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!!

Khanom Jeen Nam Ya (Fish Curry Noodles)

Typically this is a breakfast or lunch dish in Thailand but if you make it for your evening meal I don’t think anyone will mind! This is typical southern Thai street food and is another of those dishes that can be adapted depending on what is available from the market (or in my case, my local Asian food store) on the day. Don’t feel you have to use the same accompanying vegetables. Eggs, pickled cabbage and stink or wing beans are all popular too.
The basic fish curry is served over soft rice noodles and served alongside a selection of crunchy raw vegetables, herbs and crispy dried chillies. The slippery noodles and soft silky sauce contrast really nicely with the beansprouts and green beans and it is both fiercely hot, fishy and salty but balanced out with rich creamy coconut and pepped up with lots of citrus flavours.
For 3-4 portions use:

• A pack of fresh rice noodles (typically thin ones), separated into individual strands or if using dried, soaked until fully flexible.
• 300g of skinned & boneless fish
• a big splash of fish sauce
• 400ml (a can) of coconut milk
• 200ml of fish ‘stock’ (boiling water left over)
• about 8 kaffir lime leaves, torn up

For the curry paste:

• 2 fingers of fresh turmeric
• 2 fingers of krachai (finger root/galingale)
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• a small handful of dried red chillies (6-12)
• a big knob of galangal
• 3 Thai shallots
• a teaspoon of black peppercorns

And to accompany:

• 2 heaped handfuls of beansprouts
• a handful of green/long beans, chopped into pieces
• a few handfuls of whatever fresh Asian herbs you can get- sweet basil would be ideal (I couldn’t get it) so coriander was used here
• several dried red chillies (lightly toasted to crisp them up)
• several slices of cucumber

Start as ever, by making the paste. Pound up all the ingredients, bit by bit, not putting too much in the mortar at once. Start with the tougher ingredients, working through to the softer ones and keep working away until a smooth red paste is reached- 15/20 mins probably. Pop the paste to one side, you need the mortar again…
While doing this, gently boil the fish in water. If you use pre filleted skinned fish, it’ll not take long, perhaps 10 mins. If you use whole fish, maybe 15 minutes. After boiling, scoop out, straining off any drips of water and spend some time as needed to remove any skin and bones. Keep the fishy water for the next step. Put the prepared fish into the mortar and gently pound it, until you have a smooth paste.
Heat a wok and pour in all the coconut milk, gently heating it through. Add in your newly made curry paste and stir through. Let the curry develop for 5 minutes before adding lime leaves, fish sauce and the pounded fish. Add in some of the fish stock as needed- the curry should still have a fairly thick (yoghurt like) consistency. Cook on low heat for a further five minutes. In the last 5 minutes, heat through the fresh rice noodles in hot water until soft and flexible and drain, plating up alongside your selection of vegetables. Ladle over the nam ya curry.

Guay Tiew Khua Gai (Chicken Noodles)

I sometimes have the tendency of overlooking noodles in favour of rice as generally it’s easier to cook and less likely to end up a sticky mess (as sometimes happens with rice noodles) but in reality, noodles- particularly the wide rice noodles are eaten just as commonly in Thailand, particularly at lunch time and especially as street food.
You’ll notice there’s not a whole lot of ingredients or time involved with making this dish and that is because it’s a classic Thai street food dish. For a street food seller you need to be able to get your cart/pitch set up with the minimum of fuss and be able to fire out dishes to hungry customers as fast as they arrive. As ever in Thailand, you are expected to adapt the basic dish to your personal tastes and it would be rare for a Thai customer to eat a simple noodle dish like this without adding an assortment of flavourings from the condiment caddy (seen here in the background). To my plate I added a pinch of sugar, a generous sprinkling of chilli flakes and a ladle of naam pla prik gratiem (chillies and garlic in a fish sauce/vinegar mix) which together add that perfect Thai blend of hot, sweet, salty and sour.

