Tom Yum Boran (Ancient Soup)

And so it’s the end of the year and a final post for 2014. Tom Yum Boran (Ancient soup) a little known, old fashioned Thai recipe that was very easy to make,being sort of a cross between a Pad Thai and hot and sour soup or quite like a Thai version of a bowl of Japanese ramen. It is an excellent one for clearing heads and is both light and cleansing too. A perfect healthy new year food.


In just 6 months I’ve gained 233 lovely followers, thanks for your support and I hope you continue to enjoy reading my blog and hopefully are inspired to try out some of the recipes. Have a wonderful 2015! Naomi x


For two people, use:

• Two small nests of dried egg noodles


• a small handful of thinly sliced lean pork


• Two handfuls of bean sprouts


• Juice of a lime 


• 4 spring onions, chopped


• a small handful of peanuts, crushed


• a pinch of chilli flakes


• half a pint of water


• a big piece of galangal,bashed


• two stalks of lemongrass, bashed


• 3 cloves of garlic,bashed


• 2 small Thai chillies, split


• 6 ish kaffir lime leaves, ripped up


• a splash of fish sauce (nam pla)


• a big splash of tamarind concentrate or if you can’t get this, an extra half juiced lime

In a large pan, heat the water with the meat, galangal, lemongrass, garlic, chillies and lime leaves on a gentle heat for around 30 minutes to infuse the flavours of the herbs. If the water reduces too much,add a bit more. After the infusing time, strain out and discard all the solid herbs, leaving the meat behind. Add in the tamarind, lime and fish sauces before stirring briefly.

In a separate pan, boil water and cook the noodles before straining out and dividing the noodles between bowls. Briefly boil the bean sprouts, 30 seconds will do, before scooping out and topping the noodles with them.

Distribute the soup and pork between the bowls and sprinkle over the spring onion, peanuts, chilli flake and an extra squeeze of lime.

Khao Kluk Kapi (Shrimp Paste Fried Rice with Toppings)

This will be the last post before Christmas and I wanted to do something a little different so set about researching some lesser known Thai dishes and came across this one. The rice is simply fried with a *small* amount of very pungent shrimp paste and oyster sauce and piled up with lots of tempting toppings. Each spoonful can be a different combination of tastes and textures- it’s kind of fun to eat!


For two people use:

• 2/3 of a cup of white rice


• ½ a teaspoon of shrimp paste (kapi) available from Asian supermarkets


• a big splash of oyster sauce x 2


• a couple of Chinese sausages, sliced thinly on the diagonal (salami or kabanos would also work well)


• a small handful of pork or other meat, cubed


• a big pinch of sugar


• small heap of green mango or papaya, shredded (I did a som tam at the same time to use all my papaya up)


• a few green and/or red chillies, chopped


• ¼ of a red onion or 4 Thai shallots, finely sliced


• 2 eggs


• a small wedge of cucumber, cut into slices


• vegetable oil for frying.

As with most fried rice dishes, the rice needs to be pre cooked, so this recipe works best with rice that has been cooked either yesterday or earlier in the day. Boil the rice until cooked, then rinse and leave it to completely cool and dry out a bit.


Make/ prepare all the toppings-

For the omelette, whisk the two eggs, heat some oil in a small frying pan until hot and fry until fully set, turning over half way. Blot on kitchen paper then roll it up and shred.


For the sausage- heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a pan and fry the sliced sausage for a few minutes until crispy.


For the sweet pork- again heat a little oil in a pan, fry the pork until half cooked then add the sugar and a splash of oyster sauce, cook until caramelised and sticky.


The rice- heat a small splash of oil in a large frying pan or wok, fry your small amount of shrimp paste- it’s very powerful stuff so open windows, put on extractor fans! and fry for about 30 seconds before tipping in the rice. Coat everything well then add a splash of oyster sauce, mix everything well- the rice should only look a pale brown.


Put the rice in the centre of a plate and pile up all the other ingredients around. Feel free to experiment with other toppings.

Gaeng Hang Lay (Northern Curry)

I’ve been enjoying exploring some of Thailand’s lesser known curries recently. Green and red are so popular here in the UK, with Massaman, Penang and Jungle following behind somewhere. Along with the recipes I’ve posted recently for Gaeng Kari (Indian style curry) and Khao Soi (Burmese style curried noodles) I feel there are still some amazing Thai curries that need better representation here in the UK, Gaeng Hanglay is one of them. It’s a dish from the north of Thailand, and like another northern curry, Gaeng Pha (jungle curry) it doesn’t use coconut milk. It shares ingredients from both Burmese and Indian cuisines. As there are a few stages to making this curry, it does take a bit of time, around 3 hours altogether, but it is definitely worth it.


This recipe gives three big portions or four small ones:


For the hang lay spice mix:

Toast the following spices in a dry frying pan until starting to brown (but not burn!) then grind in a pestle and mortar:

• a heaped teaspoon of Szechwan peppercorns


• 6 dried red chillies


• a heaped tablespoon of coriander seeds


• a heaped teaspoon of cumin seeds


• ½ nutmeg, crumbled


• a heaped tablespoon of powdered turmeric

For the pickled garlic use:

• a bulb of garlic, peeled


• a pinch of sugar


• a pinch of salt


• a big splash of white wine/ rice wine vinegar


• a splash of water.

Mix everything and leave to pickle for at least an hour. This will keep for a week at least.


