Course: Main Dish

Stir Fry

Phad Ga Prao / Stir fry with basil leaves ผัดกะเพรา

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Stir fried basil – Phad Ga Prao – ผัดกะเพรา

What does a Thai person order when in doubt? Exactly, Phad Ga Prao. Often with minced pork, but as well with a myriad of other proteins like chicken, fish and shrimp.

It’s a really easy dish to prepare and really difficult to ruin.
You can find this dish in many different spellings on the English version of the menus in Thailand, like Pad Ka Prao, Phad Kra Pao and many more but the one most closely resembling the Thai pronunciation is probably the Pad Ga Prao.

Holy Basil

holy basil phad ga prao recipe
The main ingredient, holy basil or “Bai Ga Prao” is sometimes not easy to find in Western countries. However, due to it’s medicinal properties it gets more and more widely available. It’s possible to replace it with Thai sweet basil / purple basil but it’s just not the real thing. The flower is in appearance closer to the European basil than sweet basil and the most distinctive feature are the jagged edges of the leaves. It is home to tropical Asia and has been grown here for more than 3,000 years.

The recipe shown is the most popular version of this dish: Phad Ga Prao Moo with “moo” meaning pork in Thai.

Print Recipe
 Phad Ga Prao / Stir fry with basil leaves
Cooking Class Pad Ka Prao
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Cooking Class Pad Ka Prao
Instructions
  1. Ingredients for the dish
    Cooking Class Pad Ka Prao Ingredients
  2. Heat the oil in a wok and add garlic and chillies
    Cooking Class Oil, crushed Garlic and Chilli
  3. Add minced porc
    Add Minced Pork
  4. Add soy sauce, dark soy sauce...
    Cooking Class Pad Ka Prao 4 Soy Sauce,black Soy Sauce,oyster Sauce,half Tea Spoon Of Sugar And Water
  5. Cooking Class Pad Ka Prao 5 Mix Well And Taste It Add Basil And Red Peppers
  6. Phad Ga Prao is served with rice and often with a fried egg on top
Stir Fry

Vegetarian Phad See Ew

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Vegetarian and healthy Phad See Ew (ผัดซีอิ๊ว)

Our Phad See Ew recipe here reflects our strive for healthy cooking. This Chinese influenced noodle stir fry dish is traditionally done with copious amounts of oil and sugar, and rather few vegetables. The owners of street food stalls and restaurants soon realized, that Phad See Ew sells better like this. It tastes good but so does other junk food.
Doing some research I found this wonderful little video for preparing this dish which shows nicely what I mean:

Apart from the health aspect there is as well a little difficulty in replicating the shown way of preparing the dish. Watching the video I couldn’t help having an old song of Talking Heads in my head: Burning Down The House 🙂

We disagree that you need absolutely searing heat, Thai burners and the tin woks used in Thai street food stalls and restaurants to produce a tasty Phad See Ew. Our experience is rather, that for most westerners it is very difficult to get a good result with the traditionally used woks. These are very thin and light, and get hot very fast. If you don’t know exactly what you are doing, it’s a perfect recipe for disaster but not a very tasty dish.

We added a few more vegetables, reduced the use of cooking oil a lot and increased the cooking time just enough that someone who didn’t grow up using a wok can cope.

Have fun cooking and enjoy a tasty, healthy and fast to prepare meal!

 

 

 

 

Print Recipe
 Phad See Ew
Pha See Ew cooking lesson
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Servings
person
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Servings
person
Ingredients
Pha See Ew cooking lesson
Instructions
  1. Get your ingredients ready. Shown are ingredients for 1 portion. Don't do more than 2 portions at a time, otherwise the noodles will inevitably turn out soggy.
    Phad See Ew Cooking Class Ingredients
  2. Heat oil in a wok and start with frying the garlic
    Phad See Ew Cooking Class
  3. Add tofu cubes
    Phad See Ew Cooking Class
  4. Add egg and fry until a little solid
    Phad See Ew Cooking Class Recipe
  5. Add the noodles
    Phad See Ew Cooking Class Recipe
  6. Add soy sauce, dark soy sauce (not too much), oyster sauce, sugar and pepper
    Phad See Ew Cooking Class Recipe
  7. Add vegetables and mix well. It's done when the vegetables are cooked (they still should have a good bite to it)
    Phad See Ew Recipe
  8. Serve with lime and a bit of chilly powder
    Phad See Ew Recipe
Curry

Green Curry Paste

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Super fast green curry paste – พริกแกงเขียวหวาน

