Gai Tod Pad Nam Prik Pao (Fried Chicken Stir Fried with Roasted Chilli Paste)

It's very rare these days that we would ever buy a takeaway, I've just had way too many identical oil drenched, msg ridden, jam-like, tummy ache laden meals to ever optionally order one then pay through the nose for the privileged. however that's not to say I eat healthy all the time. Like most, I occasionally like deep fried food, I just like my salt, sugar and fat in reasonable amounts and I think takeaway places (by and large) rely on pre made cheap fixes.

Ranting over, when I do want something takeaway like, I'd much rather make it myself, lets face it, as long as you have the ingredients in, you can be eating this quicker than it would take for a takeaway to be delivered. I guarantee this crunchy, spicy, sticky stir fry will satisfy all your takeaway urges!! It differs quite substantially from all the other English written versions of gai tod nam prik pao, this is taken directly from a Thai recipe and is the real thing!

As an added bonus, it's a 2 in 1 dish. If you just want the chicken as a starter/snack, use wings and forgo the vegetables. If it's a whole meal, keep the veggies in and serve with rice.

For the stir fry version for two people use all the ingredients:

For the chicken wing snack version use just the ingredients with a * next to them

• 4 large chicken thigh fillets, skinned and cut into large cubes or 10 wings, jointed*
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 2 spring onions, kept in large chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• a small handful of dried red chillies
• a heaped dessert spoon of roasted chilli paste (nam prik pao)*
• a big splash of light soy sauce*
• a big splash of oyster sauce*
• a big pinch of brown or palm sugar*
• rice flour for dredging the chicken (plain flour is ok too, just not as light and crispy as rice)*
• salt and pepper*
• oil for deep frying and splash for stir frying*

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge it through the rice flour, shake off the excess.

Heat a deep fat fryer to 190 degree Celsius or use a heavy pan and watch it carefully.

Pop in the chicken pieces and cook until deep golden and crispy (3-5 mins). Drain on kitchen paper.

Heat a small splash of oil in a wok until hot then throw in the onions and stir fry on a high heat to get some colour. Throw in the dried chillies and garlic and stir fry for a few minutes. Throw in the spring onions and the drained fried chicken.

Add in the roasted chilli paste, coating the chicken well, then the remaining sauces and sugar. Everything should be nice and sticky.

* If you make the wings snack version make the sauce in a wok- heat a small splash of oil before adding the roasted chilli paste, sugar oyster sauce and soy sauce, blend well and put the fried chicken wings in, stirring well so everything is coated.

Khreuang Puang (Thai Condiment Caddy)

Sorry, I’ve been quiet on the blog this week; I’ve not been very well following the typhoid vaccine for our up and coming Malaysia holiday and what with our house now on the market and people coming to view it, it’s been a difficult week to get in the kitchen and get some new recipes out. Following on from the staple Thai store cupboard ingredients post the other week, I thought I’d do a post about the Thai condiment caddy- the ubiquitous 4 pots of seasonings that can be found at every Thai table- whether a restaurant, casual street cafe or a Thai home. I hear that many Thai restaurants in the US will have these too although to date the only one I’ve come across in the UK to have a caddy is Siam Smiles in Manchester which I wrote about a month or two back here.

Often in the west, if we eat at a restaurant it can be seen as poor etiquette to receive a meal, only to start heaping salt/pepper on top of it. Not so in Thailand where it is expected that each diner will want to adapt the flavour of their dish to their personal tastes. The aim is to find your perfect balance of spicy, sour, salty and sweet (known as the 4 flavours). Noodle dishes in particular are most commonly ‘improved’ by additions from the condiment caddy. There are numerous options of sauces, flavourings and ingredients that might be found at a Thai table but here, I have settled here for the 4 that are commonly used (and eaten) by us at home.
In my caddy I have:

• white sugar (naam tam sai)
• chilli flakes (prik bon)
• roasted chilli paste (naam prik pao)
• sliced chillies & garlic in fish sauce and vinegar (naam pla prik gratiem)

Makua Yao Nam Prik Pao (Aubergine with roasted chilli paste)

Despite being in house selling mode and what I said in my last post about not wanting to cook strong smelling food, I couldn’t resist another Thai dish. This one is ‘more or less’ vegetarian and is easily adapted to be vegan too, just check the ingredients on any chilli paste you use. It took about ten minutes to prep and even less to cook, so it’s perfect for a quick meal. Aim to get the aubergines to be a little soft but not mushy; you still want some texture in the dish.

For 2 big portions use:

• 2 regular purple aubergines/ 4 thin purple ones/ 16 Thai egg aubergines or a combination of. I used the thin purple ones, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 3 small red chillies, roughly sliced
• a handful of sweet Thai basil (or try using tarragon for an anise-like flavour as a substitute)
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• a splash of fish sauce (nam pla) or extra soy if vegetarian/vegan
• a heaped teaspoon of roasted chilli paste (nam prik pao- be aware some contain shrimp)
• vegetable oil for frying

This recipe it so easy; Make a rough paste by pounding the garlic and chilli in a pestle and mortar. Heat a big splash of oil in a wok until hot. Throw in the garlic/chilli paste and stir fry for a few seconds before throwing all the aubergine in. Depending on which aubergine you have used (green Thai need longer, large purple need less) stir fry for 3-5 minutes, making sure the garlic/chilli doesn’t burn. Add in the roasted chilli paste, soy sauce and (if using) fish sauce, mixing everything well for a further minute. Turn off the heat and stir through the sweet basil leaves until just wilted before serving.

Hoi Lai Pad Nam Prik Pao (Clams fried in roasted chilli paste)

I’ve been wanting to make this for ages but despite living on an island, we don’t always have access to great seafood here in the UK, much of it being exported or used in the restaurant trade. However, Booths (which is a top end northern England family supermarket chain) sells fantastic, fresh food, including shellfish so as a treat I collected my pre-ordered clams (and was given a free extra handful- ‘just in case’) which came to just over £8 and would have comfortably served 3 people and toddled off home to make this for tea.

With reference to Thailand, shellfish is not overly expensive and for those living nearer the coast, it is everyday food. It was also the first time I got to use one of my new ingredients- Nam Prik Pao, which is a roasted chilli paste and contains (along with chillies) tamarind, shrimp paste and a host of other ingredients. So overall, I make no apologies- this one isn’t an easy substitution dish as it contains quite a few specialist Thai ingredients.

For two people use:

• 500g of very fresh clams (or mussels), cleaned and dead ones (they don’t close when squeezed) thrown away


• a tablespoon of nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste)


• 4 or 5 red Thai chillies, sliced


• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine


• a small splash of fish sauce (nam pla)


• a small splash of oyster sauce


• a small splash of water


• a handful of sweet Thai basil (bai horapa)


• a pinch of sugar


• vegetable oil for frying

Heat the oil in a wok and when hot, throw in the garlic. Stir fry it for a few seconds before adding in the roasted chilli paste. Give this a good fry for about 30 seconds before adding the chillies, sugar and all the sauces/ water. Throw in the cleaned clams and stir fry. Ideally- find a lid or kitchen implement that can cover the wok so the clams begin to steam, Keep frying and gently shaking the clams in the sauce for about ¾ minutes- they should all now be open. For the last few seconds, toss through the Thai sweet basil and serve alongside rice. 

Note- if any clams have failed to fully open, throw them out- they may have been dead before cooking began.