Thai Smile Cooking

Thailand Food Journey

2009-12-05T06:07:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

If you go to Thailand on holiday, you will most likely find that the local food is one of your highlights. You will find this both delicious and cheap. My sister and her family were here in Thailand this past week, so I thought I would share with you some pictures of the street food that they ate. For the past seven months or so I have been sharing with you pictures of the food that we have been eating in the Paknam Web offices every Friday. My sister has been following these food blogs too and so when they came here this week they wanted to try out some of the highlights. Some of the food we bought came from roadside food hawkers. These were obviously cheap. Other times we ate in restaurants.

1. Tom Yum Egg Noodle with Red Pork (baa mee tom yum)
2. Egg Noodle with Wonton and Red Pork (baa mee kieo nam moo daeng)

At noodles stalls you are often spoilt for choice as there are at least five different kinds of noodles. Then you can choose either dry or with soup. With wontons and with red pork or fish balls. These are my two favourites. The first one is hot and spicy. The other is up to you how much of the four flavours you add.

3. Chicken in Yellow Curry (khao mok gai)
4. Chicken Rice (khao mun gai)

These two are always very popular. You can choose either fried chicken or boiled chicken. They both come with sauces and a bowl of chicken stock. The yellow rice has turmeric.

5. Noodles Fried in Soy Sauce (pad si-eel)
6. Crispy Noodles in Gravey (rat naa mee grob)

Like the earlier noodles, you can choose any kind you like. I prefer the wide noodles and the crispy egg noodles. The same stall usually sells both of these dishes.

7. Chicken curry (gang gari gai)
8. Green Curry with pork (gaeng kieo moo)
9. Green curry with bamboo shoots
10. Red curry with pork

There are so many different currys and soups. Difficult to be comprehensive here. Two that I missed here are massaman and penang curry. The traditional Thai curry are coconut milk based.

11. Tom Yum Chicken (tom yum gai)
12. Coconut Soup with Galangal (tom kha gai)

I like the bottom two soups a lot. Tom Yum is the dish made with lemon grass and galangal. The latter dish has more galangal and coconut milk. Tom Yum is often cooked with fresh prawns. But, it is equally as good with chicken.

13. Fish cakes (tod mun pla)
14. Satay Pork

There are so many roadside snacks that there is only room for two favourites here.

15. Grilled chicken and sticky rice
16. Som Tam

Som tam, made with shredded green papaya and sauces such as lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind paste and also crushed garlic. It is often eaten with grilled chicken and sticky rice. I never grow bored with this dish and can eat every week.

17. Fried noodles with dried shrimp (pad thai)
18. Fried mussels in batter (hoi tod)

The last two dishes are often sold together. The first one, pad thai, is popular with most foreigners. Like any dish, the recipe varies a lot and I will often cross the town to eat at my favourite food vendor. The second dish is fresh mussels fried in a batter that also includes an egg. I like the crispy version of this one.

Lunchtime Thai Menu

2009-12-05T05:43:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

Red Curry with Roasted Duck

The red curry with roasted duck (kaeng pet bet yang) is my favourite version of the red curry. I don't often get a chance to eat it outside of restaurants. The downside of street food is that there is usually more bones than meat. But this dish was all duck and only cost 40 baht. Pretty good value for money. What you can see in the picture is the roasted duck, plum tomatoes, eggplant peas, basil leaves and kaffir lime leaves. It also has coconut milk and is seasoned with fish sauce and palm sugar. It is actually quite easy to make as long as someone else has prepared your curry paste. You can buy this down the market or even at supermarkets like Big C and Tesco Lotus. This curry paste has ground galangal, lemon grass, red shallots and garlic amongst other ingredients. Make sure you don't miss this highlight. It is also nice with pineapple chunks.

Stems of Waterlily (tom kati sai bua)

Fish lovers might like this healthy dish. It consists of sai bua (the stems of the waterlily) cooked in coconut milk with shallots. The fish is usually a mackerel like pla tu that is seasoned with fish sauce, tamarind paste and sugar. I am afraid it is not a favourite of mine though it only cost 34 baht. A little over $1.

Stir fried chicken and chinese chives

This is a tasty dish that looks simple to cook. I might give it a go this weekend. The two main ingredients are the chicken pieces and Chinese chives. It is cooked in a seasoning of fish sauce, light soy sauce and oyster sauce. All good kitchens should have these ingredients. Add some water if it drys out during cooking. This was only 35 baht.

