Pad Woon Sen (Stir Fried Vermicelli Noodles)

Pad woon sen, a speedy stir-fry dish for when you don't know what else to cook!! Joking aside this is possibly one of the most versatile dishes you will find in the Thai repertoire. There is very little that can't be substituted or skipped. As long as you're frying a combo of meats and/or vegetables with fine mungbean glass (vermicelli) noodles, you can't go far wrong. There does seem to be a common theme of cabbage, beansprouts, tomatoes and Chinese celery but, whatever you have can go in. It's another cross over dish- very definitely exported from Chinese cuisine along the way.

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I also want to give you a heads up that I'm going to be away on holiday for a few weeks- sadly, no not Thailand (although it is exactly one year already since I was in Malaysia- I do miss it and would love to go back to Kuala Lumpur again one day). This time we're going to be in the USA. We've been quite a few times already and tend to do big road trips; two years ago it was the Deep South, this time it's New England.

For the next three weeks, I'll be travelling and eating my way around Boston, Cape Cod, the Hudson Valley, the Adirondacks, Vermont/ New Hampshire, Mt Desert Island, Portland and Salem. Hopefully  eating a LOT of fresh seafood, buffalo wings, popovers, pies etc. I am particularly looking forward to experiencing Boston's Chinatown; I hope to post from there.

If you've any recommendations- it doesn't need to be Thai/Asian food, I love all food- then I would be thrilled to hear from you. And now back to my version of Pad Woon Sen....

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Okay so this recipe will make plenty for 2 and still enough for 3

You'll need:

• 2 sheets/nests of dried mungbean/glass vermicelli noodles (they're transparent)
• A small bag (200-250g) of raw king prawns/shrimp
• 2 small pork chops or steaks, fat trimmed off and cut into strips
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into coins
• About a 1/4 of a white cabbages, cut into large squares (cut a thin slice off one side, then chop)
• 3 or 4 stalks of Chinese celery, chopped into large pieces. Regular celery leaves are great too
• 3 or 4 spring onions, trimmed and cut into large pieces
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• A big splash of oyster sauce
• A big splash of light soy sauce
• A small splash of dark soy sauce
• A big pinch of sugar
• A big punch of black pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying

Soak your vermicelli noodles by submerging them in cold water for 10-15 minutes, breaking them up as they soften. Drain and keep handy.

Heat a wok up until very hot, almost smoking and add in the oil, swirling to coat the base. Throw in the pork and stir fry for 1 minute, until mostly cooked through. Add in the raw prawns and stir fry for a further minute until they've mostly turned pink. If by any chance you're using pre-cooked prawns, add them in later (at the point that the celery and spring onions go in).

Next in goes the garlic, just toss it very lightly for a few seconds before adding in the carrot and cabbage, stir frying for around 1 minute. Now shove all these ingredients to one side of the wok, leaving them for a moment and pour the beaten egg into the empty side. Let the egg start to cook before lightly scrambling it before letting it set again. Repeat the setting scrambling until it's 90% cooked before mixing all the ingredients back together again, making sure the egg's well distributed.

Now throw the celery and spring onions into the pan, stir fry them for minute before adding in the noodles, 3 sauces, pepper and sugar. Stir well,the sauces will soften and darken the noodles and mix all the ingredients today. Try and let the noodles stick to the base of the wok a bit; it'll give you some nice crunchy bits. Cook for a final minute or two and serve.

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.

Goong Ob Woon Sen (Baked Glass Noodles with Prawns)

Using up the rest of the huge box of prawns I had meant thinking of more recipes I could put them in. This one seemed a great one with which to continue the recent trend for seafood and/or Chinese influenced Thai dishes. The Chinese influence can clearly be seen in the use of clay pot cooking and ingredients such as sesame oil, soy sauce and Shaoxing rice wine. A word of advice, check if the pot you're using is safe to go on the stove- mine wasn't so I oven baked my dish which was perfectly fine and certainly healthier- many versions of this in Thailand start with a thin layer of lard to stock everything sticking!