This is the curry paste you can prepare for just one dish! We usually advice our cooking class students to use ready made pastes at home. In this case it is different. If you are using a blender, you can manage all in less than 20 minutes. And using the amounts shown you have enough for a family and still can keep the rest in the fridge to use it up to a week later.
Already finished? – Here is what to do with the paste: Green Curry Recipe

Print Recipe
 Green Curry Paste
Lemongrass,galangal,garlic,red Onion,turmeric,black Pepper,green Pepper,green Chills And Salt
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Lemongrass,galangal,garlic,red Onion,turmeric,black Pepper,green Pepper,green Chills And Salt
Instructions
  1. Here the ingredients for the green curry paste in the right amounts. The amount of salt added you can see in the next picture where the ingredients are already added to the mortar.
    Ingredients Green Curry Paste
  2. Put all above ingredients + some salt (preferable sea salt) in a mortar.
  3. Crush and grind the ingredients into a fine paste - We are using pestle and mortar for the beginning and then put it into a blender to save time
    Crush and grind into a fine paste
  4. And here we are already ready to use the paste in our cooking class
    Ready to be used in the green curry cooking lesson
Uncategorized

Chicken Cashew Nuts

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Cooking Lesson – Chicken Cashew Nuts (ไก่ผัดเม็ดมะม่วง)

Gai Pad Med Mamuang / chicken cashew nuts has its origins in the Sichuan Chinese kitchen. When the recipe made it to Thailand is unknown, and it is even lesser known when the peanuts of the original Chinese recipe were replaced by cashew nuts. What we really know is, that Chicken Cashew Nuts is a well respected immigrant and does now belong to the staple dishes of the country.
The recipe shown in this cooking lesson is a simplified version. It more than halves the preparation time and more importantly: It’s healthier. Time is saved by not frying the cashew nuts before starting the actual dish. Cashew nuts are exceptionally rich in omega 3 fatty acids and, in particular, palmitoleic acids and oleic acids. Cashew nuts are a valuable source of minerals including potassium, calcium, sodium, iron, copper, zinc, phosphorus and magnesium. In short, they are a super foods. It would be a shame to expose them to a lot of heat just to make them more crunchy and taking most of the health benefits away. Another time saver with health benefits is not to deep fry the chicken beforehand.

However, if you like, then just deep fry the chicken and fry up the Cashews until crunchy first. Then add the same way like in the recipe shown below.

Print Recipe
 Chicken Cashew Nuts
Chicken Cashew Nuts Cooking Class
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Chicken Cashew Nuts Cooking Class
Instructions
  1. Ingredients for 2
    Chicken Cashew Nuts Ingredients
  2. Heat oil in a wok or big pan and fry the Garlic until yellow
    Chicken Cashew Nuts Oil And Garlic
  3. Add chicken and fry until almost cooked
    Chicken Cashew Nuts - Fry the Chicken
  4. Add carrots and onions and stir until the onions are glassy
    Chicken Cashew Nuts: Add Carrots And Onions
  5. Add soy sauce and chilli paste
    Chicken Cashew Nuts: Add soy sauce, chilli paste
  6. Add cashew nuts
    Add cashew nuts
  7. Add water, sugar and oyster sauce.
    water, sugar and oyster sauce
  8. Last but not least add the red peppers and spring onions. Just add more water if you like more sauce
    red pepper and spring onion
Uncategorized

Steamed fish with Lime Sauce

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Cooking Class Recipe:

Pla Kapong Nueng Manao (ปลากระพงนึ่งมะนาว)

Steamed fish with lime sauce is really easy to cook, looks impressive and tastes like heaven. There are only a few ingredients necessary and these are easy to get in the western world.
Pla (ปลา) is the Thai word for fish. Pla Kapong (ปลากระพง) is usually translated into English as Snapper. The only problem is, that the fish sold on the markets and offered in restaurants as white snapper is in reality a Barramundi or Asian Sea Bass. This fish is very popular all over Asia and northern Australia and is now becoming much wider distributed.
However, this Thai dish tastes very good as well prepared with a red snapper, grouper or similar fish. Nueng (นึ่ง) means “steamed” and Manao (มะนาว) means “lime”. You will find this dish in every single good sea food restaurant in Thailand. It is worth remembering the Thai letters or at least the Thai pronunciation of the dish: The best and most authentic restaurants in Thailand do not have the menus in English or English speaking waiters.

Now have fun with cooking!

