Tod Mun Pla & Nam Prik Waan (Fried Fishcakes & A Sweet Chilli Sauce)

A good long while back I wrote a post about how to make Tod Mun Pla, whilst I was always happy with the flavour, I was never really happy with the texture; although good and crispy they didn't have that rubberiness or bounciness that is expected in a Thai fish cake. This has led over the last few years to a bit of experimentation with both the recipe and the method and I'm pleased to say that now I think I've finally conquered how to create the perfect bouncy fish cake. The recipe will stay pretty much the same as before except there is an addition of some baking powder and an egg is no longer needed but otherwise it remains the same recipe. The key difference is in the cooking and preparation method- chilled, boiled (yes- boiled!) then fried.

You'll just need a few additional tools to help create the fish cakes. I've also served them alongside a sweet and hot chilli sauce which is different from the cucumber pickle that was used last time, though you could use either or both as they both make a really nice accompaniment to the fish cakes.

For around 15 so fishcakes you'll need:

• 2 fillets of skinless, boneless, firm white fish such as basa

• About six green beans sliced very finely

• A heaped tablespoon of red curry paste, I use Mae Ploy brand

• A good splash of fish sauce

• 4 or 5 kaffir lime leaves, rolled up into a cigar and shredded extremely finely

• A large pinch of sugar

• A heaped teaspoon of baking powder

And for the sauce you will need:

• Two large red chillies, chopped (deseeded if you don't want it too spicy)

• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped

• A chunk of ginger peeled and chopped

• Half a cup of tamarind puree

• A golf ball sized piece of palm sugar

• A pinch of salt

• A small splash of the juice from a jar of pickled garlic

• A level teaspoon of cornflour mixed into a thin paste with a little water

Begin by making the sauce by pureeing together the chillies, ginger and garlic cloves.

In a small pan over a low heat, melt the palm sugar with the half cup of tamarind puree, adding the splash of pickled garlic juice and mix well. When everything is dissolved, add in the chilli garlic and ginger puree along with the pinch of salt and let the mixture cook down for a few minutes and then finally stir in the corn flour blend just to thicken everything up. 

Once this is done put to one side until later. 

Now we move onto the fish cakes. Begin by blending all the fish in a food processor or blender until it's minced into a paste. Put in the sugar, red curry paste and fish sauce and blend again until it's as fine as you can make it. Using a spatula, mix in by hand the green beans and kaffir lime leaves and spread the mixture out thinly onto a plate, covering with cling film. Place the the plate into a freezer and allow it to cool down for 10 to 15 minutes; this will make sure that the mixture firms up and is it easier to work with. 

While the mixture is in the freezer, get a few items ready; bring a large pan of water up to a simmer and make sure you have a vinyl or latex glove handy (make sure it's a non-powdered glove). You'll also need a flat utensil such as a fish slice or a wok turner and a jug of cold water to hand. 

After taking your mixture out of the freezer; begin by popping on your glove and use a spoon to portion out a golf ball sized piece into your gloved hand. Dip your fish slice or wok turner into the jug of water and use it to flatten out and shape the ball of fish paste into a thin 1cm patty. As each patty is formed, again use the slice or turner to gently ease it off your hand and slide it into the pan of simmering water. Continue doing the same until all the mixture is used up and all the patties are simmering. You will notice as they cook they rise to the surface of the water. Make sure that they are fully cooked which won't take long, about four minutes or so and once they are done, scoop them out and let them dry on some kitchen paper for a moment or two. 

You can now heat up a frying pan with oil to the depth of about two centimetres and when hot, fry them for about 2 minutes on either side until dark golden and crisp. Boiling first has the added benefit of stopping the fishcakes from becoming greasy too.

Set along side the sauce you made earlier and you have the perfect bouncy Thai fish cake just like the restaurants

Sukiyaki (Thai Hot Pot)

Sukiyaki is a beautiful marriage between a Chinese hot pot and Japanese shabbu shabbu, blended with Thai ingredients and flavours to create something that's colourful, fun, beautiful and really healthy to eat. In an ideal world, you would have a tabletop stove with a pot designed to bubble away while you sit around. Unfortunately I don't have one and you may not either; don't let it put you off; it's really not that difficult to cook in a big pot on the stove and nip back to cook and fill each bowl of ingredients you build. The great thing is the more ingredients that get cooked, the more flavour the basic stock gets.

