Thai Basil Fried Rice

Blogging after a long gap, cooking after eons - life has changed in more ways than one. I am now Mrs S. S has featured in this blog as my guinea pig and now he doesn't really have a choice :) I have resumed work now and things are getting a little hectic. It's a little chaotic to balance work and home, especially when everything is new - new maid, new house, new city, new husband, new work place. And cooking keeps the sanity intact.

On a recent trip to the grocery, I chanced upon fresh rosemary, sage, Thai basil and beautiful fresh red chillies. And it's tempting when you have the choicest stuff sitting atop the kitchen counter.

Ingredients:

Fresh basil - 1/2 cup

Rice - 1 cup (cooked and cooled. Recommended to use jasmine rice but feel free to use what is available)

Peppers - finely sliced - various colors

Beans - finely sliced - 100 gm

Onion - 1 - finely sliced

Fresh red chilli - 4 - finely sliced

Soy sauce - 2 tsp

Garlic - 2 pods - chopped finely 

Method

Add a little oil in a wok. When it's hot, add red chilli and garlic and stir fry until the garlic browns. Add the peppers and beans and stiry fry. Add the soy sauce. Keep frying until the beans are tender but not overcooked. Add the onions and stir fry for about 30 seconds until they are cooked but retain the crunch. 

Fluff up the rice and add to the above. Stir well. Add the basil and turn off the heat. Give it a thorough mix and serve with lots of love. 

Serving suggestion: Thai green curry / Thai red curry

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The Grand Siam - RK Salai

My first CFG Showcase for the year wasn't what I expected. It was the usual group of 20 people - some that I were meeting after what felt like eons!

Let me cut to the chase. The ambiance was great, brightly lit (not jarringly bright but not dull that you couldn't see what was on your plate), mild music in the background and Buddhas all around. (Aarti - PhD please)

There were 2 welcome drinks - the first was a Siam Sparkle (or so I heard) with a rich taste and aroma of ginger was the perfect way to start the evening. Unfortunately, it was a downward spiral after that. The next welcome drink was a pink colored juice (Couldn't quite recollect the name here)

As we were seated in a longish table, the 6 vegetarians took one side and left the rest of the group to occupy a larger part. 

This is going to be a vegetarian's view of what we were served. 

The typical Thai appetizer arrived. A platter of peanuts, onions, lemon, ginger, coconut and the red chili with a sweet sour sauce and spinach leaves. (I almost felt like singing - vethala potta shokkula...)

The tom yum soup was spicy and I love the spice in a Thai soup - the flavor of galangal and chili that hits the spot right there. Sadly the vegetables weren't fresh. The broccoli was yellowed in parts and the mushroom was perhaps not the freshest out there.

Next to arrive were the starters - a platter of fried corn, barbecued mushrooms, spring rolls and raw mango salad. The raw mango salad was delightful with the mild tang of mango offset with the sweet and sour dressing. The barbecued mushrooms were burnt, and the spring rolls tasted good when eaten with the peanut sauce.

As we waited for the main course to be brought in, it appeared as though they'd forgotten the vegetarians. The non vegetarian section was in full flow, bowls after bowls and platters after platters. And finally, our turn came. Jasmine rice, thai green curry, stir fry salad, fried potato and baby corn and a vegetable stir fry made a beeline to the table, in no particular order - everything came at one shot. Spacing between these dishes is a must if the palate has to enjoy the taste and flavor of every dish. 

My pick of this lot is the stir fry salad with the tofu and sprouted beans. The rest were pretty bland, the flavor was missing and the vegetables didn't look or taste fresh.

We pushed the food around the plate for a bit and enjoyed some brilliant conversation about some old movies. 

The plates were cleared and some lemongrass tea was brought in. The first cuppa was lukewarm but the second cup was hot and flavorful.

And finally, the most awaited part of any dinner - the dessert - water chestnut in coconut milk. I ate a couple of spoonfuls. Just that I have had better ones.

Vegetarian Toothpicks ;-)

The service certainly has a lot of scope for improvement as some seats went without plates and servings for long. The timing between courses needs to be spaced properly. These are some small things that would go a long way in attracting various types of crowd.

As we discussed the food, it appears that the non vegetarian dishes have fared marginally better than their vegetarian counterparts.

*This blog post is part of the CFG Showcase. 

** A meal for two could cost you INR 700 upwards. The menu shown above is a set menu priced at INR 550

** Grand Siam is located in RK Salai, near Duchess and Kabul.

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