YORK VISION
Tuesday January 27, 2009
the
Hot list SupermarketS Where to go for speciality ingredients in York.
Chi Yip Supermarket George Hudson Street
The place to go in York for South-East Asian ingredients. A huge selection which includes live fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, daily baked goods, huge selection of spices and even specialist kitchen utensils. All prices are very reasonable.
The International Supermarket Hull Road
Not a large store but it carries all basic Thai store cupboard essentials, such as rice wine, fish sauce, tinned water chestnuts, fresh pak choi, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf. Prices are fair but not cheap.
Costcutter - Campus
Surprising amount of choice, however, most of it is Chinese and Korean. Mostly stocks a large array of instant noodles. Nevertheless, better than you might expect.
Morrisons - Foss Islands
A very poor selection. Brands such as Sharwoods and Blue Dragon tend to dominate, so be prepared for ingredients to be pricier. In terms of fresh produce, I did find one rather unhappy looking pak choi.
LIFESTYLE
21
FOOD&DRINK A TASTE OF THAILAND
Sally Daniels takes a look at Thai cuisine in York and suggests some simple recipes...
T
or expensive. However, most Thai store cupboard essentials are inexpensive and available in abundance in South-East Asian food stores. Even the larger supermarkets are beginning to offer a limited selection of Thai ingredients. So here at Vision we have compiled some simple but tasty Thai recipes to put the spice back into life this January.
THAI STICKY RICE WITH MANGO
THAI GREEN CURRY WITH CHICKEN
If you want to start simple, you couldn’t get much easier than this Thai dessert. Thai sticky rice can even be prepared in the microwave: it's just that simple.
A very popular Thai curry which is simple to prepare and tastes fantastic. If desired, other vegetables can easily be added and cooked in the milk sauce.
hai cusine is well known for its careful balance of flavour. The distinct flavors of Thai cooking come from the indigenous spices and produce such as coconut milk, lemon grass, tamarind, ginger, fish sauce, garlic, turmeric, cumin, green onions and of course the chilli pepper. It is easy to avoid cooking Thai food by thinking the ingredients will be difficult to come by
Ingredients - serves 2 1 cup coconut milk 1 cup sticky rice 1 fresh mango 2tbsp sugar Pinch of salt 1. Soak the rice for 10 mins in a microwavable dish and remember that the water level should be just above the rice. 2. Cover the container and microwave for 3 mins then stir the rice and microwave for a further 3. If the rice is translucent then it is done, if not pop it in for a further 3 mins and keep checking. 3. Heat up the coconut milk, sugar and salt. Pour about ¾ of the mixture over the cooked rice and let it absorb for about a minute. 4. When serving top with the leftover coconut milk mixture and cubes of fresh mango.
Ingredients - serves 4 2tbsp vegetable oil 4 spring onions (chopped) 2tbsp green curry paste 700ml canned coconut milk 1 chicken stock cube 6 chicken breasts - approx 200g (diced) Fresh coriander (chopped) 1 tsp salt Cooked rice or noodles to serve 1. Heat oil in wok. Add onions and stir-fry until they start to soften. 2. Add the curry paste, coconut milk and the stock cube and bring to the boil 3. Add the chicken, half the coriander and the salt and stir well. 4. Reduce and simmer for 8-10 mins until the chicken is cooked through and tender. 5. Serve immediately topped with the remaining coriander and with rice or noodles.
