Pad Kee Mao Moo (Drunk's Noodles with Pork)

I'm spending quite a bit of time at the moment re-visiting some of my earlier recipes, making some amendments where needed and updating the photos- some of my earlier attempts were not very pretty!! Pad Mee Mao (Drunk's noodles; so named as they're just right after a night's drinking- think spicy, greasy and quick to make- sooo much better than a nasty takeaway kebab!) hold a special place in my heart; it's the meal I had in Manchester's China town whilst on my hen do back in 2009 and I made a point then of learning the recipe.

There are a couple of changes to the other version of this recipe I made back in 2014- simply I've changed a few of the veggies and I now use the (optional) additions of green peppercorns and krachai (fingerroot) for added punchiness. I also think it's essential that you try to get fresh wide rice noodles (sen yai) for this dish- they're soft and stretchy but not chewy and suck up all the sauce, giving you a relatively dry dish. I've used pork rather than chicken but that's totally up to you, this is a very good candidate for a purely veggie version.

For 4 small/ 3 large portions use:

• 2 pork steaks, trimmed of fat, cut into thin slices
• 400g or thereabouts of fresh rice noodles, separated into individual strands
• a handful of green beans, cut into inch long pieces
• a carrot, peeled and sliced- I have a fancy gadget- a komkom that does the star shaped edges
• 6-8 baby corn cobs, sliced into inch long pieces
• a large bunch of sweet basil or holy basil, leaves ripped off stems
• (optional) a tablespoon of green peppercorns
• (optional) a few fingers of krachai (fingeroot), cut into thin slivers
• 4 large cloves of garlic, peeled
• 4 small red chillies
• a very big splash of oyster sauce
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• a small splash of fish sauce
• a small splash of dark soy sauce
• a pinch of sugar
• vegetable oil for frying

• Lightly bash the garlic and red chillies into a rough paste
• Heat a splash of oil in a wok until hot and very briefly fry the garlic/chilli paste
• Throw in the pork (if using) and stir fry for a minute
• Throw in the veggies and stir fry, tossing everything together
• If using, throw in the green peppercorns and krachai and mix, cooking for 2 minutes
• Put all the sauces and sugar in together, stir the ingredients through.
• Put in all the noodles, mixing very well so they absorb the sauces and colour. Careful not to overcook- rice noodles can become stodgy very quickly- only cook as long as needed, around 1 minute.
• Toss through the sweet basil leaves, sprinkling some over the top of the finished dish.

Guay Tiew Nam Moo (Pork Noodle Soup)

There's nothing quite like slurping down a bowl of well seasoned noodles in a savoury broth and guay tiew nam (rice noodle soups) are perfect for that. They can be more or less whatever you want them to be using any kind of combinations of ingredients and seasonings. They are both hearty and filling but very healthy too, just right for a cold February evening. You'll find noodle soup sellers up and down Thailand on any available street corner working from restaurants, stalls and push carts and they're one of the easiest and most popular dishes to grab on the go.

For two big bowls use:

• a small pack of fresh rice noodles (around 200g) (or 2 leaves of dried- prepared to pack instructions), loosened and separated into individual strands
• 2 handfuls of beansprouts
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 200g pork mince
• 1 litre water
• 2 handfuls of chicken bones, raw or cooked, meat on or off. I used chicken wing tips and will save the wings for another recipe.
• half a bulb of garlic, 1 clove finely chopped, the rest just cut in half
• a handful of coriander- half finely chopped, half just very roughly cut
• a tablespoon of black pepper
• a small splash of fish sauce

And for seasonings, choose from: chilli flakes, sugar, sliced chillies & garlic in vinegar or in fish sauce, lime wedges, peanuts, shredded coriander- it's your choice!

Place the broth ingredients: water, chicken bones, the roughly cut garlic and coriander and 3/4 of the black pepper in a large pan. Bring to the boil and simmer slowly for at least an hour for the flavour to develop.

While the broth cooks make the pork balls; mix mince, finely chopped garlic and coriander, the last 1/4 tablespoon of pepper and the fish sauce together in a bowl. Using your hands, form them into golf ball sized meatballs and leave to one side.