Red Glutinous Rice (khao niew daeng)

This is a popular dish popular during the Songkran festival. The main ingredients are sticky rice, palm sugar and sesame seeds. It is a bit tough to eat and is a bit like caramel. It reminds me of another Thai dessert called kalamae. This one was only 20 baht.

Flower Shaped Candy (khanom dowk lamduan)

This is like a cross between a cookie and candy. It is very sweet so don't eat too many at once. The dough is made from wheat flour, egg yolk, castor sugar and vegetable oil. You knead this mixture into small balls which you then shape into flowers. It is then baked in an oven for about 15 minutes. This cost us 35 baht.

Spicy Fried Egg (yam kai dao)

The first dish for our Friday Lunch was this fried egg salad. This is a seafood version. You can also do it with fried bacon. The egg is first cooked in boiling hot oil so that it is crispy. This is then put on a plate while the sauce is prepared. This consists of fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. This is stirred until the sugar dissolves and finely sliced chilis are added. This is then poured over the fried egg. A very unique taste and it only cost us 25 baht.

Prawn and Holy Basil with Coconut

This rice dish is called "khao rat grapao kung yod mapao". The rice can either be plain or fried. The prawns are stir fried with chillies and garlic. The seasoning consists of sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce. The holy basil is added towards the end. This version also has coconut flesh. This dish was 30 baht.

Stuffed Vegetable Pudding (khanom kui chai)

This next Chinese dish is really a snack but goes well with a meal. They are usually steamed or sometimes fried. The filling today was vegetable, but you can also find dried shrimp and sliced taro. It is served with soy sauce. This was 20 baht.

Fried Fish with Chili (pla tod rat prik)

As I live in the seaside port of Paknam, there are plenty of seafood dishes to find. It is a shame I am not that keen on fish. But, I appreciate that some visitors to this food blog might be interested. However, be careful as this one is very spicy! Basically, garlic, pepper, chillies and salt are pounded together in a mortar and then poured over the fish. This was only 30 baht from a roadside vendor.

Unripe Mango with Fish Sauce(ma-muang nam pla waan)

We decided to have some fruit for dessert today to be a bit more healthy. A famous dessert that foreigners like is mango with sticky rice. This one is unripe mango with fish sauce! Not quite the same but still good. At school, the students like eating unripe mango with a dip that consists of sugar and ground chili. This one is sweetened fish sauce. In a large pot, sugar is mixed with water and fish sauce and is stirred constantly until it becomes a thick syrup. Chopped shallots are then added. When these are cooked, dried shrimp and sliced chillies are added. This snack is 30 baht.

Popular Thai Desserts

2009-12-05T05:32:00.001-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

This week I am going to share with you pictures of the more popular Thai desserts that are easily available on the streets in Thailand. These desserts will only cost you between five and twenty baht.

(1) Khao Niew Sangkaya - Glutinous Rice with Thai Custard Topping

(2) Khanom Chun - Layered Dessert

(3) Khanom Taan

(4) Puak Kuan & Tao Kuan - Taro and Mungbean Pudding

(5) Khao Niew Dum Na Kra Cheek

(6) Sang Kha Ya Fak Thong - Thai Custard with Pumpkin

(7) Wan Kati - Jelly with Coconut Cream Topping

(8) Khao Niew Tut - Sticky Glutinous Rice

(9) Med Khanoon - Jackfruit Seed in Syrup

(10) Thong Yib - Pinched Golden Egg Yolks

How to cook - Fried Mi-sua Noodles

2009-12-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

This is one of the popular dishes cooked during the Vegetarian Festival. It is easy to cook and has a good taste. But, try not to eat too many fried dishes or you will put on weight! There are two kinds of noodles you can use. They are often yellow and are either thin or thick. The one today is a white thin version which is called mi-sua. In the ingredients picture below, you can see Chinese Flowering cabbage (choy sum) and mi-sua noodles. Below is sugar, mushrooms and chopped carrots. We only have one kind of mushroom here but you can use several different kinds. Or three for good luck!