There are no rules when it comes to ingredients, so create your own mix of meats and/or tofu, seafood, vegetables and fungi, noodles and seasonings, I've used what was available to me and what took my fancy. The sauce you serve with it should be salty, sour, spicy and sweet- put a spoon into the bottom of each serving bowl before pouring in the broth and use it as a dipping sauce to perk up each mouthful.

For two people use:

For the sauce:

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 small red chillies, finely chopped
• a small splash of light soy sauce
• a small splash of fermented yellow bean sauce
• juice of 1 lime
• a big splash of sriracha chilli sauce
• a pinch of sugar
• a pinch of sesame seeds

For the sukiyaki: (remember you can choose whatever ingredients you like)

• 8 very large prawns
• 2 chicken thighs, sliced very thin
• a small pack of fish balls (10 or so)
• a small pack of enoki mushrooms, ripped into thin bundles
• several stalks of choi sum, cut into large chunks
• a bundle of morning glory, cut into large chunks
• 1 litre of chicken stock

Make the sauce by mixing up all the ingredients, set to one side.

Heat the stock in your largest pot/pan on a medium/high heat until gently boiling.

Using chopsticks, put in the chicken, waving around to cook in the broth. Make sure the chicken is fully cooked and then start adding combinations of whatever ingredients you want to use, cooking until just done. Pop some of the sukiyaki sauce into your bowl, ladle yourself some broth over, mixing with the sauce and top off with the cooked ingredients.

Pla Neung Manao (Steamed Lime Fish)

When my best friend told me her Dad had been fishing and she had a trout for us I was over the moon. We'd been promised fish before though usually they never materialised but this time- there it was. When I saw it, I was taken aback by just how big it was- most supermarket trout end up around 1 foot tops but this fella was more like two feet- we wouldn't be going hungry!!

The only fitting way to treat such a beautiful fresh fish was to keep it whole and enjoy it with a vibrant, fresh tasting sauce that wouldn't swamp the mild tasting trout. 'Neung' means to steam but this in itself presented a substantial problem- how to steam such a large fish; there was no way it was fitting in a steamer and it was even too big for my large oval casserole dish. In the end it was placed on a baking rack, in a roasting tray sat over an inch of boiling water filled from the kettle. A tight cover of tin foil, kept up off the skin allowed the whole fish to steam evenly.

And what an amazingly tasty trout it was: a very light flavour, meaty texture and the sauce complemented it beautifully. This is about as healthy as food gets- no guilt whatsoever with this meal! Serve with rice for a full meal.

For 2-4 people use:

• a large trout ( as fresh as you can get and of a size to suit your needs!)
• a large bunch of coriander, just over half left to decorate,the rest finely chopped
• a few chopped red chillies (to suit your taste- I've used 3 in the sauce)
• a bulb (yes, a bulb) of peeled, finely chopped garlic
• 50ml of fish sauce (nam pla)
• juice of 2 juicy limes

Steam your fish using your chosen method depending on it's size and whatever you have in your kitchen that will so the job! Check periodically to see if it's cooked to your liking.

While it cooks, make the 'sauce seafood' (Thai's do actually say 'sauce seafood', they don't translate it to nam talay or similar). Mix the rest of the ingredients and have a taste- it should be predominantly sour but salty and chilli flavours not far behind. Some add some sugar, I prefer not to.

Plate your fish (this is the biggest I had) and serve with the coriander, pouring over the sauce.

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

Miang Kham (Wrapped Bites)

Something totally different today, thanks to another trip to Siam Smiles Thai supermarket in Manchester yesterday. We had some more amazing food there and will do a write up on the next post. The main ingredient for this dish- the bai cha plu (wild pepper leaves) we picked up there, it’s something I’ve yet to come across in the UK and seeing how it’s essential for miang kham, it would have been a shame to not grab a pack at just £1.65.
Miang (wrapped) kham (bites) are made of of the glossy wild pepper leaves (incorrectly often confused with the stimulant/carcinogenic betel leaf). They have an incredible perfume and taste which I found hard to describe as they seem to be made up of so many elements. Initially they have spicy hits of star anise then something akin to kumquat with a bitter-sweet citrus note. Exciting stuff!
Into the leaves comes an assortment of sweet, sour, spicy, salty, bitter, fishy, chewy and crunchy goodies- your mouth won’t know what’s going on- but it’ll want another one!!
This recipe will make around 20 pieces.
Start by making the sauce:
Bash together in a mortar:

• A small handful of dried pink shrimp
• A small handful of peanuts, toasted in a wok until lightly browned
• A small handful of fresh or dried coconut, toasted in a wok until lightly browned.

