Kai Jeow Moo Saab (Fluffy Omelette with Pork Mince)

After cooking some fairly elaborate dishes over the last few weeks I thought a change to something really easy would be nice and made a simple fluffy Thai omelette.

I'm also still getting used to using my new carbon steel wok. It was a very welcome Christmas present but due to the amount of time needed and smoke created in order to season a new wok I've waited until it was a bit warmer and I could have the doors and windows right open! About a month in with my new wok and I love it, I can use my metal food turner with it and it already it's pretty much non-stick.

Back to omelettes...

Thai omelettes are a lot fluffier, a bit crispier and a little more unhealthy but other than that, they're still very straightforward and ready in less than 5 minutes.

For 1 omelette you need:

• 2 large or 3 medium eggs
• a very small splash of fish sauce
• a very small splash of light soy sauce
• a big pinch of black pepper
• 75g of pork mince
• half a cup of vegetable oil

Beat your eggs in a bowl with the sauces and pepper. Add in the pork and mix well to break up.

Heat a wok on a high heat and when smoking, add in the vegetable oil, let it heat up almost until smoking again.

Tip your egg mixture into the hot oil from about 1ft above but please, be careful! This action will cause the omelette to instantly start puffing up around the edges. Use a spatula to allow oil to move all around the edges and let it cook, undisturbed for a couple minutes (the centre may still be raw- that's fine).

Use a wide spatula (or get a friend with a second spatula) to carefully flip over the omelette; any raw mixture is now underneath and will cook in the oil. Let the other side cook for a couple of minutes and get golden brown. 

When cooked, carefully lift out. Serve with Sriracha chilli sauce, white rice and something like pad pak bung fai daeng (Stir fried morning glory), one of my favourite vegetable dishes.

Gaeng Som Cha Om (Sour Curry with Acacia Omelette)

Gaeng Som must be one of the few 'curries' I've yet to touch on; my preference for Northern and Central Thai cuisine means I often overlook dishes from South Thailand, perhaps unfairly. To this end today's recipe and the next will focus on southern Thai food.

Gaeng Som is more soup like than other curries and has a simple and aromatic paste making it an easy dish to pull off. It's sourness comes from a combination of tamarind paste and lime juice. Any combination of crunchy vegetables can feature in a gaeng som but keeping it traditional, I've just used bamboo shoots. A popular addition; acacia omelette (kai jeow cha om) helps to provide a pleasing textural contrast and soaks up some of the broth.

For 4 small bowls use:

• 200g peeled prawns
• 200g of drained and rinsed bamboo shoots, sliced
• 50ml of taramind concentrate
• juice of 1 lime
• small handful of peeled Thai shallots
• small handful of dried red chillies
• 4 or 5 fingers of krachai (galingale) chopped
• 1 teaspoon of shrimp paste
• 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
• a big splash of fish sauce

and for the accompanying acacia omelette follow this recipe

Begin by making the acacia (cha om) omelette, cutting it into squares and keeping warm while you make the curry.
Make the curry paste by pounding the dried red chillies, shallots, shrimp paste and krachai in a mortar, working it until you have a well blended red paste. The krachai will be one of the predominant flavours of the dish whilst the chillies give it it's orangey/red colour.
Boil the chicken stock in a large pan and pop in all the prepared paste, mixing well. Turn down the heat to a simmer.
Add in the bamboo shoots and cook for 2 minutes, then add in the tamarind and fish sauces.
Next in go the prawns- 3 minutes or so for raw, 1-2 for pre-cooked.
Finally squeeze in the lime juice, give everything a final quick stir and stir with freshly cooked rice.
Serve the acacia omelette both in and on the side of your gaeng som.

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.

Kai Jeow Cha Om (Acacia Omelette)

Day or night, omelettes are one of those perfect meals when you’re hungry and in a rush and Thailand is a great place to experience the omelette in all it’s glory. They are usually cooked in fiercely hot oil so they puff up and usually contain a small amount of filling mixed in with the egg, such as pork mince. I appreciate acacia (also known as climbing wattle or in Thailand; Cha om) isn’t something you’ll easily be able to get hold of unless you have a Thai supermarket nearby but it was something I’ve been on the look out for a for  while now and when I saw it at RaanThai the other week, I had this recipe lined up ready for it. It shares some of the properties of stink beans such as the sulphurous smell and taste and lingering odour about the person but this largely disappears at cooking time, unlike stink beans which stay potent for up to two days post ingestion.
***A word of warning- cha om is a spiky plant so you have to carefully pull all the leaves off the stems before cooking; avoiding the thorns and resulting finger injury.

For a pan sized omelette that serves one as a main or two as a side dish use:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 pack of cha- om (roughly a bowl full) Leaves, stripped CAREFULLY off the stems
• a small splash of fish sauce (nam pla) or use light soy sauce if veggie/vegan
• vegetable oil for frying

Mix the cha om/ acacia into the beaten eggs. There should be more cha om than egg. Add in the fish sauce and stir. Heat a big splash of oil in a small-medium sized frying pan and when the oil is very hot, tip the mixture in. Let it fully set underneath (about 1-2 minutes) and very carefully turn over and cook the other side for a further 1-2 minutes. When cooked, turn out onto kitchen paper to soak up excess oil then cut into pieces; fancy diamonds if you like, or slices/wedges/strips if you want to just get eating.

Mi Ga Ti (Coconut Milk Noodles)

This was a big success in our house, I’ll definitely be doing this one on a regular basis. Wide flat rice noodles,served with a creamy, fairly sweet red curry coconut milk based sauce, served with  bean sprouts, garlic chives and an omelette. Classic Thai street food, it’s quick and easy to make and very satisfying. Oh and it’s a very mild Thai dish so if you struggle with spicy heat,give this one a try.

For 3 portions use:

• a large handful of pork mince (roughly 120g)
• half a pack of tofu (it freezes well) cut into cubes
• a pack of fresh rice noodles, pulled apart into individual strands (or 1 nest of dried noodles per person)
• 2 large handfuls of bean sprouts
• a small handful of Chinese garlic chives (or regular chives), cut into inch long pieces
• a tablespoon of red curry paste (I used Mae Ploy brand)
• a tablespoon of peanuts, roughly crushed
• 1 can of coconut milk
• a large pinch of sugar
• a big splash of tamarind concentrate (or juice of 1 lime)
• a big splash of yellow bean sauce

Optional Toppings:

• 2 egg omelette, rolled and sliced- recommended!!
• lime wedge
• cucumber slices
• extra Chinese garlic chives and bean sprouts
• chilli flakes
• half a red onion, finely sliced
• extra crushed peanuts

Prepare the toppings that you want to use, including your omelette. I used all the above though the extra chives and bean sprouts aren’t really necessary and were more for presentation.
Heat the coconut milk in a large pan, when starting to boil, add in the red curry paste and stir until it’s fully mixed. Add in the raw mince and break up in the sauce, cooking for around 5 minutes until it’s almost cooked through. Add in the tofu and garlic chives, stir again. Throw in the crushed peanuts, sugar, tamarind/lime and yellow bean sauce. While this cooks for a further 5 minutes, prepare the noodles…
If using dry, boil for a long as the packet suggests. If using fresh, drop the noodles into hot (doesn’t need to be boiling) water for up to 1 minute. No more or they’ll turn to mush. Check every 10 seconds or so to make sure. Drain and divide amongst the plates.
Back to the sauce; it should be reasonably thick now, have a check and a taste to see if it’s to your liking (adjust sweet/sour to your taste). Divide the sauce over the noodles and add as many of the toppings as you like.

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.