For the curry paste:

Pound up all these ingredients in a pestle and mortar, start with the tougher ingredients and add the spice powder and shrimp paste (if using last). It’ll take a while but pestle and mortar does give the best results:

• a tablespoon of your hang lay spice mix


• 3 stalks of lemongrass, trimmed, outer layer peeled off and finely chopped


• ½ red onion, roughly chopped


• 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped


• a finger sized piece of galangal, roughly chopped


• a few pieces of fresh turmeric, roughly chopped (use a tablespoonful of dried if you can’t get fresh)


• a heaped teaspoon of shrimp paste (leave out if you don’t have access to an Asian supermarket.

For the curry use:

• 300g of pork, cubed. I used pork loin but left the fat on


• about 20 Thai shallots/ regular shallots are fine too, peeled but left whole


• a handful of peanuts


• a large piece of ginger, peeled and cut into strands


• your pickled garlic + a big splash of the pickling liquid


• the rest of your hang lay spice mix


• a big splash of dark soy sauce


• a big splash of fish sauce


• a big splash of tamarind juice (use lime if you can’t get tamarind)


• water  as needed


• a big pinch of sugar


• a small splash of vegetable oil for frying

In a bowl, start by mixing together the meat, curry paste and dark soy sauce, letting it marinate for an hour or more, if you have time.

In the meantime, toast the peanuts in a dry frying pan, when they have brown edges, turn them out and leave for later.

When the meat has marinaded, heat the oil in a wok or heavy frying pan. When it’s hot, add in the meat and fry to seal the meat and render out some of the fat. After 5 minutes of cooking, add in the shallots and fry for another few minutes before adding in the pickled garlic and juice, peanuts and ginger. Give everything a good stir then add in the rest of the spice mix. Stir again before adding the fish sauce, tamarind and the sugar. Slowly add in water until you can only just see the tops of the ingredients poking out before leaving the curry to simmer for at least an hour. From time to time, give the curry a stir and check the water level; adding more if needed. The pork should be soft and the sauce shouldn’t be too thin when it’s ready.

Serve with fluffy or sticky rice.

Guay Teow Rad Naa (Noodles in Gravy)

Hello, I’m back! I’ve been back at home in Lancashire for almost a week, things are sorting themselves out and I’ve even got a new job this week so now,with things a little calmer, it’s time to get some recipes under way again. Today I’m posting a recipe for Rad Naa noodles, an uncomplicated, comforting stir fried dish. It’s got very few ingredients, can be made in about ten minutes and is perfect if you need a gentle introduction to Thai food- there’s no chilli in the recipe although (as ever with Thai food) you can add some to your own tastes.


For two people use:

• A pack of fresh wide rice noodles (use dried if you can’t get fresh and soak first), loosened into strands


• 200g of lean pork, finely sliced


• two handfuls of green Asian veggies, roughly chopped- pak choi, choi sum, bok choi etc.


• a small handful of oyster mushrooms (optional) they were growing on a log in the garden and were just at the right size for using!


• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced


• a heaped teaspoon of cornflour, dissolved in a bit of water


• a big splash of yellow bean sauce


• a big splash of water or chicken stock.


• a small splash of dark soy sauce


• a small splash of fish sauce


• a pinch of sugar


• a big pinch of white or black pepper


• vegetable oil for frying.

Heat a wok with a splash of oil in until very hot. Add the noodles and cook briefly, perhaps a minute, let them get a bit of colour but don’t let them get too sticky. Divide out onto serving plates. Heat oil again and throw in the garlic, stir frying for just a few seconds before you add in the pork, cooking it most of the way through (about 3 or four minutes). Now add in the green veggies and mushrooms (if using), cooking for a further minute. Now add in the sauces (yellow bean, dark soy and fish). Add the cornflour mix and stir. Add in water/ stock until you end up with a gravy like consistency- not too thick or too thin. Season with sugar and pepper to taste before pouring over the noodles and serving.

Pad Bai Horapha Pla Muk Nor Mai (Squid and Bamboo Shoots stir fried with Sweet Basil)

Well, this is the last recipe from my North Yorkshire kitchen. Moving back to Lancashire in a few days so there may be a short break in service!!

Not the prettiest of photos today, sorry about that! I was hungry!! I’ve done a stir fry with Thai sweet basil before and this is more or less the same, the main ingredient is now squid and I’ve added fresh bamboo shoots. Like pad grapao gai, it works really well served with a crispy fried egg!

This is perfect Thai sea side food and the cooking part only takes a few minutes so perfect for a really quick supper :)


For two people use:

• 1 big squid tube, cleaned, trimmed, scored in a grid pattern and cut into small squares


• 1 fresh bamboo shoot/ a small tin of bamboo shoots 


• 4 cloves garlic


• 3 red Thai chillies (more or less if you like)


• a big handful of Thai sweet basil (use tarragon as a substitute, not Mediterranean basil!)


• a big splash of light soy sauce


• a big splash of oyster sauce


• a pinch of sugar


• vegetable oil for frying

If you have managed to track down fresh bamboo shoot from an Asian grocery, start here first, if not- skip on a bit. Peel off the tough outer leaves until you reach the yellowy core, trim off both ends and then use a knife to cut the whole thing in half and into strips. Now this is the important bit- raw bamboo shoot is toxic- boil the bamboo shoots for at least 30 minutes then drain and rinse them well under cold water.


Pound up the garlic and chillies in a pestle and mortar, you’ll be needing it in a moment. Heat a splash of vegetable oil in a wok, and when hot, throw in the garlic and chilli paste, just for a few seconds before adding in the squid. Stir fry it for a minute, no more, before adding in the bamboo shoots, sugar and the sauces, stir frying for another minute before turning off the heat and stirring in the sweet basil. Phew, done!