Then pour this mix into a small saucepan with

• A very big splash of nam pla (fish sauce)
• Half a cup of water
• A tablespoon of palm or light brown sugar

Cook this mixture down until it’s quite thick and sauce-like. While it’s cooking, prepare the fillings…

• A big handful of peanuts
• 6-10 red and/or green small chillies, finely sliced
• A big nobble of ginger, peeled and diced fine
• A big handful of fresh or dried coconut, toasted in a wok until light brown
• 8-10 peeled and diced shallots
• Half a lime, skin left on (if you like the bitterness), peeled otherwise, cut into very small segments
• A handful of small dried pink shrimp

Serve everything together, make a cone shape of the stalk end of the leaf, load up with a couple of pieces of each of the fillings then spoon over some sauce, roll the leaf up and experience a mouthful of flavour madness!

Nam Prik Ong (Spicy Pork Dip)

Nam Prik’s come in many varieties- they are sauces, dips, snacks and starters and nearly always served with a variety of fried things and crispy vegetables to dip in. They come mainly from the north of Thailand and mix together, fresh, sour, chilli, smoky and fishy flavours; in short an unusual and exciting blend of flavours.
To make a bowl of nam prik ong you’ll need:

• around 300g of pork mince
• 5 or 6 cherry toms, halves
• ¾ spring onions, sliced
• 5 shallots, sliced thin and fried in oil until crispy
• 3 shallots, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 6 dried red chillies, ripped up
• 1 egg
• a small blob of kapi (shrimp paste)
• a splash of fish sauce
• a large handful of coriander, ripped up
• vegetable oil for frying

and to serve along side…

• Thai prawn crackers and/or pork cracklings
• cucumber slices
• crunchy veg like long beans, cabbage
• a few small red and green chillies if you’re feeling brave

Start by making a paste of pounded up garlic, half the coriander, the shrimp paste, the 3 chopped shallots and dried chillies until it’s smooth and of the same consistency.
Heat a small amount of oil in a pan, when it’s hot, start frying the pork mince for a few minutes before adding the paste and frying- it will be quite pungent! Add in the egg- you’re not aiming for fluffy like with fried rice, the egg should be mixed through to give the pork and paste a smoother, dip like consistency. Add a splash of water if needed to keep it loose. Throw in the halved tomatoes and stir them about in the dip to crush them slightly.
Pop the dip in a bowl and sprinkle over the spring onions, other half of the coriander and the crispy shallots.
Serve alongside all the extras

Khao Kha Mu (Stewed Pork with Rice)

And so, after two months of Malaysian related food postings I’m finally back to posting Thai food recipes :) It feels good to be back and also good that I have a new kitchen to be cooking in. Our new house has a wonderful, newly installed kitchen with space- SPACE! Our last kitchen was tiny and really only practical to have one person in at a time. This new kitchen is a joy to work in- I’m just still having to get to grips with cooking on a ceramic rather than gas hob.
This is a classic Thai comfort dish, pork leg cooked down in a rich spiced broth until it falls apart and served alongside a stewed egg and greens,rice and a tangy dipping sauce to keep your taste buds awake.
For 4 portions use:

• 1 medium/large piece of pork leg (with rind and ideally on the bone) 
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• a handful of torn coriander stalks
• 4 star anise
• a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• a teaspoon of white peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups of meat stock
• 4 eggs
• green leafy vegetables like gai lan, pak choi, choi sum etc.

and for the chilli dip whiz up: 3 red chillies, a clove of garlic, a big splash of rice/white wine vinegar and a tiny splash of water
Pop the meat and all the other ingredients apart from the eggs and greens into a large stock pot and very gently, cook with a lid on for 2 hours- keep an eye on the liquid level.
Pop the eggs into the liquid and let them hard boil along with the meat for a further 30 minutes.

Start to cook your rice at this time too. After, lift the meat out, carefully and throw the veggies in to the broth to boil for 5 minutes or less while you shred the meat and slice the rind.
Plate up rice, veggies, a mix of meat and a little rind and spoon some broth over. Add the dip and a peeled boiled egg, halved.

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)

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.

