Ingredient: Soy sauce

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
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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
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Spring Rolls

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Cooking Class – Popiah (ปอเปี๊ยะ)

In this cooking lesson we are preparing one of the Thai versions of a worldwide popular starter and snack: Popiah, which is the name for spring rolls in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand.
Spring rolls are rolled and filled appetizers which come in a large variety. Its origins are from China. The Chinese chūn juǎn (春卷) literally translated means “spring roll” and comes from a pancake filled with fresh spring vegetables.
Cooking Class - small variety spring roll
The popiah we are preparing in this cooking class is the fried one, the most common variety in Thailand. If our cooking students are interested, we teach as well the tiny snack variety shown in the picture. Other varieties of Popiah are “Salad Rolls”. This is often the choice or our more health oriented vegetarian students. The difference to the spring rolls described here is merely that it’s rolled in a different pastry and not deep fried. This way to prepare spring rolls is more common in Vietnam, which is the reason that the pastry used is called “Vietnamese spring roll pastry”. It actually is just rice paper.
For now have fun with the popiah cooking class.

Print Recipe
 Spring Rolls
Spring Roll Cooking Lesson 01
Course Snack
Cuisine Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Course Snack
Cuisine Thai
Servings
Ingredients
Spring Roll Cooking Lesson 01
Instructions
  1. defrost the spring roll sheets (pastry)
    Spring roll pastry
  2. Soak the glass noodles for about 10 minutes
  3. Heat oil in a wok or pan
  4. Add all the vegetables and stir fry them for a short time
  5. Add sugar, soy sauce, salt and glass noodles and stir until glass noodles are cooked
  6. Put aside at let cool down a bit
    Spring Roll Cooking Lesson
  7. Take the spring roll sheets out and start wrapping them like learned in the cooking class
    Cooking class rolling spring rolls
  8. Deep fry the spring rolls
  9. Get rid of excess oil and serve
    Spring Roll Cooking Lesson
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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
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Morning Glory

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Thai Cooking Lesson – Morning Glory ผักบุ้ง

Thai Cooking Lesson Morning Glory
The Morning Glory used for this dish is Ipomoea aquatica, also known as Water Morning Glory or Water Spinach. It is very popular in SE Asian countries as a side or main dish. In most states of the US it is prohibited to cultivate, since it is regarded as a pest but in Texas it is allowed to be grown for personal consumption due to its undeniable culinary potential. This is nothing to worry about, since the consumption is not illegal. Water Morning Glory is now available all over the world at your favorite Asia shop.
A few years ago, when Sairee on Koh Tao still was a swamp in parts, there was a restaurant which was able to harvest their daily supply of the vegetable in a little swamp pond I could see from my office. That stuff really grows like a weed 😉
However, it is a truly popular dish here in Thailand, and, since it is missing on most menus of Thai restaurants abroad, it is a must to taste if you are in the country, and an easy done recipe to learn in your Thai cooking course with Joy.

Print Recipe
 Morning Glory
Morning Glory Recipe
Cuisine Thai
Keyword morning glory
Servings
Ingredients
Cuisine Thai
Keyword morning glory
Servings
Ingredients
Morning Glory Recipe
Instructions
  1. Chop the Morning Glory to 1 1/2 " (4 cm)
    Morning Glory Recipe
  2. Crush garlic and chilly (amount to your liking or none) in a mortar
    Morning Glory Recipe
  3. Put sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, soy bean paste, crushed garlic and chilly on top of the morning glory
  4. Add a little water to the plate and heat oil in a wok
  5. Make sure the wok is evenly hot. Pour the content of the plate in and stir fry for a short time. If the morning glory turns black you stir fried it too long - start again 😛
    Morning Glory Recipe
  6. Ready to serve
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Thai Ginger Chicken

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Thai cooking course – Phad King Gai (ผัดขิงไก่)

Thai Ginger Chicken is a Chinese influenced Thai dish with high popularity all over the country and in Laos. Phad King is as well prepared with a variety of other meats like pork and beef or as well vegetarian with tofu. The most important ingredient is the Ginger which gives this Thai dish it’s unique characteristic taste. It is served with rice.

