Our friends tend to spend a good part of their lives in faraway places. These friends bring us recipes - many of which have become holiday favorites. Here is a sampling of easy-to-make and adaptable dishes, with special thanks to world travelers Jackie Little and Leslie Martin!

Thailand via Santa Fe - Kid's Favorite Coconut Chicken Soup

1 1/2 lb. boned, skinned chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh ginger
5 to 10 finely chopped garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
fat handful chopped fresh cilantro
2 to 3 cups coconut milk
scant handful fresh basil
1 cup chicken stock
1 whole Kaffir lime leaf (if you can find it)
1/8 cup fish sauce(from pressed anchovies, nam pla in Thai)
1 stalk lemon grass, cut into 3 inch lengths and crushed
1/4 to 3 finely chopped jalapeno chiles
3 inch section crushed fresh galanga (if you can find it)

This soup takes about half an hour to chop and less than ten minutes to cook. Add less coconut milk and chicken stock to make the soup into an entree to be served on rice or clear noodles. Using fewer chiles makes the soup palatable for even very young children, who love the combination of fresh lime and sweet coAconut. Warning! Do not add the fish sauce to a dry pan - add other liquids first. Toss for a few seconds in a heated, lightly oiled, seasoned heavy saucepan, the garlic, ginger, jalapenos, Kaffir lime leaf, galanga and lemon grass. Add the chicken stock, then the chicken pieces and coconut milk and cook until chicken is done. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, cilantro and basil, and serve!

The Philippines - Adobo - A Peasant Dish Fit for a King

3 1/2 pounds chicken pieces
5 whole black peppers
3 pounds boneless pork
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup (at least) minced garlic
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. salt
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. coarse pepper

Chop chicken into two inch pieces, bones and all. Cut pork into one inch pieces. Brown meat in small amounts in hot oil. Add everything except coconut milk and cook over low heat until the meat is done through. Add coconut milk and cook 10 minutes longer. Serve over rice. Makes twelve servings. (Jackie uses boneless, skinless chicken breasts, not caring for all that skin and bone.)

Thailand - Gai Pat King - Ginger Chicken (This dish is also delicious made with scallops or beef).

A generous handful of dried black fungus - If it looks edible, you have the wrong stuff.
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. bean sauce
2 - 3 tbsp. fresh ginger - finely chopped
4-6 boned, skinned chicken breasts, excess fat removed, and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 medium yellow onion -
quartered white pepper
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt dissolved in 1 tsp. white vinegar
2 green onions - sliced on diagonal into 2 inch lengths
1 tbsp. chicken stock or water

Soak weird looking black fungus in water until mostly soft, about 20 minutes. Drain, then cut out any really tough sections and set the rest aside. Heat oil in large pan or wok. Add garlic, bean sauce and ginger. Saute a minute, then add chicken (or scallops or beef), soft fungus, yellow onion, pepper, oyster sauce, vinegar mix, green onions and chicken stock. Cook just until chicken is done. Serve hot over white rice.

Thailand - Sticky Rice with Mangoes

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup Thai white rice - soaked 1 hour and drained
2 tbsp. and 1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 tbsp. cornstarch mixed in 1/3 cup water
2 large mangoes, peeled and cut in long slices
2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Bring water to boil, add soaked rice and 2 tbsp. sugar, reduce heat to very low, cover and cook about 10 minutes. Remove pan and let sit 20 minutes. Combine coconut milk, vanilla, salt and 1/4 cup sugar in small saucepan and bring to a boil. Drizzle in cornstarch mixture until just thick. Set aside. Mound rice on small plates, surround with mango slices and drip on coconut milk sauce. Top with sesame seeds.

Thai Christmas Lunch - Thailand - Khao Pad - Rice served in Pineapple

1 1/2 cups cooked basmati or Thai rice
1 fresh pineapple, halved and scooped out
3 lightly beaten eggs
3/4 cups raw shrimps
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 fresh red chili, chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
5 tbsp vegetable oil
handful fresh cilantro

Chop pineapple meat and allow to drain. Heat oil and pour egg into saucepan to make a thin omelet. Remove and slice into strips. Add more oil and fry onion, then add shrimp, ginger, fish sauce, rice pineapple and chili and stir rapidly over high heat for 2 minutes. Ladle into hollowed out pineapple, and garnish with cilantro and omelet strips.

New Guinea - Paia Banana - Bananas on Fire
ripe bananas
butter
brown sugar
coriander
brandy
cream

Heat butter in a pan. Peel and slice bananas lengthwise and place in the pan. Cover with brown sugar and coriander. Cook on medium heat, turning once. Warm the brandy in a separate pan, pour over the bananas and ignite. Serve with ice cream, cream or both. Cover with sauce.

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