You need to cook the noodles first. The instructions on our packet said boil for four minutes and then rinse with cold water. If you are not taking part in the vegetarian festival, you can first fry some garlic in oil until it turns fragrant. Then add the mushrooms, choy sum and light soy sauce. You can use cabbage instead if you like. Finally add the noodles and give a good stir. Sugar is optional. This is one of those dishes that you can experiment with different ingredients.

How to cook - Spicy Stir-fried Chicken and Beans

2009-12-04T17:02:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

This is one of my favourite Thai dishes. It is often served with pork though I only had chicken available today. The pork version in Thai is called "pat prik king moo". It is a spicy dish that goes well with rice. The ingredients shown in the picture below are: yard-long beans, finely shredded kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar, sliced red spur chili, chicken and red chili paste in the middle. We also used fish sauce which isn't shown. I will write about the different sauces another day.

The process to cook this dish is quite simple. As usual, I am not giving you weights and measurements. Thai cooks don't work that way. You adjust the amount just by smell and taste. Fry the curry paste in a pan until fragrant and then add the chicken. Season with the fish sauce and sugar. We used palm sugar. Some people blanch the beans in hot boiling water first before adding them to the stir fry. Or you can just add them raw if you like them a bit crunchy. Which is the way I like it. Give it a good stir until the beans are just about done. Then serve. Very simple.

How to cook - Sweet and Sour Pork

2009-12-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

Another of my favourites to cook is this sweet and sour dish called "moo pat priaw waen" in Thai. However, you do need to practice it a bit in order to correctly balance the flavours. You can see the main ingredients we used in the picture below. Starting at the top, we have onion, spring onion, straw mushrooms, chopped garlic, tomatoes, cucumbers and chicken in the center. Make sure that everything is pre-cut to bite size as Thai people don't normally use a knife during their meals. This also means that cooking time is reduced. So, make sure that you have all your ingredients ready prepared. In this dish we also added spur chili, but you could use bell pepper instead.

Add the chopped garlic to the oil in your pan and cook until golden brown. Next comes the chicken. You can use pork if you like. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, tomatoes and onion. Finally add the chillies and spring onion. Next comes the seasoning. You need to do this step by step with a tasting of the sauce at each interval. Season with tomato sauce, white vinegar (the sour taste), sugar (obviously the sweet taste), and light soy sauce (the salty taste). Some recipes call for fish sauce but I prefer light soy sauce. This is a bit sweet so don't put in so much sugar. If you find it too salty then add more sugar. Next add chicken stock. Give it all a good stir. Finish by adding some tapioca flour in order to thicken the sauce. I haven't given any meaurements as this is all trial and error. It is really up to your personal taste as to how sweet or sour you like it.

How to cook - Tofu with Minced Pork

2009-12-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

After surviving the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand this year, I found myself starting to use tofu more in my cooking. This dish uses fried tofu with minced pork. In the ingredients below, you can see Chinese celery, spring onion, tofu in a package, fried tofu, garlic cloves and minced pork in the middle.

This is a simple dish to cook. Start with the tofu. Fry it first in oil until it turns golden brown. Then set it aside and let it drain. Next fry your crushed garlic in the pan until it turns fragrant. Add the minced pork. Next comes the Chinese celery and spring onion. You can also add mushroom if you like. Season with oyster sauce and pepper. Give it a good stir. Put the fried tofu on your serving dish and pour the minced pork mixture on top.

How to cook - Stirfried Babycorn with Mushrooms

2009-12-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

Our Thai dish today is another vegetarian meal. It is a stir-fried with baby sweetcorn and mushrooms. We only have one kind of mushroom here but you could also add another kind. In the ingredients below you can see: red pepper and mushrooms on the left and Chinese celery, baby sweetcorn, garlic cloves and carrots on the right.

Cooking this dish is very simple. Start with the garlic and fry until golden brown. Add the mushrooms, babysweetcorn and carrots. When you are doing stirfry, it is usually a good idea to have some stock handy. Failing that, add a little water. Give it a good stir and then add the red pepper. You can add spur chili instead if you like. Season with light soy sauce and sugar. Sprinkle on the Chinese celery at the end.