Print Recipe
 Thai Ginger Chicken
The pictures show a slight variation of the recipe with no mushrooms, but sweet corn and a few other amendments. Feel free to experiment yourself since ingredients for every recipe in the world are not written in stone, but a very important thing in good cooking is choosing the freshest ingredients.
Cooking lesson koh tao
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Cooking lesson koh tao
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a pan and add garlic, ginger and onions
    cooking class phase 1
  2. Then add chicken. Stir until it is cooked.
    Cooking Class Phad King Gai Phase 2
  3. Now you start to add all the sauces - first soy sauce and dark soy sauce
    Add soy sauce and dark soy sauce
  4. Add sugar and a bit of water. Heat until it boils.
    Sugar and Water
  5. Then add oyster sauce and mushrooms.
    add mushrooms
  6. Taste it and add more sauce if it still doesn't taste right.
  7. At the last minute add red pepper and spring onions.
    At last add spring onions and red peppers
  8. Stir a bit, then turn off gas
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Phad Thai

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Thai cooking with Joy recipe:

Phad Thai – ” ผัดไทย “

A stir fried rice noodle dish found on literally every single night market in Thailand. Phad Thai is a real street food classic. It is pretty much a national dish, though not with a very long history. It became popular in Thailand during, and after world war II.
The recipe shown here is with the original preparation of the Tamarind Sauce, like taught in our Thai cooking lessons with Joy. It is possible to substitute this with the commonly available Tamarind paste.
Recently the Tourism Authority of Thailand published a video about this popular Thai dish:

The phase pictures in the recipe show preparing the sauce for about 4 portions at once, while the phase pictures for the Phad Thai itself show the preparation for only one portion.  To have a good result, please don’t do more than  one portion at a time or the noodles will stick together.

Print Recipe
 Phad Thai - " ผัดไทย "
Cooking Class Phad Thai Goong
Cuisine Thai
Servings
People
Ingredients
Phad Thai Sauce
Phad Thai
Cuisine Thai
Servings
People
Ingredients
Phad Thai Sauce
Phad Thai
Cooking Class Phad Thai Goong
Instructions
Phad Thai Sauce
  1. Mix tamarind with some water and use only the liquid, like learned in the cooking course, put aside. On the pic are the ingredients: Tamarind and the finished Tamarind Sauce, Palm Sugar, Red Onions and Salt.
    Phad Thai Sauce Ingredients
  2. Heat cooking oil in a pot and fry the red onions in it until golden brown.
  3. Add tamarind sauce, palm sugar and salt. Mix well.
  4. Add water, bring to boil and put aside
Phad Thai
  1. Ingredients
  2. Fry the garlic and add the egg(s) and stir until a little solid.
  3. Add Phad Thai Sauce with the noodles. Make sure that the Phad Thai sauce covers the noodles. Bring to boil and let it simmer until the noodles are cooked. At this point most of the liquid should have evaporated
  4. Add Cabbage and Carrots. Mix well.
  5. Add prawns, bean sprouts and chives. Stir well. Add soy sauce and be careful not to overcook the prawns.
  6. Ready to serve
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Son-in-Law Eggs ไข่ลูกเขย

Posted on by Alf Birnecker

Fried boiled eggs with tamarind sauce

ไข่ลูกเขย – Son-in-Law Eggs

Fried boiled eggs with tamarind sauce (Kai Loog Koei)

A super tasty vegetarian dish with a funny story behind it.
There are actually many different stories about the origin of this Thai recipe. The most common and probably funniest goes like this: If a husband was not being a good husband (In Thai culture quite blunt: not performing very well), his mother-in-law would come over and prepare this dish. This was to make him understand that, if he would not shape up, his egg shaped man parts would be in the pan the next time.
I love this dish, and so far it was always prepared for me by our cooking school Koh Tao teacherJoy. If she would ask her Mum to come over and prepare it for me I probably wouldn’t feel that save any more ;-).

Print Recipe
 Son-in-Law Eggs ไข่ลูกเขย
Servings
Ingredients
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Squeeze tamarind with water (a bit of water) put aside.
  2. Chop red onions and fry them with a little oil in the pan until golden brown.
  3. Add 4-5 spoons of brown sugar, about 2 table spoons of tamarind juice, a bit of salt and some soy sauce.
  4. Keep stirring until a little thickened (the right taste should be sweet and sour), put aside
    stir until thickened
  5. Heat up the oil and deep-fry the boiled eggs until golden brown (put aside)
  6. Cut all the eggs in half. Then cover the eggs with tamarind sauce