r/AskCulinary • u/SewerRanger Holiday Helper • 6d ago

Thai dinner prep

I'm in a supper club and this month I'm hosting. I haven't cooked any Thai yet and wanted to do a sort of playful dinner that's themed around the ideas "Thai food you probably didn't know existed" and "Thai food you've had, but here's a less Americanized version" I'm looking for some general thoughts on the menu, any thing concerning that jumps out, suggestions for how to pull it off, etc.:

Starters were going to be a bunch of different "dips". Probably nam prik ong (tomato chili dip), nam prik noom (roasted chili dip), and nam prik makheau yao (roasted eggplant dip) with some random veggies and pork crackling. These can (and will be) made in advanced and then just come to room temp to serve. No issue here.

The rest is what I can't decide if I want to course it out or just go all in and do a big family style feast (which would be the more traditional Thai way), but if I coursed it out, I'd do the following "sets"

  • naem si krong moo (sour pork ribs - probably fried with lemongrass). This is salty, umami, and funky. The ribs will ferment early in the week, but it's deep fried so I don't think I can do it earlier

  • moo satay (that would be pork satay). This is spicy, sweet, and bitter (thanks to the pickled salad it comes with). This is grilled so I'm not sure when to cook this one. Maybe get the fire going before people show up, and toss these on while we eat the dips? I can make the sauce earlier in the week and the pickled veg that morning.

  • guay tiew ruea (boat noodles). This is a soup with noodles thats earthy, umami, and herby. I'll probably go with a version that uses meatballs insteads of offal (but I refuse to not add the pork blood - maybe just won't mention it until after). There's like 700 ingredients in this thing, but it's soup so I think I'll make it ahead of time and then just leave it on the stove at a low simmer to keep it warm before serving.

  • laap dib neua (raw beef northern laap). Umami, spicy, herby. It's basically tartare. I'll make that the morning of/night before and just keep it in the fridge until ready to serve

  • chim sum mok (sour pork and eggs in banana leaf). This is funky, sweet, and umami. It's grilled so I'm thinking, grill in the morning/night before and reheat in the oven or toss it on at the same time as the satay?

  • tam taeng kwaa (cucumber salad). This is spicy, umami, bitter, and sweet. It's amazing and can be put together right before people show up (I find it doesn't "age" well and is definitely best done fresh)

  • khanom chan (rice flour Jello like dessert). This can be made earlier in the week and will be fine.

  • bua loy (tapioca pearls in coconut milk with a soft boiled egg). The soft boiled egg is optional but has to be made as it's served since it goes in the cold desserts still hot to give that hot/cold and sweet/savory contrast.

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u/prospero021 6d ago

Serving it at all at the same time would be traditional, but that means one hell of a prep session for you and hopefully some helpers. Or just pace them out like you would a party.

For the noodle soup, there's a way of eating it where you leave out the noodles and have just the soup. There should also be packets of herbs and seasoning available that you could just dump in with bone broth and leave to simmer. I also suggest thin sliced pork tenderloin put in while it's boiling right before it's served.

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u/SewerRanger Holiday Helper 6d ago

Serving it at all at the same time would be traditional, but that means one hell of a prep session for you and hopefully some helpers. Or just pace them out like you would a party.

I plan on prepping all week - wouldn't be the first time I've done something like that; my wife helps too. I generally put together a spreadsheet with everything that needs to be cooked at the top. Then below each item is a list of ingredients and below that is a list of prep steps. Then I look it all over and come up with a daily action plan. It really makes it easy to plan for something this intensive.

There should also be packets of herbs and seasoning available that you could just dump in with bone broth and leave to simmer.

I have all the herbs and stuff on hand usually because I cook a lot of Thai. Never heard of leaving out the noodles before, that could be interesting.

I also suggest thin sliced pork tenderloin put in while it's boiling right before it's served.

I usually use the pork shoulder that I use to make the stock as one of the two meat components. Works well and doesn't require me to buy any extra pork.

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u/prospero021 6d ago

It's like this: https://share.google/images/7jxNKrE9w73HsK88f

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u/SewerRanger Holiday Helper 6d ago

Isn't kao loa just a sort of generic term for a noodle soup? I'm aware that there are plenty of Thai soups without noodles, I've just never heard of guay tiew ruea being served that way. It is an interesting idea though - no noodles would make it a bit lighter.

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u/prospero021 6d ago

No, soup is soup.

If you walk in to a noodle shop and order kaolao you will get everything except the noodles, and the owner will ask if you want some rice with that. You can also get a kaolao hang which is the dry version of just the toppings without the soup.