It takes a bit of time to cook but is easy to do and as a one pot dish- makes the washing up after easier!

For two people use:

• 2 sleeves/blocks of glass noodles (woon sen) made from mungbean flour
• 10/12 very large tiger prawns
• a handful of coriander leaves, ripped up
• a small bunch of coriander roots/stalks, chopped
• a 2 inch piece of peeled ginger, chopped
• 4 peeled cloves garlic
• a dessert spoon of black pepper
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• a small splash of dark soy sauce
• a small splash of Shaoxing Chinese rice wine
• a big splash of oyster sauce
• a small splash of sesame oil
• 1 cup chicken stock

Boil the kettle and pour over the dry glass noodles, letting them soak for about 10 minutes until soft. Pop the oven on to heat up, about 180C/ 360F.

Use a pestle and mortar to make a rough paste of the black pepper, coriander roots/stalks, ginger and garlic; throw this into your baking dish. In a separate bowl/jug, mix up the liquid ingredients (soy sauces, oyster sauce, sesame oil and Shaoxing rice wine). Back to the baking dish and on top of the paste put the drained glass noodles, followed by the sauce you've just made up. On top of everything arrange the prawns and scatter over the spring onions. Place the lid on the dish and cook for 30-40 minutes; the noodles will be soft and crispy near the edges. Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves over and mix everything together before getting stuck in together.

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.

Goong Pad Sot Makham (Prawns Fried with Tamarind Sauce)

With Christmas just around the corner, it's the time of year when special dishes like this one are in store. I picked up a huge bag of king prawns from our local Asian food store which was much more economical than buying the tiny bags from regular supermarkets. Just a note on the prawns- I recommend using the prawns with the shell on. The sauce seems to stick to it so much better- however if you can't get shell on, don't get too hung up about it. Depending on your persuasion you can either chew the prawns, shell and all or get hands on and peel and suck the prawns as you go. 

This is a quick one to make, there is a bit of time needed to make the toppings but it's not onerous. My husband was a bit worried when I was making this that it would be too sweet; neither of us are particularly keen on sweet savoury dishes and I have used less sugar in my recipe than you may find in other versions of this dish. As ever with Thai food, you should always adjust the food to suit your own tastes. The end result is a thick sauce perfectly balanced between sour salty and sweet.

For two people, use:

• Two big handfuls of raw king prawns (shrimp) ideally with shell on
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 3-4 small red chillies, sliced
• 1 large red chilli, thinly sliced
• 5/6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• Around 75ml of thick tamarind concentrate
• Around 100ml water
• A big splash of light soy sauce
• A small splash of Thai fish sauce
• A tablespoon of palm sugar (or light brown sugar)
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Optional- lettuce leaves for serving on, coriander sprigs etc. 

Heat a large splash of oil over a medium heat and throw in the shallot slices. Gently fry for 4-5 minutes or until they become light golden. Add in the garlic and continue frying everything together until golden and crisp. Scoop out and drain on kitchen paper.

Heat up the same oil again and when hot, fry the chopped onion, until softened. Pop the small chillies, sugar, tamarind, water, soy and fish sauce into the pan, stirring until the sugar is all dissolved, and the sauce is reduced by around half. When the sauce is reasonably thick, pop in the prawns and cook in the sauce until pink (about 3-4 minutes).

Pour the prawns and sauce onto a serving plate (with a lettuce leaf bed if you wish) sprinkle over the large sliced chilli, crispy shallots/garlic and the sliced spring onion.

Khao Pad Tom Yum (Hot & Sour Soup Flavour Fried Rice)

Apparently this Thai dish was all the rage a few years back when it became rather fashionable to mix together classic Thai dishes into one combined meal. Take Tom Yum Goong (Hot & Sour Prawn Soup) and Khao Pad (Fried Rice) and mix the flavours together to create a quick, filling, fresh and vibrant tasting rice dish.

