By Karin Calloway
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Karin Calloway is a working mom living in Augusta, Ga., with multiple freelance jobs and a ton of dirty dishes. |
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Thai Appetizers
We've got a delicious spread of Thai appetizers that are perfect for late-summer entertaining. The menu is meaty enough to satisfy your hungriest male guests and includes delicious Pork Satays with a peanut dipping sauce, Catfish Cakes using Mississippi farm-raised catfish, lime-scented Thai Ground Beef Salad in Lettuce Cups and cool Thai Marinated Shrimp.
If you'd like to round out your menu with a vegetable dish and dessert, consider the Cucumber Peanut Salad and Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango recipes on this site. For a cool, alcohol free beverage, try this bonus recipe for spicy and sweet Thai Iced Tea.
Thai Iced Tea
- 8 cups water
- 8 chai tea bags (available in some supermarkets or at Asian and Indian markets) or black tea bags
- 1 piece star anise, only if using black tea bags
- 1 cinnamon stick, only if using black tea bags
- 1 cup sugar
- Half and half
Bring water to a boil in a saucepan or in a tea kettle. If using a saucepan, remove from heat and add tea bags, star anise, and cinnamon stick. If using a tea kettle, place spices in a large bowl along with tea bags and pour boiling water over the top. Steep tea for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing out any liquid, then add sugar and stir until dissolved. Refrigerate until cold, for several hours or overnight. If the star anise and cinnamon stick were used, remove them before serving.
To serve, fill glasses with ice. Fill glasses 3/4 full with tea. Top each glass with 3 to 4 tablespoons of half and half.
Makes 6-8 servings.
Recipes:
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Tres Leche Cake
This is a quick and easy version that starts with a cake mix, and best if it refrigerates overnight. When you’re ready to serve you can ice the cake with sweetened whipped cream or just place a dollop of the cream on every slice. |
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Pork Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce
If you’re perusing a Thai restaurant menu, there will surely be a listing for pork or chicken satays among the appetizers. Americanized versions are often brushed with peanut sauce before grilling, but in more authentic versions the meat rests in a flavorful marinade before being grilled. |
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Thai Catfish Cakes
Many Thai restaurant menus include curried fish cakes as an appetizer. Although I love the flavor of the cakes, the texture is a bit over processed. I set out to create a Thai fish cake with better texture and loads of fresh flavor. |
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Thai Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps
One of my favorite dishes at our corner Thai restaurant is a warm ground beef salad served over crisp shredded cabbage and lettuce leaves. I’ve taken the idea and turned it into a pickup appetizer by serving the warm beef mixture in little butter lettuce leaves. |
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USA