For two portions use:

• Half a pack (or just over) of the widest rice noodles you can get- fresh or dried
• two small chicken breasts/ four thighs, sliced thinly
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 spring onions, finely sliced
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• another splash of light soy sauce
• a small splash of Thai fish sauce
• a big pinch of ground black pepper
• a big splash of vegetable oil for frying
• optional (but recommended) chilli flakes, chilli slices in vinegar/fish sauce, sugar- see my last post about Thai seasonings here

Start by marinating the sliced chicken in a bowl with the big splash of soy sauce and black pepper, it doesn’t need long- deal with the noodles while it marinades.
If using dried noodles as I did here (my local Asian supermarket was out of fresh noodles) start off by soaking them in cold water for 15-20 minutes or until you can wrap a noodle around your finger without it breaking. If using fresh, spend a bit of time loosening the bundle and gently pull the noodles into individual strands.
Heat a big splash of oil in a wok (rice noodles have a tendency to stick so use a little more oil than you would normally use when stir frying) until it’s nice and hot. Add in the chicken and stir fry for 2/3 minutes until fully cooked. Shove the chicken off to one side and crack in the eggs- let them sit and start to set before scrambling, then set, then scramble etc. When the eggs have fully cooked stir everything back together.
Next add the (drained) noodles and quickly after, the soy and fish sauces. Toss everything well and cook for a few minutes before throwing in the spring onion.
Season to your liking.

Miang Pla Yang (Grilled Fish Wraps)

This was a really quick and simple tea, grilled fish with rice noodles, herbs, wrapped in lettuce and dipped in a sour/spicy sauce called nam jim.
It made me think more of Vietnamese food than Thai with all the fresh herbs and little cooking and I could see this being perfect bbq food for a hot summer’s day.

For two people use:

• 2 cleaned seabass or other fish
• a handful of mint leaves
• a handful of Vietnamese mint or coriander
• about half a lettuce, leaves separated
• a big handful of fresh rice vermicelli

and for the nam jim sauce…

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 small red chillies
• a few stalks of coriander
• juice of 1 lime
• a small splash of fish sauce (nam pla)

Start by grilling the fish under a medium grill. It should take about 10-12 minutes to get some colour/ a little char. Gently turn it over after half way. When it’s cooked, you’ll know; it’ll easily flake and the skin will be a bit crispy
While the fish grills, make the nam jim sauce by blending/pounding up all the ingredients. Set on a serving platter with the rest of the ingredients around.
To eat, treat it like a Thai tortilla; take a lettuce leaf, grab some morsels of fish, top with a few strands of noodles and some of the herbs. Roll the whole thing up like a cigar and dip into the sauce as you eat.

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.

Mee Grob (Crispy Noodles)

Mee Grob or Mi Krob, depending on what spelling variation is used is somewhat unknown here in the UK though it’s fairly common in the US as a take-out/ restaurant dish and may be recognisable from being mentioned in The Big Bang Theory and South Park (with varying degrees of popularity).

It does take a bit of prep time and you need to have everything ready to do the bit at the end or you can end up with soggy noodles if you wait too long but I’m sure you’ll do just fine.

Mee grob is predominantly sweet and sour, with this version nudging slightly more towards sour, which is my preference; feel free to adjust the sauce quantities to your taste.

For two people use:

• two nest of or a small packet of vermicelli rice noodles


• 5 spring onion, trimmed and shredded lengthways


• a handful of very fresh bean sprouts


• half a packet of firm tofu, cut in cubes


• 5 shallots, thinly sliced in rings


• a small handful of coriander leaves


• a big handful of prawns/shrimp (raw or cooked)


• vegetable oil for frying/deep frying


• 3 small red chillies, cut into thin strips


• 2 tablespoons of tamarind puree


• a big splash of yellow bean sauce


• a big splash of fish sauce


• juice of 1 lime


• 3 cloves garlic,chopped


• a heaped tablespoon of sugar


• a big pinch of pepper

Start by making the sauce, which can then be left until the very end. Gently heat together the tamarind, yellow bean sauce, fish sauce,lime juice, sugar, pepper and chopped garlic and let it reduce until its quite thick and syrupy.

