (such as Kaffir lime leaves and galangal) unless you live near a good Asian market. I use the website below to get great, easy Thai recipes. Everything I've made has been delicious. You also can get everything you could ever need to make Thai food from this website if you don't have access to an Asian market.