For two people use:

• 3 cups of cooked and cooled white rice (left over from yesterday is ideal)

• a large handful of small prawns/shrimp

• a few stalks of green leafy veg (such as morning glory or pak choi) or substitute mushrooms or another veg of your choice

• 1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped

• 4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

• a 1 inch piece of galangal, peeled and finely chopped

• 5-6 kaffir lime leaves, stem removed and ripped into pieces

• 3-4 small chillies, red, orange or green

• juice of 1 lime

• a big splash of fish sauce

• a heaped teaspoon of nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste)

• a handful of fresh coriander, some chopped, some left as stalks

• vegetable oil for frying

Heat a splash of oil in a wok until hot and fling in the garlic, stir frying for a few short seconds. Next add in and briefly fry the flavouring herbs: galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime and chillies. Next in goes the nam prik pao, move it around and cook out the paste for a moment. Next your vegetable choice, give it 20 seconds or so stir frying before the prawns go in for another 30 seconds or so of frying.

Now it's time to carefully tip in the cool, cooked rice and mix everything well, coating the rice in the nam prik pao. Finally pop in the fish sauce, squeeze over the lime and mix in the chopped coriander before giving everything a good final mix through before serving alongside plenty of fresh coriander.

Yam Takrai Goong Sot (Prawn & Lemongrass Salad)

Continuing the love affair with Thai salads this week with this really easy and healthy salad. As always, it is a great example of ‘The 4 flavours’ with sour, salty, hot and sweet flavours present (in that order) although as with all Thai food, it’s expected that you can adjust the ingredients to suit your flavour preferences. I think this whole thing took about ten minutes to prepare so ideal if you’re rushing.

For two very large potions use:

• A large bag of cooked prawns/shrimp (I chose small ones so all the ingredients were roughly the same size)
• a small handful of cashew nuts
• 1 large red chill, chopped
• a small handful of coriander leaves/stems, chopped
• 3 stalks of lemongrass, trimmed, outer layer peeled off and finely sliced
• 3 Thai shallots or ½ small red onion, finely sliced
• juice of 1-2 limes
• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)
• a big pinch of sugar
• slices of cucumber and lettuce to serve

In a bowl, mix everything together well. Serve over the lettuce with the cucumber slices on the side. Feel free to use the lettuce to wrap up the salad.

Tod Man Khao Pod (Sweetcorn Fritters)

Snack time! I’ll admit, this was a pretty lazy option; they’re probably more popular in western Thai restaurants than in Thailand itself but they are very moreish, have great texture and are easy to make. They can easily be adapted to be vegetarian or vegan friendly, just use salt instead of fish sauce and add more corn instead of the prawns.

This recipe makes around 10 fritters:

• A cereal bowl packed with sweetcorn kernels (defrosted)
• a heaped dessert spoon of red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy Brand)
• a handful of small prawns
• 5 or 6 kaffir lime leaves (rolled and finely shredded)
• 1 egg
• small splash of fish sauce (nam pla)
• ½ cup of rice flour
• heaped teaspoon of baking powder
• vegetable oil for deep frying

In a food processor, whizz up half of the sweetcorn, the curry paste, egg, fish sauce, flour and baking powder into a smooth batter. Remove the blade and stir in the remaining ingredients (other half of kernels, lime leaves and prawns) giving it a good mix together.
Heat the oil in a wok or deep frying pan until hot but not smoking. Drop a tablespoon of the batter into the hot oil- gravity will spread it out into a fritter shape. Don’t overcrowd the pan; three is probably the right amount. After a couple of minutes the fritter should gently be turned over and cooked for a further minute or two until deep golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper then serve them with some sweet chilli sauce or sriracha.

