PSquared

So Im having a dinner party on the 17th of October for some people I havent seen in a long while. So far, the list is about 12 girls...no kids or husbands.

I want to have something different for a dinner menu that will kind of knock their socks off...lol.

I was thinking of having khaosay for the main course...but am open to suggestions for other things.

I was thinking of having a total of three or four appetizers...but dont know what yet.

Two different desserts.

Ideas?

redvelvet

khao soy is basically a Thai soup, right?

Have you heard of Kai Chai? It's basically Chinese fried chicken wings. You could take chicken wings.....marindade them in Asian seasoning....and fry golden-brown. They'll go nicely with soup. And you can make dumplings (either steamed or fried)....since the chicken wings would be fried.......steamed dumplings would provide a different texture. So that's three appetizers (soup, chicken wings, dumplings).

Or do you want to make your theme Southeast Asian dishes. In that case how about making sushi one of your appetizers. I remember you like sushi. So.......you can have three appetizers: soup, sushi, and some sort of fried treat.

Deserts.......hmm..........from what cuisine?

Crispy rice-flour fried bananas with a scoop of ice cream are often served in SE Asian restaurants. It provides a lovely texture with the ice cream. That's something a bit different.

Tiramisu?

Souffle?

Mixed Pastries: Baklava, eclairs, napolean

Puddings

Cakes

Kulfi

Brownie a la mode

Chocolate fondue.......with various dipping treats (an assorment of fruit, cookies, marshmallows, pretzels, and bread).....this will go nicely with chai or coffee at the end of the meal.

Niksik

Khaosay is the burmese pasta sauce correct? I had it at a friends not too long ago. Nice and light.

So with that, I'd say you do an antipasto platter consisting of various meats, marinated veggies, cheeses...
Then the main course along with some spicy vegetables on the side and a beef/ chicken curry dish.
For dessert, have a Burmese style dessert also, such a their version of vermicelli noodles kheer...

sameenji

Yum yum...

Hashmat Usmani

Pareezay

^that belongs in the history/culture section, i think.


have you decided if you wanna do italian, chinese, desi? or maybe a mix of all?

PSquared

^ That is a good question!

Im not sure if Khaosay are Burmese or something else. Its a pretty elaborate dish.

You start with spaghetti noodles on your plate. Then ladle coconut curry on top. Then comes either chicken or beef stew or both depending upon what you like. Over that go the garnishments: onions, cilantro, mirch, lemon and crunchy friend noodles.

When I make this for dinner, I make rice too because the curry sauce tastes good with rice and meat as well.

These girls are going to be really dressed up so Im thinking maybe Italian is out because of tomato and alfredo sauces.

I guess because of the curry sauce I can mix it up with a bit of a Thai theme. What do you all think? Or is that a bit of a leap?

The antipasto platter sounds really good. I can have a few different types of cheeses and meats and serve that for starters.

The dumplings would be nice...just because I love dumplings...LOL.

Would that be off paired with the platter or maybe serve the chicken wings instead?

Im going to look at Thai and Burmese desserts today and see what they've got.

redvelvet

^ I think a Thai theme would be interesting.

The chicken wings would go with the anti-pasto platter. Because you said you wanted to serve cheeses and meats.......so the chicken wings will fall into the meat cattegory. Hmmm.......you could do a cheese/veggie/meat platter for starters. So, you can have a platter of veggies n dip, cheese n crackers, and chicken wings. That's an interesting combination because you're hitting the various food groups. You could even put bread wedges with dip such as hummus/baba ghanouj, spinach artichoke dip, etc.

I think it's fun to make appetizers of different textures. So the Khao soy provides a wet...soup-like texture. The chicken wings would provide a crispy texture. And the third appetizers can provide a softer texture: such as steamed dumplings OR sushi. So you have a party or medley varying textures going in your mouth.

CorruptAngel

I love khaosay!!! but isn't it a lil MESSY for a party...if your guests didn't have it before then it will be dripping all over everyone's clothes!

You can also make Basil Chicken fried rice.....

Milly

I say go for something simples. If you havnt seen your friends for some while, it will be more about the catching up than the food. You dont want to be worried about the food all night.

Make biriyani and save me a plate too...its all the rage these days!

X2

nice yes.
light..no way..all that coconut milk..


its a burmese dish

traditionally the coconut curry is not seperate from the meat, meat is already in the curry, you get better results with egg noodles rather than spaghetti.
garnishments are (they vary quite significantly by region as the dish is consumed in china, thailand, china)
onions, greenonions, fried onions, slices peppers, chopped boiled eggs, chopped fried garlic, chopped cucumbers, lemon, parsley, cilantro, crunchy noodles, some people also have dried fried pawns, crunchy noodles.

Niksik

That lady was a cheapo, she didn't put any coconut milk zalim.

X2

oh yeah..basis of info, begum's nani was burmese, so this is something she grew up with and is something that is made now and then. less often due to it being so heavy, usually friends demand it and we have a party just for this

part of the fun is when you have everyone in the kitchen and working on different garnishments and components. one is making noodles, one is getting the curry ready..items being chopped, fried etc etc.

Niksik

my dada was also from burma, I knew we were related ...I mean he was actually from Agra but lived in Burma then migrated back at some point.

X2

hey this makes you my sali almost

Bint_e_Naeem

If you are saying guests are going to be really dressed up, as yum as it sounds would Chicken Wings be a good idea?

I have never had Khaosay so have no idea what can be nicely paired with it.

For appetizers you could also do club sandwiches & Barbecue Beef Sticks along the other things that were mentioned. If nicely decorated either one are always a hit as they look nice on a dinner table & are a no mess appetizer. If its a gathering where you ladies are catching up on things as Milly mentioned above keep the food different but a little easy on you at the same time.

For dessert you can bake brownies in advance & serve them individually topped with vanilla ice cream & caramel or chocolate sauce.

There was also a thread about Molten Lava Cake. You could do the same with either brownies or the cake.

dildirani

How about various different cuisines?
Chinese, Italian, Pakistani/Indian and then the dish you want to make as well.

As it is a dinner party, maybe more snacky type food and variety.

midnighteyes

Ya its originally Burmese but has become incorporated into Memon cuisine as lots of Memons used to work in Burma, and then I think it was the Memons who introduced the dish to Pakistan

PSquared

For those of you who havent tried Khaosay..............they're SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good!!!!!!!!

I think Im definitely doing this dish but Im going to add on X2's ideas because it sounds even yummier that way. This can be dinner on its own but the items served before and after are what Im having trouble with.

Okay so far it seems like the Thai theme is definitely a winner. The steamed dumplings are definitely on the table. The different meats and cheeses are also a good idea for people who want to go light because khaosay are very heavy.

Now, one crispy appetizer and then we can think about dessert too.

belle

Why don't you make Thai appetizers like a cucumber salad, lettuce wraps, chicken satay, or tiny samusa (they are Burmese). Having a cheese and meat platter takes away from the theme, no?