Gai Haw Bai Toey (Chicken Wrapped in Pandan Leaf)

Totally fallen in love with these little guys! I’ve had them once or twice before in Thai restaurants but they always seemed dried out and kind of bland- not so with this recipe. Pandan (or screwpine) is basically just a stiff spiky leaved South East Asian plant that has a slightly perfumed/ grassy flavour when fried. The leaves are just a wrapper, and are not meant to be eaten. I did make a pandan and coconut jelly with the spare leaves but that’s another story for another day….

for 2 people/ starters for 4, use:

• two chicken breasts/ 4 thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into chunks bigger than bite size


• a pack of pandan leaves (only available at Asian grocers), banana leaves are a good substitute.


• a big hefty shake of oyster sauce


• a big splash of light soy sauce


• a small splash of sesame oil


• a small splash of Shaoxing rice wine/ sherry


• a pinch of sugar


• a small handful of fresh coriander, roughly torn


• 4 cloves garlic, peeled


• a big pinch of black pepper


• vegetable oil for frying

Pound up the coriander into a paste, add in the garlic cloves and black pepper until you have a reasonably fine paste. Throw this into a bowl and on top, add the four sauces and sugar. Put into this mix the chunks of chicken and give everything a good stir through. Leave to marinade for one hour, making the dipping sauce in the meantime.

For the dipping sauce, gently warm through…

• a big splash of light soy sauce


• a small splash of dark soy sauce


• a small splash of water


• a finely chopped red chilli


• a sprinkle of sesame seeds

There are basically two ways to wrap up your chicken in the pandan leaves. The easiest way is to take half a strip and just keep wrapping it round the meat, pinning in place with a cocktail stick. The other way is to use the top halves of two leaves ( the pointed tip end); hold these in a V shape, with the base of one leaf on top of the other. Place the chicken ontop of the intersection of the leaves folding left over, then right over, alternating until you reach the end and everything is encased in a little parcel. See my photo above for both types of wrapping.

Set up a steamer/ colander over boiling water and steam the pandan parcels for 10 minutes. They’ll now be cooked but look pasty and dull. Fill the bottom on a wok with oil and now fry them for 5 minutes or so until the leaves are crisp and the chicken has taken on a golden brown colour.

Unwrap and discard the leaves (they’re not meant to be eaten) and dip into the sauce.

Pla Pao (Salt Crusted Baked Fish)

More lovely fish :) One of the good things to have come out of my move to North Yorkshire is access to a new supermarket (Morrisons) which (imho) has much better fish than the other major supermarket chains. So I’ve been eating much more of it of late. This is a great recipe, fun to do and fairly quick and easy- the salt crust keeps everything really juicy inside.

For two people you’ll need:

• Two fish (tilapia, sea bass, bream etc.) LEAVE SCALES ON THE FISH! Very important!!


• 500g salt


• a handful of flour


• a splash of water


• a few sticks of lemongrass, bashed

and for the Nam Jim seafood sauce use:

• juice of 1 lime


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


• 3 more garlic cloves, peeled


• 3 or 4 green Thai chillies


• a small handful of coriander, finely chopped


• a pinch of sugar

Heat the oven to about 180 degrees/ 350F/ gas 4. In a bowl mix up the salt, flour and splash of water- you should have a thick paste. Take the fish (and remember the fish wants it’s scaled LEFT ON for this recipe) and stuff the bashed lemongrass stalks inside the cavity. Place the fish onto a baking tray and press a thin coating of the salt paste all over the fish but avoid getting in inside the cavity. Bake it in the oven, very gently turning it over after 20 minutes or so. Altogether it should take about 30-40 minutes or until the crust is rock hard and brown. 

While the fish is baking, make the Nam Jim seafood sauce. In a pestle and mortar, bash up the 3 garlic cloves and green chillies for a moment till you have a rough paste. Add in the chopped coriander, pinch of sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Stir it well and pour out in a small bowl for later on.

When the fish is done, very carefully lift it out, peeling the whole crust and skin off the fish- try to keep the all the salt away from the freshly exposed fish. Serve alongside some coriander and the nam jim seafood sauce.

Pla Rad Prik (Fish in Chilli Sauce)

There’s been a lot of pork on the menu recently and head’s up- there’s more to come. I can’t help it- pork is the commonest meat in Thailand and it tastes sooo good! For today though, still not exactly healthy- a deep fried fish in a sweet and sour chilli sauce. Very satisfying and pretty quick to make too.