In a wok, heat a small splash of oil. When hot, fry the prawns/shrimp until pink (if raw) and for about a minute (if they were pre cooked). Leave these on the side.

Fill up the wok with oil for deep frying. When the oil’s hot, add in the tofu and deep fry until the tofu is golden and crispy. Fish it out and leave to drain on kitchen paper. Now deep fry the shallot rings, for around 2-3 minutes, again until they’re golden and crisp and leave them to blot on kitchen paper as well.

Now the fun bit (have more kitchen paper out ready on a plate).Heat the sauce up again and keep it nearby. Get the deep frying oil very hot again and when ready, put the whole nest/slab of dried vermicelli noodles in the hot oil. It should immediately puff up about 3 times in size. Lift out after a few seconds and straight onto the kitchen paper. Repeat if you have more noodles to do.

Work quickly, pour the sauce and the fried noodles into another clean, dry wok or large pan and use a chopping/stirring action to break up and mix the noodles and sauce together. Add the cooked prawns back in and stir well.

Serve on a plate with the coriander, crispy tofu, fried shallots, spring onions, bean sprouts and sprinkle over the chilli strips.

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.

Guay Tiew Reua (Boat Noodles)

Boat Noodles are a Bangkok speciality; a spicy bowl of aromatic broth, filled with rice noodles, meat and/ or fish, raw veggies and herbs before being adjusted to the taste of the eater with lime, fish sauce and sugar. They are usually served up in small bowls and it’s common to order up numerous bowls during the course of a meal! These aren’t totally authentic due to my squeamishness; the real ones usually contain liquid pig’s blood to thicken and darken the broth. Once the broth is made, everything else is literally dipped into the broth for a few seconds to heat through before being piled into a bowl. This is a recipe for the committed; it takes a while to make and prepare!

For two people ( a few bowls each) use:

For the broth:

• half of a pork tenderloin


• 1 litre water


• a big splash of light soy sauce


• a small splash dark soy sauce


• a big piece of galangal (available in some supermarkets) or ginger, in slices


• 2 or 3 lemongrass stalks, bashed up and left whole


• a small handful coriander stems/roots, ripped up


• 4 garlic cloves, bashed up


• a big pinch sugar


• a big pinch pepper


• 5 star anise (supermarkets sell this in the spices section

Fillings:

• The cooked pork tenderloin (see broth)


• Two nests/packets of dried rice noodles


• A packet of pork or fish balls (only available in Asian supermarkets- substitute more meat, veggies or seafood


• half a bag of bean sprouts


• a handful a green leafy veggies (pak choi, choi sum, spinach) 


• 4 spring onions, finely sliced


• a small handful of coriander leaves

Toppings:

• 1 lime, cut into wedges

and mix together:

• a big splash of nam pla (fish sauce)


• red chillies, chopped fine


• 1 clove garlic, chopped

Start with the broth. Put all the broth ingredients into a very large pan. Bring it slowly up to the boil before turning it down and letting it simmer gently for an hour or so. Top up with more water if needed. After an hour, take out the pork and put to one side. Sieve out all rest of the solid broth ingredients and get rid of them, they’ve done their job. Slice the pork loin thinly and leave for the assembly stage.

Assembling the noodles. Put the pork or fish balls into the simmering broth and let these cook through for 5 minutes. In the mean time, prepare the dried rice noodles as per the packet instructions, usually they need soaking for a few minutes first. For this next bit you’ll need a small sieve or metal slotted spoon or a Chinese spider utensil in which to dip and cook your filling ingredients in the broth. Place half the noodles into your utensil and lower them into the hot broth until they are just submerged. Swirl them about in the broth for about 20 seconds to cook before turning them out into 2 bowls. In turn, repeat this process with the half the leafy veg, then half the bean sprouts. Next the sliced pork loin- dip and place a few slices over the noodles. Scoop out a few of the floating pork or fish bowls and add these to your bowl before sprinkling over some of the sliced spring onions and a few sprigs of coriander. 

