Khai Yat Sai (Stuffed Omelette)

There's not many foods more accessible, comforting and on your plate as quick as an omelette. This omelette goes one over on other omelettes; it's stuffed with a light pork and vegetable mix and for a filling meal rather than just a light lunch or quick snack, serve with rice. It's also a very gentle introduction to Thai food, ideal for children or those who don't eat very spicy hot foods. One recommendation- make sure you have a very good non stick wok (I didn't, but that's another story...)

For one portion use:

• 4 eggs, beaten
• a small handful of pork mince
• a handful of diced vegetables (I used carrot and yellow pepper)
• 1/4 white onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• a small splash of oyster sauce
• a small splash of soy sauce
• a small splash of fish sauce
• a big pinch of ground pepper
• vegetable oil for frying
• some sprigs of coriander (optional) for serving
• chili sauce/ sriracha (optional) for serving

Heat a small drizzle of oil in a pan and when hot, fry the garlic for a few seconds then add in onion and soften for a few minutes. Now put the pork mince in. Stir fry until almost cooked through before adding in your choice of veggies, stir frying for a minute before adding the soy and oyster sauces and pepper. Fry until any remaining liquid has evaporated and your mixture is fairly dry. Pop the filling to one side.

Now mix the fish sauce in with the beaten eggs. Heat some more oil in a wok to a high temperature and make the omelette; swirl the egg mixture around the wok to create as large and thin an omelette as possible. (This is the point I discovered my non-stick wok had lost a lot of it's non-stickiness). When the omelette has fully set and is starting to crisp, heap the prepared filling into the centre of the omelette and fold each side in, then the top and bottom edges, so the filling is enclosed in the omelette like an envelope. Serve by tipping the omelette upside down onto a plate so the folds sit tucked underneath.

Gluay Buad Chi ( Bananas in Coconut Milk)

This is quite possibly the easiest and quickest Thai dessert you'll ever make. It can be on the table in just 5 minutes and uses just four ingredients. The name 'Gluay Buad Chit' literally means 'bananas becoming nuns! In Thailand Buddhist nuns wear white rather than the saffron robes of the monks so maybe the dish is a visual reference to the name. Serve warm for a lovely comforting dish that everyone will enjoy.

For two people use:

• Two bananas- cut each into 4 pieces; cut lengthways and crossways
• A 400ml can of coconut milk
• A handful of sugar
• A tiny pinch of salt

In a pan gently heat the banana pieces in the coconut milk. Keep just a little of the thicker coconut cream back for dribbling over at the end. When the bananas have softened after a few minutes, pop in the sugar and salt and stir gently until dissolved, taking care not to damage the bananas.

Serve and dribble over the last bit of coconut cream

Khao Pad Tom Yum (Hot & Sour Soup Flavour Fried Rice)

Apparently this Thai dish was all the rage a few years back when it became rather fashionable to mix together classic Thai dishes into one combined meal. Take Tom Yum Goong (Hot & Sour Prawn Soup) and Khao Pad (Fried Rice) and mix the flavours together to create a quick, filling, fresh and vibrant tasting rice dish.

For two people use:

• 3 cups of cooked and cooled white rice (left over from yesterday is ideal)

• a large handful of small prawns/shrimp

• a few stalks of green leafy veg (such as morning glory or pak choi) or substitute mushrooms or another veg of your choice

• 1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped

• 4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

• a 1 inch piece of galangal, peeled and finely chopped

• 5-6 kaffir lime leaves, stem removed and ripped into pieces

• 3-4 small chillies, red, orange or green

• juice of 1 lime

• a big splash of fish sauce

• a heaped teaspoon of nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste)

• a handful of fresh coriander, some chopped, some left as stalks

• vegetable oil for frying

Heat a splash of oil in a wok until hot and fling in the garlic, stir frying for a few short seconds. Next add in and briefly fry the flavouring herbs: galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime and chillies. Next in goes the nam prik pao, move it around and cook out the paste for a moment. Next your vegetable choice, give it 20 seconds or so stir frying before the prawns go in for another 30 seconds or so of frying.

Now it's time to carefully tip in the cool, cooked rice and mix everything well, coating the rice in the nam prik pao. Finally pop in the fish sauce, squeeze over the lime and mix in the chopped coriander before giving everything a good final mix through before serving alongside plenty of fresh coriander.