How to cook - Fried Noodles in Black Soy Sauce

2009-12-04T16:53:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

One of my favourite Thai dishes is this one which is basically rice noodles fried in black soy sauce. In Thai, this is called "pad si ew". The main ingredients are pictured below. Starting from the top and going clockwise, you can see "sen mee" noodles, sliced chicken, garlic cloves, kale and two eggs. You can also use beef or pork. And instead of kale, which is also known as Chinese broccoli, you could use Chinese cabbage. There are also two different versions of noodles for this dish. You can have either "sen mee" as seen here, or my favourite "sen yai" which is a wider noodle.

Today we used the dried version of "sen mee" which you need to soak in cold water first for about four minutes. In roadside food shops, they usually use fresh versions which are obviously much better. In the picture at the top, you can see that my noodles have broken up a bit. We also prepared the baby kale by blanching it in hot water for a short time. To start cooking, add the chopped garlic to hot oil. As soon as it is golden brown, add the bit-sized pieces of chicken. To be honest, I prefer pork for this dish. Give it a good stir for a couple of minutes. Remove from the pan and add more oil. Next comes the noodles. Toss it well so it heats through. Push it to one side and add two lightly beaten eggs. Let it fry for a short while before breaking it up and then mixing with the noodles. Now add the kale and chicken. Season with black soy sauce (you could use the sweet version if you like) and some sugar. If it is too sweet, then add a dash of fish sauce. It is now ready to serve. The condiments that are commonly served with this dish are dried crushed chilies, sugar and “nam som” which is white vinegar with sliced spur chili.

How to cook - Stir-fried Morning Glory

2009-12-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

This vegetarian dish, using morning glory, is called "pad pak bung fai daeng" in Thai. The last part "fai daeng" refers to the red flame that leaps up when you throw in the vegetables. You can also do a version using minced pork. The ingredients for the vegetarian version are shown below. They are morning glory, garlic cloves and bird's eye chilies.

You can cook this dish in several different ways. If you want it to be spicier, you should pound the garlic and hot chilies together with your mortar and pestle. This is what they do in shops. But today, we added the crushed garlic first to the oil in the wok and fried until golden brown. Next came the morning glory. We then seasoned with oyster sauce and soy sauce. Chilies came last. Some shops also add fermented soy beans. This is a brown sauce which I find a bit salty.

How to cook - Pad Thai

2009-12-04T16:48:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

Today we are going to show you how to cook one of the most popular Thai dishes for foreigners. It is called "pad thai" or Thai Fried Noodles. It is not that difficult to cook but it involves a bit of an effort to prepare the ingredients. To be honest with you, we cheated a bit today. Our local pad thai food stall kindly gave us all the ingredients and also allowed us to make notes on her method of cooking. However, she wouldn't tell us the secret ingredients for the sauce. This is what makes her stall more popular than others around this area. She actually admitted that even she doesn't know the recipe as it is made by her mother in a back room. The ingredients you can see below are, from top and going clockwise, roasted peanuts, fresh rice noodles (sen jan), salted Chinese radish, fried tofu, red shallots, dried shrimp, fresh shrimp and two eggs in the middle. Normally it is one egg per dish. On the left, you can see Chinese chives, beansprouts and sliced lime. Some people use garlic instead of red shallots. I have also sometimes seen chicken instead of the more popular shrimp.

Heat the oil up in a wok. Add red shallots and cook until fragrant. Then add the fresh shrimp, salted radish, tofu and dried shrimp. Give a good stir all the time. Move the ingredients to one side and then break two eggs into the pan. Cook for about a minute and then mix in with the other ingredients. Move to one side again. Add the fresh rice noodles. If you are using dried noodles you must soak in water for about 10 minutes. Then add tamarind paste and the secret sauce. Adjust the taste to your liking by adding soy sauce or fish sauce and sugar. Stir slowly until the noodles become dry. Now mix all the ingredients together. Finally, add the Chinese chives and beansprouts. Stir this in but there is no need to cook it. Serve with fresh vegetables, ground roasted peanuts and a slice of lime. I think ours tasted just as good as the real thing! Looks good too.

How to cook - Winged Bean Salad

2009-12-04T16:46:00.001-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

Our Thai meal today didn't need, of course, any cooking as it is a salad. It is Winged Bean Salad or "yum tua pu" in Thai. We actually bought all the ingredients at the local market and all we had to do is mix everything together! In the ingredients below, you can see fresh shrimp, hard-boiled egg, boiled chicken slices, fried garlic, chilli, a mixture of peanut and dried coconut meat and winged bean that has been scalded and cut into horizontal slices. The sauce in themiddle does vary. This one looks like it has tamarind juice, chilli paste, fish sauce, palm sugar and coconut milk.

