London is the best city in the world to come back to after travelling. All the best
food and ingredients can be found right here, if you know where to look. Every continent has its ‘satellite’ versions here, from Chinatown to Edgware Road and to the Little Vietnam that’s popped up along Kingsland Road to name but a few. I guarantee if you cook your mates something from a great trip you’ve been on they’ll definitely be round for supper ten times quicker than when you promised to show them your great shots of sunsets, things you found on the beach and 200 shots of sand from your magical camel ride.
LITTLE THAILAND IN EARLS COURT.
There’s a growing number of Thai businesses around Earls Court, little Thai cafes, massage and nail parlours, hairdressers and a great supermarket down Hogarth Road called Art Muay Supermarket, where you can get almost every Thai ingredient possible. They even fly in some of the more obscure fruit and vegetables direct from Thailand. If find yourself on Hogarth Road needing a quick pick me up after some shopping, head to Addys restaurant on Earls Court Road for a noodle soup. Specifically ‘kuey teow ruah’ or riverboat noodles, so called because they were originally sold from boats travelling down the ‘klongs’ or canals of Thailand. Pork blood is used to thicken this soup, but it is just as happily served without for those of you that don’t eat meat. Remember to add the four flavours of, chillies in vinegar, chillies in fish sauce, roasted chilli flakes and sugar to your bowl until you get the correct balance of hot, sour salty and sweet. It feels like being Ko’d by a Thai kick boxer and dying happy. A lot of London’s Thai community are from the poorer North-East part of the country, here sticky rice is a favourite and the food in general is fiendishly hot. This recipe below is another absolute favourite, and one homesick Thais just can’t go long without. It is proper street food and can be found along the side of the road everywhere in Thailand with variations in Laos and Cambodia. Everything you need is readily available at Asian supermarkets. It works great for a picnic and the chicken tastes the most authentic when cooked on a BBQ. Next month Edgeware Road - The best lamb/chicken Schwarma that you can cook in the oven. Proper Moroccan mint tea and Baklava for dessert.
Proper Blow Your Head off Papaya Salad You will need: 3 birds eye chillies (scud missiles, to be authentic leave the green part on for fragrance, to be really authentic add 6 more!) 3 cloves of garlic (no need to peel) 1 tsp sea salt 2 tbsp fish sauce or to taste Juice of one lime 1 tbsp tamarind extract 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar 1 green papaya, peeled and shredded (look for a good firm one, soak in iced water for an even crunchier texture) 6-8 plum tomatoes A small handful of roasted peanuts 2 heaped tbsp dried shrimp (available in packets, jeeny’s is a good brand) 3 string beans torn into inch lengths Method: In a pestle and mortar, roughly pound the garlic, chillies and salt. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind extract and palm sugar. Chop the tomatoes in half against the side of the pestle and gently bruise to release their juices, bash in a little of the papaya strands. Now remove a strand and taste. Does it need more salt from the fish sauce? More chilli? Sweetness from the palm sugar? Or sourness from the lime and tamarind? This is your salad, and only you know when the flavours truly zing. When you are happy add the rest of the papaya, dried shrimp,peanuts and string beans. Give the mixture a good pounding and fold over with a spoon to ensure everything is coated in the fiery dressing. Eat immediately, so the papaya doesn’t go soggy. This goes great with some cooling Thai basil and raw cabbage chunks.
North-Eastern Style Grilled Chicken. You will need: Spice paste 1 tsp chopped coriander root (can be substituted with the bottom of coriander stems) 1 tsp fresh turmeric root (use a pinch of turmeric powder if not available) 2 cloves garlic Pinch sea salt 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar 1 tsp black peppercorns 2 tbsp fish sauce 4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs A good authentic sweet chilli dipping sauce. Mae Pranom is the best. Pound all the spices in a pestle and mortar then add the fish sauce and palm sugar. Pierce the chicken all over with a skewer or a fork and add to the newly made spice paste. Marinate for a few hours or even better- overnight and grill on the BBQ on a very low heat until golden and until the juices coming from the skewers holes runs clear. Serve with the sweet chilli sauce.
Cooking Around The World (From London)
Introducing the first of this eight part series. Who’s Jacks chef and denizen of the culinary underworld, Luke shows us how to recreate authentic recipes from London’s ethnic hotspots. This month – little Thailand in Earls Court. words and recipes : Luke Farrell
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Sticky Rice You will need: 1 handful of sticky rice per person The same amount of water to rice. Microwave method Soak the rice in warm water for 20 minutes then transfer into a shallow microwave dish. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on a high heat. Remove, stir thoroughly and return it to the microwave, covered for a further 5 minutes, alternatively keep checking until soft, sticky and translucent. You can form the sticky rice into little patties and keep warm in a cool box for a picnic, they can also be drizzled with a little fish sauce and cooked on the BBQ until they go a little brown. You can also steam the sticky rice, though for this you will need a sticky rice steamer from a Thai supermarket.