Gai Pad Pong Karee (Chicken Fried with Curry Powder)

Soft chicken and egg pieces, a few crunchy vegetables and a mild yellow curry powder stir fry served over rice; this is great comfort food, just what you want on an autumn evening. 

As far as stir frys go, this is a great one as you won’t need to look hard for the ingredients (apart from possibly the nam prik pao- roasted chilli paste) and you can be eating it in around 20 minutes. It’s another classic Thai street food dish (although it’s often made into a luxury version by being served with crab or other seafood). Evaporated milk (although not a common ingredient in savoury recipes in the UK anymore) still crops up in Thai food quite regularly (such as tom kha gai soup) and is interchangeable with coconut milk (though obviously will give a less sweet flavour whilst still retaining the right creaminess). Mild curry powder gives it it’s bright yellow colour and makes it popular for little ones too.

For 4 portions use:

• 6 medium sized chicken thighs (skinned, boned and trimmed of fat), cut into small pieces
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 100ml of evaporated milk
• a heaped dessertspoon of nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste)
• a heaped dessertspoon of mild curry powder
• a large handful of crunchy veggies (I used some green beans and green/yellow bell peppers)
• 1 onion, sliced
• a few red chillies, chopped into a few bits (optional)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• a big splash of oyster sauce
• vegetable oil for frying

Prepare the sauce first as it’ll all get poured in together- mix in a bowl the eggs, evaporated milk, nam prik pao, curry powder, soy sauce and oyster sauce. This will make things much quicker and easier.

In a wok, heat the oil until reasonably hot and stir fry the garlic for a few seconds before you add in the onion. The onion needs a minute just to soften, we’re not looking for colour. Now add the chicken. Cook the chicken until it’s more or less completely white and cooked through. Toss in the rest of the veggies and stir fry for a further minute then pour in the sauce. It’ll take a few minutes but as the egg cooks you’ll get something that resembles a lightly scrambled texture; i.e some solid and fluffy bits and still a little liquid- that’s the consistency you want. Don’t worry about it looking slightly curdled- that’s how it’s meant to be!!

Serve over hot fluffy rice and enjoy- this dish is like having an warm blanket wrapped around you.

Thai Soup Collection

It’s almost that time of year again- soup season!! Bringing you my recipe collection of four Thai soups I have cooked over the past year or so.

From top-bottom:
Tom Kha Gai (Galangal Chicken Soup)
Tom Saeb (Hot & Sour Pork Rib Soup)
Tom Yum Boran (Ancient Soup)
Tom Yum Goong (Hot & Sour Shrimp Soup)

Gai Yang Khamin (Turmeric Grilled Chicken)

So lots of you liked my sushi post yesterday? thanks for that; I do sometimes wonder whether I should include more than Thai food in this blog as we eat Asian food probably 4-5 nights a week, I guess I just know way more about Thai than any other food culture. I may start throwing in the odd non- Thai Asian post from time to time.
So it’s moving towards Autumn/ Wintertime again and the which makes taking pictures in poorly lit kitchens quite tricky so sorry for the washed out pic. It did taste really good though and was really easy to do. I’ve done a gai yang post way back here but a slightly different recipe and without the addition of turmeric.Turmeric is supposed to have cancer preventative properties so is a great food to eat.
For two portions use:

• 4-6 chicken thighs, skinned and boned, trimmed of excess fat
• a small handful of coriander roots or stalks
• a teaspoon of black peppercorns
• half a bulb of garlic
• 2 fingers of fresh turmeric
• a big splash of light soy sauce

and the sauce is simply:

• Juice of a big lime
• a big splash of fish sauce
• a few stalks of chopped coriander
• a big pinch of chilli flakes/powder
• a teaspoon of toasted rice powder (dry fry rice and grind up)

Pound all the solid ingredients in a pestle and mortar until you have a chunky paste. Put this paste along with the soy sauce and chicken into a bowl, mixing well and leave to marinade for as long as you have, ideally an hour or so.
Heat the grill on a medium heat (not too hot otherwise the spices burn and the chicken stays raw!) and grill until cooked through, with a slight char and some crispy bits. Serve with (ideally! sticky rice, a som tam salad and the spicy dipping sauce

Homemade Sushi Night!

Having a change from Thai (just a brief one- promise!) Homemade sushi with the best ever tasting sushi grade fish from Kazari