For two people use:

• two whole white fish- the sea bass looked good today so I got those


• 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped


• ½ onion, finely chopped


• 5 or 6 red chillies, finely chopped


• 2 tablespoons sugar


• a big splash fish sauce (nam pla)


• a big splash of tamarind liquid (use juice 1 lime if you can’t get it)


• Some coriander leaves, roughly ripped up


• lots of vegetable/ sunflower oil for deep frying

Take a minute to make sure your fish have been scaled first otherwise this dish will be godawful. Then use a sharp knife to cut deep slits along both sides of the fish. Heat a wok half full of oil on a low- medium heat and when it’s reasonably hot, slide the fish in. They want to cook fairly slowly, don’t touch them AT ALL. Once the fish are in, start the sauce..,

Heat a small amount of oil in another pan, gently fry the onion, chilli and garlic until soft for about 3 minutes before adding in the sauces and sugar and a splash of water too. Let in reduce down while the fish continue to cook. 

After the fish has been cooking for 10 minutes on one side, use ladles/ spatulas, plates, whatever, to very gently turn in over. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes- it should end up being very crispy.

When the fish is done, gently lift it out onto a plate, pour over the chilli sauce which should be syrupy and scatter the coriander leaves around.

Moo Satay & Ajaad (Pork Satay and Cucumber Pickle)

(or the satay that isn’t really). If you’re wondering why there are no sticks that’s because I forgot to buy them before I made the recipe. It was too late to go out and buy them so just imagine the meat came on sticks ok?

This dish takes a little bit of prep time but is fairly straightforward to do, both the sauce and the pickle can be made ahead of time.


Ingredients for enough for two:

For the marinade:

• 200g of lean pork, cut into reasonably thin slivers


• 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder


• 1 stalk of lemongrass, trimmed and very finely chopped


• a big splash of light soy sauce


• 1/3 can coconut milk


• a big pinch of sugar

For the peanut sauce:

• a heaped tablespoon of Massaman curry paste (some supermarkets sell this)


• the remaining 2/3 can coconut milk


• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla) an easy supermarket find these days


• a large handful of salted peanuts


• a small splash of tamarind extract (if you can’t find this add the juice of half a lime)


• a heaped tablespoon of sugar


• 4 cloves of chopped garlic


• a small piece of galangal (use ginger if you can’t get it), very finely chopped


• 3 small red chillies, very finely chopped


• 4/5 kaffir lime leaves, shredded and chopped very fine (some supermarkets sell them fresh, dried are pretty rubbish- use lime zest instead


• 1 stalk of lemon grass, trimmed and very finely chopped

For the cucumber pickle:

• 3-4 inch piece of cucumber, peeled, seeds scooped out then finely chopped


• a small piece of red onion/ shallot very finely chopped


• 1 or 2 small red chillies, very finely chopped


• a big glug of white wine vinegar


• a big pinch of sugar

Start with the pork marinade- place the pork in a bowl and add all the ingredients listed. Stir well then leave somewhere cool for at least 1 hour, longer if you want.


While the pork marinades, make the pickle. Mix all the pickle ingredients in a small bowl and leave it to sit while you made the peanut sauce.


Start off by toasting the peanuts over a medium heat in a frying pan. Keep watching them and moving them about so they don’t burn, toast until they just begin to change colour. Take them off the heat, pouring in to a pestle and mortar and crush them. Take them out and put them to one side for now. Put all the herby ingredients (garlic, galangal, chilli, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves in the mortar and bash these up into a more paste- like substance. Into the empty frying pan, over a medium heat; add this paste and the leftover coconut milk and the remainder of the sauce ingredients. Let this heat through for 5 minutes, before adding the crushed peanuts. It’ll take a while, maybe 15 minutes, but very slowly reduce this down until you have a thick and gloopy sauce. this can now be kept to one side until serving time.


Back to the pork- thread the meat onto skewers and cook under a medium high grill for about 10 minutes, turning as needed. Let them get a little bit of char to them. If, like me you forget the sticks, just lay the pieces of meat onto a foil covered grill try in one layer and cook in the same way.


Finally, grab your three components and get dipping!

Pla Tod Gratiem & Nam Jim Seafood

This has been my attempt to re create a dish I first had in Thailand 10 years ago. I can’t even remember exactly where I was when I ate it- I remember sitting nearby a river, it may have been Kanchanaburi. Anyway, it was a deep fried fish with a solid crust of minced garlic- way more garlic than I’ve used in my recipe and the crust of garlic had to be hacked away to reveal the fish inside. When we asked what kind of fish had been used we got a simple answer- river fish, perhaps it had been some sort of catfish. In my recipe I’ve used farmed bream. The sauce is another classic Thai dipping sauce (nam jim just means dipping sauce) and bizarrely, Thai’s do actually called it ‘Nam Jim Seafood’ or Sauce Seafood’!! This dish doesn’t require anything obscure, everything is easily found at a regular supermarket.