Finally (breathing a sigh of relief) sprinkle over some of the chillies in fish sauce and squeeze a lime wedge over before sinking in to your well deserved bowl of boat noodles (don’t forget you still have equal amount of ingredients for bowl number 2!)

Pad Thai Talay (Seafood Fried Noodles)

I’ll say straight up, Pad Thai, despite being probably the second most famous Thai dish, sitting just after green/red curries, is one of my least favourite Thai meals, but it is one of my husband’s favourites. I’ve been cooking a lot of dishes with rice on the side recently so promised him a noodle dish for a change. I also had both squid and prawns in so a seafood Pad Thai it was. Saying that, I did still really enjoy it!

For 3 smaller portions/ 2 hungry portions use:

• Rice noodles (made to packet instructions- usually pre soaked then stir fried to finish ) or 3 sachets of ready to wok rice noodles (Amoy’s brand aren’t bad)


• seafood of your choice- I’ve used half a bag of raw king prawns and 100g baby squid, cleaned, trimmed, scored in a cross hatch pattern on both sides so it’ll curl up when fried then cut into inch square pieces


• a really big handful of bean sprouts


• 2 eggs, beaten in a cup


• a small handful of coriander, loosely ripped


• a small handful of peanuts, roughly broken in a pestle and mortar


• 3 spring onions, finely chopped


• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped


• a big splash fish sauce (nam pla- available in all supermarkets)


• a big pinch of sugar


• juice of 1 lime, plus another sliced in half for squeezing over


• a few chillies, chopped for sprinkling over


• a big splash of vegetable oil for frying

Heat the oil up in a wok until it’s really hot and throw in the garlic for just a few seconds before adding the seafood, keep stirring and fry for 2 minutes until the prawns are pink nearly all over. Shove this off to one side of the wok and pour the beaten eggs into the empty side. Let them sit for a few seconds, then scramble, leave and scramble, repeat until the eggs are fully cooked then stir everything back together. Throw in the spring onions and bean sprouts, stir frying for another minute before putting in the drained noodles (or sachet noodles if using ready to wok). Stir fry for 1 minute, leave them to sit for a minute if you like a bit of char on your noodles. Next add in the fish sauce, sugar and lime juice, stir and have a taste to see if it needs any more.

Turn the Pad Thai out onto a plate and top with the crushed peanuts, coriander, chopped chillies and squeeze over half a lime.

Pad Kee Mao (Drunk's Noodles)

Pad Kee Mao (Drunk’s Noodles)

Pad Kee Mao is the Thai version of going to an takeaway and ordering a kebab at the end of the night. It’s a fiercely hot, slightly greasy and salty stir fry that will soak up the alcohol after a night out and it’s so bloody hot will perhaps go some way to sobering you up!

For a one person portion use:

• a small chicken breast, thinly sliced


• a one person portion of rice noodles (thin or wide)


• a few stalks of broccoli, cut in half


• about 6 baby sweetcorn, halved


• 4 cloves of garlic


• 4 birds eye chillies, sliced fine


• a small handful of Thai basil (use tarragon as a substitute)


• a good splash of soy sauce


• a small splash of dark soy sauce


• a small splash of Thai fish sauce (nam pla) all supermarkets sell it


• a small splash of oyster sauce (use bottled not stir fry sauce mix)


• a pinch of sugar


• vegetable/sunflower oil for frying

In advance, If you have dried noodles that require soaking get them ready and prepare them to the packet specification. Like lots of my previous recipes, start off by bashing up 3 of the 4 chillies and all the garlic in a mortar until you have a rough paste. Finely chop the other and leave on the side until later. Heat oil in a wok and when hot, add the chilli and garlic paste. After a few seconds, add in the chicken, and stir fry for a minute. Next add in the vegetables and keep stir frying for another minute until the chicken is mostly cooked through. Next, add all four liquids and the sugar and cook down for another few minutes. Finally add in your noodles and toss them well to coat them in the sauce. Turn the heat off and throw in the basil leaves, stir through then dish up. Top the finished dish with the remaining chopped chilli.