When the broth is ready, use a small sieve or strainer to scoop out and discard all the solids. Turn up the heat and drop in the rice noodles, not for long, around 20 seconds, much longer and they'll turn to mush. Scoop out and place in bowls along with a little broth so they don't clump together.

Into the simmering broth, gently place the pork balls which will cook quickly; around 3 minutes- cut one if half to check if need be. Scoop them out when cooked and place onto of the noodles.

Finally, put in the beansprouts and blanch for no more than 20 seconds so they don't lose their crunch. strain and place in the serving bowl before ladling  over a decent amount of broth to fill the bowl.

Sprinkle over the chopped spring onions and whatever seasoning you like. Feel free to slurp, it's good manners!!

Nasi Goreng Kampung (Malaysian Fried Rice- Village Style)

I mentioned a while back that I may from time to time, post a non Thai recipe so hope it's okay that today I'm making a short hop over the border into Malaysia. Some of you may remember I went on holiday for a few weeks last year to Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi where I spent as much time as possible eating my way through dishes from all the cultures that call Malaysia home. 

My husband and I particularly enjoyed the simple rice dishes that we ate for breakfast, such as nasi lemak and this one; nasi goreng kampung (village style fried rice). Although it looks quite a straightforward dish it's full of very strong flavours; notably salty, fishy and spicy ones. Treat yourself and top your portion off with a freshly cooked crisp fried egg.

For 4 large portions use:

• A large bowl of cold, pre cooked rice
• a large bunch of morning glory (water spinach) cut into 2 inch pieces
• a handful of green beans, cut into small pieces
• 2 large handfuls of dried crispy anchovies (1 handful finely chopped, 1 left whole)
• 4 red chillies, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• a big glug of light soy sauce
• a big squeeze of kecap manis (sweet, dark, thick soy sauce)
• vegetable oil for frying

In a deep wok, heat the oil until hot and fry the onion, garlic and chillies until they have some colour (about 2 minutes). 

Stir fry in the handful of chopped anchovies and green beans (open a window/put on the extractor!), frying for a minute before moving the ingredients to the side of the wok and pouring in the beaten egg. 

Let the egg begin to set before lightly scrambling. Let it set again, scramble, set, scramble until fully cooked and mix all the ingredients back together. 

Throw in the morning glory, briefly stir frying for a minute before carefully tipping all the rice in.

Pour over the sauces and gently toss and mix all the ingredients, making sure all the rice is well coated and heated through. 

Have a taste to see if it needs any more sauce and plate up, sprinkling the other handful of dried fish over the steaming rice.

Gai Khua Kem (Salty Roast Chicken)

I've been making this for years now and had affectionately named it 'stinky chicken' due to the huge amount of garlic and chillies I use in it but only recently did I discover it is actually made in Thailand and even has a name; Gai Khua Kem (Salted Roast Chicken).

I eat this as a guilty pleasure usually over pork ribs or just with chicken wings but this version can best be described as a form of a 'hash', I guess. Anyway, it's a great way to use up a roast chicken.

For 4 small or 2 large portions, use:

• A roast chicken (or part of)- I had used the breasts for another recipe so mine was mostly comprised of leg, crispy skin, wings and some spare bits from underneath! I chopped the roasted chicken into varying size bits, keeping some on the bone. This allows for a range of textures in the final dish.

• A whole bulb of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 3-5 hot Thai chillies, or more if you wish
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• A small splash of oyster sauce
• A small splash of light soy sauce
• A big pinch of salt
• A teaspoonful of ground black pepper
• A large splash of vegetable oil for frying

Heat the oil in the wok to a low/medium temperature. Add in all the chopped garlic and gently fry, stirring from time to time for 3-5 minutes over a fairly low temp until the garlic is a light brown and crispy. Scoop out and drain on kitchen paper, leave the garlic oil in the wok.

Turn up the heat on the garlicky oil and pop in the chopped chicken, Toss the chicken every now and then to allow crispy bits to develop. Fry for around 5 minutes so the chicken has time to get some colour and crisp.

Throw in the salt and pepper and mix well. Pour in the oyster and soy sauces and stir. Cook until the liquid has evaporated and the sauces have coated the meat well (about 2 minutes).

Next fling in the chillies, stir, then the crispy garlic, stir again and lastly, the spring onion.

Serve with some fluffy white rice.