To make, all you have to do is mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and add the sauce.

How to cook - Hard-Boiled Egg in Tamarind Sauce

2009-12-04T16:43:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

This is another one of those simple dishes that doesn't need much effot in making. In Thai, it is called "kai luk kery". Interestingly, this translates literally as "son-in-law eggs"! In the ingredients below, you can see tamarind juice at the top and soy sauce below that. You can use fish sauce instead if you don't mind the smell. At the bottom left we have dried hot chillies and garlic cloves. Or you could use red shallots instead. You also need two hard boiled eggs. On the right is the palm sugar - though obviously don't put it all in!

Heat some oil in a wok and when hot add your hardboiled eggs. When they are golden brown then set aside. Next you need to fry some crushed garlic or red shallots. Then set these aside. Stir fry the palm sugar next. Add the tamarind juice and soy sauce and continue to stir until it becomes like a syrup. The taste should be sour, salty and sweet. Adjust the balance if it is not right. Next, cut the eggs in half and place face up on a plate. Sprinkle the top with the fried garlic and fried dried chillies. Pour the sauce over the top. You will find it is a very delicious dish.

How to cook - Penang Curry

2009-12-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

Penang curry is one of my favourite Thai dishes. It is simple to make as long as you can buy the ready-prepared chilli paste. In the ingredients below, you can see coriander, sliced beef (you can also use pork or chicken), sliced spur chilli, thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves, sweet basil, coconut milk and penang chili paste in the middle. If you don't have the chilli paste, you can use a carton like the one in the picture that already mixes coconut milk, chilli paste, fish sauce and palm sugar. The taste is good but not really authentic as it is for foreigners. The paste contains ingredients such as dried chillies, shallots, garlic, galangal, lemon grass, coriander root and shrimp paste.

Fry the chilli paste in a pan making sure it doesn't dry out or burn. Gradually keep adding more coconut to keep it moist. Keep going for about four minutes or so. Next, add the sliced beef. If you didn't use the pre-prepared sauce, season the curry with fish sauce and palm sugar. Make sure that you taste it to check the balance of flavours. If too sweet, add more salt. Adding more coconut milk can also help with the final taste but this shouldn't be a runny curry. Finish with the spur chilli, sliced kaffir lime leaves and coriander. Save the sweet basil and some kaffir lime leaves for decoration.

How to cook - Chicken Stirfried with Chilli

2009-12-04T16:38:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

This is a simple Thai dish that you can cook with either pork or chicken. In Thai, this one is called "gai pad prik sod". In the ingredients below, you can see chicken, spring onion, red and green spur chilli, onion and crushed garlic in the centre. The larger chillies seen here are not as hot and spicy as their smaller cousins, so don't be scared to use a lot.

As with most Thai dishes, the cooking process is very quick so you need to prepare all of the ingredients beforehand. Cut the chillies diagonally and then chop up the onions. Put some oil in your wok and then add the crushed garlic. Some people put the garlic into hot oil. But, I prefer to start it from cold so that it doesn't burn. As soon as it is brown and fragrant, add the chicken that has already been cut up into bite-sized pieces. Keep stirring all the time. When it is nearly done, add the chilli and onions. You can season with either fish sauce or soy sauce and some sugar. In Thailand they don't fry their onions for long, so turn off the heat before they become too limp.

How to cook - Red Curry with Roasted Duck

2009-12-04T16:36:00.001-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

I think my favourite red curry is this one which comes with roasted duck. In Thai it is called "gaeng phet pet yang". In Thai restaurants it can be quite expensive to order. So, it is useful to know how to cook. The ingredients will vary a bit from book to book. I like to add pineapple and I hear some people add rambutan. In the picture below, you can see: sweet basil, roasted duck, palm sugar, kaffir lime leaves, plum tomatoes, pea eggplants and red curry paste in the middle. The ingredients of the paste include: red chilli, galangal, lemon grass, red shallots, garlic, kaffir skin, cilantro seeds and shrimp paste.