For 2 you’ll need:

• 2 meaty firm fish, sea bream worked very well


• 2-3 BULBS of garlic- minced


• a beaten egg


• a big pinch of salt and pepper


• vegetable oil for deep frying


• juice of 1 lime


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


• 3 more garlic cloves, peeled


• 3 or 4 green Thai chillies


• a small handful of coriander, finely chopped


• a pinch of sugar

Start by making the Nam Jim Seafood. In a pestle and mortar, bash up the 3 garlic cloves and green chillies for a moment till you have a rough paste. Add in the chopped coriander, pinch of sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Stir it well and pour out in a small bowl for later on.


Next get the fried garlic prepared. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan. It doesn’t want to be too hot or the garlic will burn, keep the heat quite low. Add the garlic so it just gently sizzles and keep stirring regularly until the garlic lightly browns, may take up to 10 minutes. Once browned, scoop out (reserve flavoured oil) and drain on kitchen paper before transferring to a flat plate. On another plate, pour the beaten egg.


Now get the fish ready. Using sharp scissors, trim off all the fins but leave the head and tail. Most fish will already come gutted but will probably require scaling- don’t miss this, it’ll be horrible otherwise- use a sharp knife to scrape off all the scales under cold running water. Pat dry and cut a few deep slits on each side of the fish. Add more oil to the garlickly oil from just before and heat high. When it’s hot add your fish and cook on high for about 5 minutes either side, use a spatula and a plate to very gently turn them over. When the fish is fully cooked through, lift them out very gently and carefully dip the fish into the beaten egg- on both sides, before transferring it into the plate of crispy garlic, and coat both sides. Transfer the fish back to the hot oil, for just a minute on each side until the crust has formed.


Serve with rice, fresh coriander, a lime for squeezing over and the Nam Jim Seafood.

Gai Yang & Nam Jim Jaew (Grilled chicken with dipping sauce)

Grilled meats are a Northern Thai speciality. Often, you’ll come across gai yang served alongside my favourite Som Tam (papaya salad) and Khao Niew (sticky rice). The dipping sauce is one of several Nam Jim sauces that are made in Thailand and at some point I’ll do a post just about sauces and condiments. Anyway, Nam Jim Jaew is the type of sauce that’s specific to grilled meats, there are several other varieties.


For 4 (snack) or 2 (main course) You’ll need:

• 2 chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and each cut into 4 strips


• 2 stalks lemongrass, top, bottom and outer layers peeled off and the rest very finely chopped (all the big supermarkets sell it fresh)


• 6 cloves of garlic


• a small handful of coriander stalks, or roots, chopped


• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla- an easy supermarket find)


• a small splash of dark soy


• a big pinch of sugar


• a sprinkle of white (or black) pepper

In a pestle and mortar, bash up the lemongrass, garlic, coriander, pepper and sugar. Do it bit by bit if you need to. Add the rough paste to a bowl with the chicken. Pour on the soy and fish sauce and mix well. Leave it to marinade for as long as you can, ideally a few hours.


While marinading, make the Nam Jim Jaew sauce. You’ll need:

• 1 level teaspoon of white rice


• 4 red birds eye chillies


• 2 cloves garlic


• a few stalks and leaves of coriander, very finely chopped


• a pinch of sugar


• juice of 1 lime


• a good splash of fish sauce


• a very small splash of dark soy sauce

Start by dry frying the small amount of rice in a really hot wok or frying pan. When it’s toasted and light brown get it quickly into a pestle and mortar or it’ll burn. Grind it up into a fine powder and pour it aside for now. In the now empty pestle and mortar, bash up the chillies and garlic into a rough paste. Tip this into a small bowl along with the chopped coriander and sugar. Pour on the soy and fish sauces and finally stir through the powdered rice (known as Khao Khua) which will thicken the sauce slightly- if it’s over thick, add extra lime juice and fish sauce.


Back to the chicken- lay on a grill tray/ baking sheet and grill at 200 degrees/ 400f/ gas 6 and grill for about 5 minutes either side until really hot all the way through. Serve piled high alongside the dipping sauce.