Print Recipe
 Steamed fish with Lime Sauce
Cooking Course Steamed Snapper With Lime
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Cooking Course Steamed Snapper With Lime
Instructions
  1. Add 2 cups of water to a pan or wok which fits the whole fish and bring to boil
  2. Put the fish prepared how you learned in the cooking class in the pan / wok.
  3. If necessary add water so the fish is covered and add ginger. Put a lid on and let it simmer for 10 minutes
    Phase photo cooking course
  4. While the fish is cooking prepare the sauce
Sauce
  1. Chop garlic and ginger together so they are mixed and put in a bowl.
  2. Add Salt, Sugar, Fish Sauce and Lime juice and mix all together
Final preparation
  1. Sprinkle celery on fish, close the lid and let it boil for another 10 min.
    Cooking Course Steamed Snapper With Lime
  2. When the fish is cooked, take it out of the pan and place it together with some soup from the pan onto a large plate
  3. Pour the sauce over the fish and garnish with celery, spring onions and slices of lime
Uncategorized

Fried Rice

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Cooking Course recipe – Fried Rice (ข้าวผัด)

Fried rice is originally coming from China and probably is the most known food export from this marvelous cuisine. It first became a staple dish in almost all surrounding countries and then made it’s way all around the world in myriads of different ways to prepare.
In this cooking lesson we will prepare Fried Rice Chicken. Of course in the variety how fried rice developed in Thailand. Like many other Thai dishes you can cook Fried Rice with a variety of meats. Seafood or just vegetarian with tofu is an option as well. The main difference to the Chinese original is the choice of rice. In Thailand this dish is prepared with Jasmine Rice instead of regular long-grain rice.
The Thai name (ข้าวผัด) is pronounced Khao Phat. Khao means “rice” in Thai, and Phad “being stir-fried.
Thai fried rice is usually served with some lime and sliced cucumber as a side.
Now it is time to get hands on experience. Have fun with this lesson of our cooking course.

Print Recipe
 Cooking Class Fried Rice
Cooking Lesson Fried Rice
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Central Thai, Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Central Thai, Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Cooking Lesson Fried Rice
Instructions
  1. Preheat a large wok or a large pan to medium heat
  2. Pour coconut oil or vegetable oil in
  3. Add garlic and fry until yellow
  4. Add chicken and fry until cooked, add egg and keep frying.
  5. Add carrots, baby corn, cabbage and peas and fry until all the vegetables are soft
  6. Add the steamed rice
  7. Add the soy sauce and the sugar and add at last the tomatoes and the spring onions
Curry

Phanaeng Curry Chicken

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Thai Cooking Lesson – Phanaeng (พะแนง) Curry Chicken

The Phanaeng (or Panang, Penang) Curry is originating from central Thailand and the recipe goes back hundreds of years. The word Phanaeng comes from the Khmer language meaning cross, mostly used for a cross-legged seating position. Traditionally the chicken was placed in a cross legged position upright on the grill. The chicken was bathed in the curry paste with grounded peanuts and then brushed with the same mixture over the whole cooking process. Later the process was simplified by cutting up the chicken in large pieces and, instead of being prepared on the grill, it went to the pot where it was cooked in the sauce. In this cooking lesson you will learn how to cook the Phanaeng Curry Chicken or, if you are vegetarian, Phanaeng Curry can be prepared as well as a vegetarian dish with Tofu.
At home you can use the now widely available ready made pastes. However, more tasty is of course to make your Phanaeng Curry Paste from scratch.

Print Recipe
 Penang Curry Chicken
Cooking Class Penang Curry
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Central Thai, Thai
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings
person
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Central Thai, Thai
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings
person
Ingredients
Cooking Class Penang Curry
Instructions
  1. Ingredients for one portion. As you can see there is quite a bit more curry paste than a tea spoon. One tea spoon is for a European palate with very little tolerance for spicy food. Just start with a tea spoon and add more if you like it more spicy. You can always add more paste until the very end of the recipe. Just keep in mind that you can't reverse the process :-). As for the vegetables the amounts can vary as well according to taste.
  2. Fry the curry paste with the oil in a wok
    Phanaeng Curry Chicken Recipe
  3. Add coconut milk until all the paste is covered
    Phanaeng Curry Chicken Recipe
  4. Bring to boil
    Phanaeng Curry Chicken Recipe
  5. Add baby corn and carrots and a bit of water. Add oyster sauce, sugar and salt. Bring to boil again.
  6. Add chicken and stir it in.
    Phanaeng Curry Chicken Recipe
  7. Add sliced lime leaves and pineapple and bring to boil and add more coconut milk and fish sauce
    Phanaeng Curry Chicken Recipe
  8. Add the sliced long beans and chilly peppers
    Phanaeng Curry Chicken Recipe
  9. Serve with rice