Heat the oil in a wok and add the red curry paste. Gradually add coconut milk to form a runny paste. Continue this process until it is fragrant and a red oil surfaces. Next comes the roasted pork. In preference, de-bone the duck first. In many Thai restaurants there always seem to be more bone than meat. Cook for another minute or so. You can add more coconut milk if it dries out too much. Add the plum tomatoes, torn kaffir lime leaves and the pea eggplants. Turn off the heat and prepare the seasoning. For this you add a mixture of fish sauce and palm sugar. Our red curry paste bought ready made at the market was a bit too salty. They probably added too much shrimp paste. So, we didn't put in so much fish sauce. If it is too salty, try adding more sugar, coconut and/or stock. Finish with a handful of sweet basil which you should carefully stir in. However, not all recipes call for basil. We decorated the dish with thinly sliced red spur chilli and a sprig of sweet basil.

How to cook - Rice Soup with Minced Pork

2009-12-04T16:34:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

The Thai Rice Soup, or "khao tom" is not only a simple and quick dish to cook, but it is also a nice change to eat something plain and simple if you are not feeling too well with say a stomach ache or the flu. However, some people like to spice it up by adding extra condiments. Pictured in the ingredients below is steamed rice, minced pork mixture, garlic cloves, chicken stock and coriander. You could use shrimp instead of pork. The rice doesn't have to be fresh as you can use leftovers from the night before. This makes it a handy breakfast so that nothing is wasted.

You need to prepare the minced pork mixture first. Use a mortar and pestle and pound together the garlic, coriander roots and some black pepper. Remove this from the mortar. Now add the minced pork and pound it lightly, mixing in the garlic at the same time. You can add some fish sauce if you like at this stage. While you are doing this, bring some chicken stock to the boil. Take a generous pinch of minced pork mixture at a time and roll it roughly into a ball. Drop these into the boiling water. Cook for several minutes. You may need to skim off any froth. Season with some salt rather than the smellier fish sauce. Poor into a bowl and garnish with chopped coriander and fried garlic flakes.

How to cook - Mango with Sweet Fish Sauce

2009-12-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

This week we have something different for you. It is a dip that you can have with green mangoes. Thai people don't often eat fruit without some kind of dip. Another popular dip with green mango is a mixture of sugar and ground chilli. In the picture below, you can see the following ingredients: green mango, red shallots and fish sauce. On the right there is palm sugar, ground dried shrimp and hot chillies.

To make the dip, you need a pot to which you add the mixture of sugar, fish sauce and a quarter cup of water. Simmer over a low heat and stir continuously. When it becomes a thick syrup, add the chopped shallots and keep stirring for a few more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the dried shrimp and sliced chillies. The mango should still be green and also slightly sour. Peel and cut into slices.

How to cook - Stir Fried Vegetable with Chicken

2009-12-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

One of the dishes that I often cook is stir-fried vegetables. You can adapt this in so many different ways depending on what vegetables you have in stock. If I have bought a curry from the roadside, then I usually supplement the stir-fry with some extra meat. Either pork or chicken. In the ingredients below you can see cabbage, chicken, carrots and garlic in the center.

As usual, heat up some oil in the wok and then add the crushed garlic. Try to use Thai garlic as it is believed to be healthier for you. Once it is fragrant and golden brown, add the chicken slices. Give it a good stir and fry for a few minutes. If it starts to dry out, add a little stock or water. Next comes the vegetables. Season with oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Don't overcook, leaving it still a little crispy.

How to cook - Stir Fried Pork with Sponge Gourd

2009-12-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

Our Thai dish today is called "buap pat moo" or Stir-fried pork and angled sponge gourd. It is also commonly cooked with prawns or chicken. The sponge gourd can grow up to three feet in length. However, you need to choose one that is young and still soft to the touch. As it grows mature it will become bitter. You can eat it raw like a cucumber or stir-fry it like a zucchini. In the ingredients below, you can see the unpeeled sponge gourd at the top, the pork, garlic and the peeled sponge gourd. In the center is an egg.

Prepare the gourd by peeling it and then cutting diagonally into bite-sized pieces. Add the chopped garlic to the wok and fry until golden brown. Add the pork and stir fry a short while. Next comes the gourd. Add a little stock if it starts to dry out. Though not too much as there is a certain amount of moisture in the gourd. Give it a good stir for a few minutes. Season with oyster sauce and soy sauce. The last ingredient is an egg which you break into the wok. Stir this in well and it should cook itself. As with anything, do not overcook.