Pad Sai Bua Goong (Lotus Stem & Prawn Stir Fry)

Lotus stems are another Thai ingredient I’d never come across before so when I came across them at RaanThai I was quick to grab them and see what they were like. They’re hollow so hold sauce really well but don’t need to be cooked long as they quickly soften. This was a really quick, light stir fry and is very tasty, better still, it only uses 5 ingredients

For two people use:

• 100g of lotus stems, trimmed and cut into inch long pieces. As a substitute for the lotus, I would go for a crunchy veg like pak choi/ choi sum available from most supermarkets.
• 200g (or thereabouts) of raw or precooked large prawns
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• a big splash of oyster sauce
• a big splash of fish sauce
• vegetable oil for frying

Heat a wok on high, when it’s almost smoking, add in a swirl of vegetable oil. Toss in the garlic and straight after the prawns. If using raw, cook until they have turned more or less pink throughout. If using pre-cooked prawns, heat through for a minute before adding in the lotus stems and cook for a further minute before adding in the two sauces. Toss to coat everything well and serve.

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.

Khao Pad Sapparod Goong (Prawn & Pineapple Fried Rice)

Happy New Year!! I’m looking forward to bringing you lots more Thai recipes this year and I’m excited to be able to use my new camera that I got for Christmas- Canon 1200D to record the food I make. I’m just starting to get the hang of using depth of field to get some parts in focus, some out.

For our new year supper I made Khao pad sapparod goong and for a touch of retro glamour, it had to be served in a pineapple half (optional but looks great!).  Everything for this recipe can be found at a regular supermarket


For three large/ 4 small servings use:

• 1 ripe pineapple, cut in half and carve out the flesh into cubes. I used about 2/3rds of the pineapple and ate the rest as dessert.


• 1 cup of cooked and COOLED white rice- yesterdays rice is best-i used fresh it’ll go mushy.


• a big handful of raw prawn/shrimp


• around 10 green beans,chopped in half


• one small onion, roughly chopped


• 3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped


• 4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced


• a big splash of oyster sauce


• a big splash of fish sauce


• 1 egg


• a tablespoonful of curry powder


• one or two red chillies, chopped


• a sprinkle of fresh coriander leaves


• a wedge of lime


• (optional- but good) a small handful of cashew nuts)


• vegetable oil for frying

Heat a splash of vegetable oil in a wok and when hot throw in the onion, stir fry for a minute or until it starts to get some colour.

Next add in the garlic and chilli, stir fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Throw in the green beans and fry for about two minutes, until they begin to soften.

Next shove everything to one side of the wok and break in the egg on the empty side.Let it start to set and gently scramble before letting it set again, then scramble. After the egg is fully cooked, mix everything back together again.

Add in the prawns and cook them until they start to turn pink (around a minute). Pineapple goes in next,again, just cook lightly to cook out some of the juice.

Now tip the cool cooked rice in, along with the curry powder and stir well. Add the oyster and fish sauces and gently, mix everything together.

Almost done, mix through the cashew nuts and spring onions and serve into the pineapple halves, if you use them. Top with the coriander and lime wedge.

Yam Som O (Pomelo Salad)

I wasn’t totally won over by this one; some of the flavour combinations weren’t totally to my taste. You wonder why then am I posting it, well everyone’s tastes are different- I think it was the slightly bitter and sweet combo that didn’t do it for me but it was very easy to make and had nice bright colours to it. It is pretty healthy too so give it a go, and see if it works for you- it is totally unlike any other Thai salad I’ve posted so far.


For a big one person portion use:

• a handful of raw or cooked big prawns
• a pomelo or red/pink grapefruit, peeled, segments skinned and flaked
• 2 cloves of chopped garlic
• half a red onion, sliced
• a small handful of peanuts
• a small handful of coriander, roughly torn
• 2 red chillies, finely sliced
• juice of a lime
• 50ml of coconut milk
• a small splash of fish sauce (nam pla)
• a pinch of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste) optional
• small splash of vegetable oil for frying

Fry the red onion in the oil for five minutes or so until they get a bit crispy and golden. Throw them into a bowl. Cook/heat through your prawns, cooking raw ones fully. Add them to the bowl. Add in the garlic, chillies, peanuts and pomelo/grapefruit and torn coriander. In a separate jug/ jar mix up the dressing- optional roast chilli paste, coconut milk, lime juice and fish sauce. Pour this over the ingredients in the bowl and mix everything briefly together. Serve quickly otherwise things start to get a bit limp…. so to speak.

