Moore - Rosas thai cafe : the cookbook

THE COOKBOOK

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One day in 2008 I was walking up Brick Lane with my husband and we stumbled across a disused old English caff in Spitalfields called Rosas. We fell in love with it, as it seemed like the perfect location in which to sell my food: it was a fusion of cool, authentic London and modern Bangkok. It was to be the place where Rosas Thai Caf was born.

The story of Rosas Thai Caf really began in a very small town called Khao Khor (it has grown a bit since I lived there) in Phetchaboon province, northern Thailand. This is where I was born into a loving, simple family I have two sisters and one brother and where my ancestors have been farmers for generations. I believe this set the foundation for my culinary ambitions. I was surrounded by fresh, locally grown produce that I used to cook and eat from a very young age. I would wake up at 5 a.m. to go to the local market and buy ingredients for that days lunch. I remember the first thing I ever cooked was sticky rice.

When I turned 14, I set up my own noodle stall. I was able to pay for my studies with the income, so I guess that noodle stall was my first entrepreneurial venture. When I graduated from college four years later, I set my sights on Hong Kong this was a huge step for me, as Id never even left the Thai countryside. When I arrived in Hong Kong, I lived with a Chinese family and I got a part-time job working in a Thai restaurant. I soon realized I wanted to do more than cut vegetables in the kitchen of a Thai restaurant, especially since I knew I could create delicious food. In 1994, I set about opening my own Thai grocery shop in Hong Kong, which took off thanks to the influx of Thai expats at the time. Once I had made enough money, I sold up and created my first ever restaurant well, actually it was a takeaway, but it sold the food I made, which was all that mattered to me. In 2004 I finally opened my first real restaurant: Tuk Tuk Thai had actual seats, which was a big deal for me. I adored my creation (which is still open today), so I was incredibly reluctant to say yes when my husband asked if we were ready to move to London.

Touching down in London in 2006 was frightening, to say the least. What am I to do? was the question that went through my head for the entire 13-hour plane journey. Starting from scratch again was daunting; it took all my courage to create a new venture, as I thought I would not be able to top Tuk Tuk Thai in Hong Kong. Finally, I started my catering company Chic, for which I cooked all the food on four electric burners in my very own kitchen. I had a few notable clients, including Red Bull and the Thai Tourism Authority, among others. I have to thank all my friends for the amount of business they put my way: their much-needed support gave me enough capital to finally create, yes, you got it, Rosas Thai Caf. The rest is history.

All of Thai cooking is based around four flavours: salty, spicy, sour and sweet. Every dish in Thai cuisine incorporates at least two of them, and sometimes all four. The art lies in striking the perfect balance. One flavour may be dominant, but the others will be there too, like notes in a chord. A dish may be sweet, but it will still have the essence of at least one other flavour. No single flavour is ever allowed completely to overpower the others. You must always be able to taste all the flavours, singly and in unison.

Many of the dishes in this book are cooked in a wok and come together very quickly it might take you longer to chop and prepare the ingredients than to cook the actual dish! For best results, its important not to over-fill your wok your ingredients will get steamed and soggy rather than stir-fried and crispy. A number of recipes in this book therefore serve only two people, but if you are cooking for more, I suggest you scale up the ingredients as necessary, get everything ready, and then cook your chosen dish in two or three batches. It wont take long, and every serving will be just as delicious.

In Thai cooking there are many different ingredients that you may not have come across before, from galangal to holy basil. The best place to find these is in Asian supermarkets. However, if you dont have a local Asian shop, you can try your nearest large supermarket, where you should be able to find some of the ingredients you need. Alternatively, you can buy many of these ingredients online. See the following list for the some of the more exotic ingredients you will encounter in this book. If you cant find some of the more unusual ones, dont worry as you can easily substitute many of them with more common items.

BASIL: There are two kinds of basil used in this book: Thai basil and holy basil, both cultivars of sweet (Mediterranean) basil. Thai basil has purple stems with smaller and darker green leaves than its parent plant, but is similar at first glance, so is sometimes called Thai sweet basil, even though it has a licorice-like flavour. It is used extensively in Thai salads, soups and stir-fries. Holy basil has a much sharper, more peppery taste than Thai basil, and is therefore often called hot basil. Leaves of holy basil are used to add a fiery depth and clove-like flavour to stir-fries and other Thai dishes.

CHILLIES: Thai food is impossible to imagine without chillies of all sizes and colours, used fresh, dried or roasted. Commonly used types include long or spur chillies (prik chil faa), and the much smaller birds eye chillies (prik kii nuu suan). Dried chillies are usually soaked in water before use to soften them. A lot of the dishes in this book are hot and spicy: in Thai cooking, we use chillies plus the seeds for that extra kick. However, if you arent such a fan of spicy food, reduce the amount of chilli in the recipe and remember to deseed the pods when youre chopping them up.

CHINESE CELERY: Chinese celery has thinner stems than regular celery and its leaves are used as much as its stalks. It has a stronger flavour than the European variety and is seldom, if ever, eaten raw. Instead, it is most commonly chopped and added to soups and stir-fries.

CORIANDER ROOT: In Thai cooking every part of the coriander plant is used, including the root, which is one of the base ingredients of many Thai curry pastes. The roots can also be chopped finely and used to season broths, sauces and rice, or pounded into a paste that can be used as a marinade. If you cant find coriander root at your Asian supermarket, use the stalks instead try using 5 stalks for every root, as their flavour is milder.