How to cook - Stir Fried Prawns and Snow Peas

2009-12-04T16:23:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

When it comes to Thai food, presentation always counts for a lot. I like experimenting with new recipes and even if I think the results might taste good, a Thai person would first comment on how it looks. Just take a look at this stir fried dish. It looks delicious even before you try it. A nice arrangement of complimentary colours. This one is stir fried prawns and snow peas. In the ingredients below, you can see crushed garlic and prawns on the left and snow peas and straw mushrooms on the right.

It is easy to cook for beginners. As stir frying is very quick, you need to prepare everything in advance. Wash, shell and devein the shrimps. Also prepare the snow peas by pulling the string from the pod. In a wok, fry the crushed garlic until brown and fragrant. Next comes the prawns. Don't overcook so follow these quickly with the mushrooms and finally the snow peas. Add some water or stock if it drys out. Season with oyster sauce, fish sauce and a teaspoon of sugar. Very quick and easy to cook with good results. Also a nice change from the hot and spicy meals.

How to cook - Stir Fried Kale and Carrots

2009-12-04T16:21:00.001-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

This is another one of those simple stir fried dishes. This one is based around kale which is a green leafy vegetable. It is believed to have anti-cancer properties so a good idea to have it in your diet. In the ingredients photo below, you can see carrots, garlic, kale stalks, kale leaves and chicken in the middle. You can use mushrooms instead of carrots. You can also make this a vegetarian dish. The kale is separated like this because the stalks will need to be cooked for slightly longer. You might like to use baby kale if the stalks of this one is too tough.

Heat some oil in a wok and add the chopped garlic. Cook until golden brown. Next add the chicken that has already been cut into bite size pieces. A few minutes later add the kale stalks first and the carrots. Follow this with the leaves. Season with soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Add stock if it starts to dry out. Don't fry for too long if you like crispy vegetables like me.

How to cook - Chicken Stir Fried with Ginger

2009-12-04T16:19:00.001-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

The dish we have for you today is chicken fried with ginger. You can also do it with pork. In the ingredients below, you can see spring onion, onion, straw mushroom, chicken, ear mushroom and ginger in the middle. The seasoning we used was oyster sauce, fish sauce and fermented soy bean sauce.

Prepare everything in advance as stir-frying is very quick. Cut the chicken and mushrooms to bite size. Fry the crushed garlic until it is golden brown. Add the chicken. Next comes the ginger followed closely by the two types of mushrooms. Season with sugar, oyster sauce and fermented soy bean sauce. If it doesn't taste saltier enough then you can add some fish sauce. Finish with the spring onion and the onion. Don't overcook as it is best to have it a little crunchy.

How to cook - Dried Beef in Coconut Milk

2009-12-04T16:17:00.001-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

The dish today is called Dried Beef in coconut Milk, or "pat neua kati". You are supposed to prepare the beef first by drying it with salt. Then roasting it until done. Next you are supposed to pound it to separate the fibres. As you can see from the picture of the ingredients below, we just used salted dried beef. Other ingredients are red shallots, palm sugar and tamarind paste. Here you can see the fruit but you can use the bottled version instead.

To cook is very simple. Heat the coconut milk up in a wok. Add the dried beef and stir well. Season with fish sauce, palm sugar and the tamarind paste. The latter will give it a sour taste. Keep stirring until the coconut milk dries out. Finally add the chopped shallots. That's it. A nice dish which isn't spicy.

How to cook - Wax Gourd Soup with Pickled Lime

2009-12-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

Written by Richard Barrow

This is a simple dish that can be cooked for vegetarians as well without the chicken. It is called "fuk toon ma-nao dong" or Wax Goud Soup with Pickled Lime. In the ingredients pictured below, you can see chicken, mushroom, wax gourd and pickled lime in the middle.

You need to prepare the wax gourd by peeling and then cutting in half. Remove the seeds and membrane. Now cut into large chunks as in the picture. Put some stock in a pot and then add the chicken first. Next comes the wax gourd and mushrooms. You can also add coriander roots and garlic. Once it looks nearly ready, add the pickled lime. Season with soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar. It should have a salty and sour taste. It is best to serve this hot.