Supatra Johnson was formerly the Chef/Owner of Supatra's Thai Cuisine Restaurant in Saint Paul, MN.
This Stir-fried Chicken with Cashew recipe is taken from Crying Tiger: Thai Recipes from the Heart. It was my in-laws, Bob and Jean’s favorite dish when they dined at Supatra’s. In fact, #37 became known by the staff at the restaurant as the Grampa and Gramma Special!
Growing Jasmine Rice in Udon Thani, Thailand
While I was back home in Udon Thani, I had the chance to grow my first crop of Jasmine Rice; the variety was Khao Dawk Mali Number 105. It was grown organically and the rice in this area of Northeast Thailand is primarily grown only during the rainy season, which typically begins in May and ends in October. The farm covers about 1 1/4 acres and I ended up with a good yield for my first crop.
Because I returned to the states in early November, I missed the harvest, after which the paddy rice was dried on tarpaulins and brought to a rice mill for processing. The rice is de-hulled (which would make it brown rice) and then for white rice it is milled to remove the germ and some or all of the bran. My sister sent me a few pounds and it was very delicious (aroy dee in Thai)!