Thide Thai Restaurant
George Hudson Street
Thide already has a good reputation in York; however, that reputation unfortunately goes hand in hand with a rather pricey menu. With an evening meal and wine coming in at just under £25 a head, it is by no means light on the wallet. With this in mind I was especially intrigued when I heard that Thide were offering a bargain lunchtime menu, with a choice of a main course for £4.95 or a starter and a main for only £7.25! I had no choice but to go and find out if these rumours were true. Thide has a lovely relaxed atmosphere, the décor being simplistic but very warm and inviting. The staff are very friendly and polite, giving us plenty of time to read the menu, despite the fact we arrived ten minutes before the end of the lunchtime service. To start I ordered Thoon Thong Pak, which consisted of two pastry parcels filled with minced vegetables, served with sweet chilli dip and a pretty stylised salad. These were subtly seasoned and very fresh with a perfectly crispy pastry shell. Often spring rolls can taste reheated and consequently have a sogginess to them, but this was not the case at Thide, where they were evidently served straight from the pan. For my main, I had Pad Mad Mamong Himmaparn: pork in a sweet tamarind sauce with vegetables and golden cashew nuts served with rice. The pork was perfectly cooked, the vegetables crunchy and the sauce light but packed with flavour. My friends had a Thai Green Curry which was a very generous portion and the other Squid Pad Khing which again seemed far too reasonable for the price. In all, there are about eight choices of main dishes all coming with at least three choices of meat, seafood or vegetables. I would really recommend Thide for vegetarians as there were plenty of meat free options and nearly all the dishes could be adapted to replace meat with vegetables or tofu. Overall this was a lovely dining experience and Thide really is a little lunchtime gem that should be better publicised. I was surprised that on a Saturday we only shared the restaurant with two other diners. Thide's lunch time set menu runs from Monday to Saturday between 12 Sally Daniels and 2.30.
CHICKEN AND PRAWN PAD THAI This delicious meal is nothing like the oily red substance you can get in some English takeaways. Instead, it is light and dry, which is how it is served in the East. This recipe substitutes the traditional tamarind with sweet chilli sauce, which means you can add less sugar. In terms of simplicity, this recipe does require quite a bit of preparation and ingredients, but in terms of cooking time, this dish comes together in less than 10 minutes. Ingredients - serves 4 Chicken marinade (3tbsp dark soy sauce + 1tbsp cornflour) 2 chicken breasts - approx 200g (diced) 150g tiger prawns (shells removed and deveined) 1 red pepper (cut into thin strips) 6 spring onions (cut into batons) 2 handfuls of Beansprouts 2 garlic gloves (minced) 2 shallots (diced) ½ red chilli (deseeded and diced) 1tbsp oil 400g ready cooked thick rice noodles. 2 large eggs Pad Thai sauce (The juice of a fresh lime or 4tbsp lime juice + 4 tbsp sweet chilli dipping sauce + 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce + 1 tbsp of brown sugar) Chopped peanuts Fresh coriander (chopped) 1. Marinade the diced chicken in the soy/cornflour mixture for 3 mins. 2. Make the Pad Thai sauce; combine sweet chilli sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar. Set aside. 3. Sauté the shallots and garlic in the oil for a few minutes. Make sure the wok is very hot. 4. Add the chicken to the wok and cook until sealed. 5. Then add the prawns and chilli and cook until pink. 6. Add the noodles and fry for 2 mins. 7. Add 2 eggs and mix them in until cooked through. 8. Tip in the Pad Thai mixture, add the spring onions and peppers and toss around. Then stir in the beansprouts, half the peanuts and coriander. Cook for 1 minute until everything is heated through. 9. Serve garnished with peanuts and fresh coriander.
Evil Eye Lounge
Stonegate
With its new Thai and Malay chefs and very reasonable prices, Evil Eye is a must for those of you with a love of spice. From my experience, extra chilli is not needed. The Thai measure of 5 chilies to the English 1 is probably being adhered to here, although the food is not so hot that other flavours don’t emerge. The soups, at £6, and in particular the evil ramen, are especially good value for money. Brimming with chicken, beef, shrimp and noodles, these soups are certainly not mere starters. The Thai red and green curries are both delicious and nutritious, and the sticky rice and authentic ‘morning glory’ (yes, that is a Thai dish) are perfect accompaniments. What the head-chef seems to understand is the simplicity of the nature of Thai cuisine. Pad Thai (with shrimp, beef, chicken or vegetables), noodle soup, or curry (with the above options) forms a large basis of what is available. The menu in Evil Eye is by no means limited, with other South East Asian dishes available, but what it does, it does very well. Vegetarians are well catered for too; Masamam, Thai red, yellow and green curries can all be made with a generous helping of fresh vegetables. All ingredients are fresh and I have even been told that some of the more unusual ones are flown in from Thailand... Little needs to be said of the atmosphere in Evil Eye, though for any freshers who have yet to discover the three floors of comfy seating and unusual travellers tokens, the food is not the only reason to go. However, aside from Evil Eye's lofty status among cocktail-loving students, the freshly made curries alone are reason enough. Anna Kotenko