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.

Tom Yum Goong (Hot & Sour Prawn Soup)

Another Thai classic and another one that features on Thai restaurant menus everywhere. I can highly recommend this one if you have a cold, are feeling under the weather or have been over indulging as it’s full of vitamins and will clear your head! It’s also extremely low fat but has plenty of protein so ideal if you want a healthy Thai option.


For two bowls use:

• 2.5 cups of chicken broth


• a big splash of fish sauce


• 2 sticks of lemongrass, bashed (all supermarkets sell it fresh)


• a few slices of galangal (some supermarkets sell it but use ginger if you can’t get it)


• juice of 1 big lime


• 5 or 6 six kaffir lime leaves, roughly torn (lime zest works well too)


• a small handful of coriander, roughly chopped


• a big pinch of sugar


• a handful of oyster mushrooms (or regular) shredded


• half a packet of large prawns


• 6 red Thai chillies


• 2 cloves garlic


• a small dribble of vegetable oil

Place 4 of the chillies and the garlic in a pestle and mortar, bash until it becomes a smooth red paste and add a little dribble of vegetable oil. Leave to one side. In a pan, add the stock, sugar, lemongrass stalks, galangal and the other two chillies, split down the middle. Let the broth simmer for about 10 minutes while you pour a splash of fish sauce and squeeze half a lime into each serving bowl. After ten minutes simmering time, add the mushrooms, prawns and kaffir lime leaves and let these cook for 5 minutes. Finally, get rid of the lemongrass stalks before adding the chilli garlic paste into the soup and stir, you’ll see some red oil on the top. Spoon the soup into the bowls and add the coriander to the top. Give the soup a mix before eating.

Pad Ped Sator Goong (Prawns & Stink Beans Fried in Red Curry Paste)

Well, what can I say about this dish. I ate it 24 hours ago and it is still making it’s presence very much known. This is a dish for those brave foodies that will stop at nothing in their quest for new tastes. Typically, this is a Southern Thai dish and Sator beans are usually only available in the early summer months. This is one dish where I’m not going to attempt to suggest substitutes as nothing compares to the genuine article. Let me describe a stink bean… about the same size as a large broad bean, much denser, almost the same texture and crunch as a freshly picked hazelnut. Taste upon eating is vaguely sulphurous and a little acrid. Soon after, you’re left with a feeling of pent-up heat in the body. Later on- the name lives on; you can taste it in your mouth for 24 hours; even after many drinks/ teeth cleanings. If you sweat, I imagine you would smell of it and it has much the same effects as asparagus on body functions, only multiplied and for much longer. If you’re still wanting to try this, here’s my recipe…

For 2 people:

• A pack of raw or cooked king prawns


• A pack of stink beans (sator or even called petai or parkia- available fresh from Thai supermarkets,sometimes frozen but I would give them a miss if frozen).


• A tablespoon of red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy) check ingredients and try to get a good one without unnecessary fillers and additives

• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly


• 2 kaffir lime leaves, shredded (most supermarkets sell these fresh)


• a splash of fish sauce (nam pla) all supermarkets have this


• ½ a cup of water


• vegetable/sunflower oil for frying

Heat the oil in a wok, When hot, stir fry the garlic slices for just a few seconds before adding the curry paste, stir until fragrant and strong.After 30 seconds or so, put the prawns in. If using raw, cook until prawns are pink. If using cooked, stir fry for around a minute then add the stink beans. Fry for another minute before adding the fish sauce and water to make a sauce. Give everything a good mix for a minute more before adding the shredded kaffir lime leaf and serve. I served mine with white rice.

PS. Don’t have this if you are due to a) go on a date b) visit the dentist or c) have a one to one meeting with your boss within the next 48 hours!!