Pad Kra Pao Kai ต้มข่าไก่ Chicken Stir Fried with Holy Basil

Pad Kra Pao is probably Thailand's most popular street food.  Meaning "stir fry with holy basil" in Thai, it can be made with any protein.  Here I am showing the version with chicken (thus the "kai" on the end, meaning chicken).  This is a lovely and very simple dish that can come together in about half an hour or even less.  I love to have it for lunch when I'm busy and don't feel like cooking for very long.

Ingredients for Pad Kra Pao (serves 1)

for the sauce-

• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 dash dark soy
• 1 tsbp dark sweet soy
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce

other ingredients-

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 thai chili, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 handful holy basil leaves
• about 1/2 kilo chicken, cubed (I used 3 deboned thigh)
• 1 egg 

 Let's start!

First, mince garlic, shallot, and chili finely.  Then fry the egg and set aside.  Now in some oil, fry the shallot, garlic, and chili until fragrant and golden.

 Next add in the chicken pieces and fry till the chicken browns somewhat.

Now add in the sauce.

Now cook untill the sauce is reduced to a nice thick coating, then add in the basil and stir fry until it's nicely wilted.  Serve with the fried egg on top with steamed rice.  Aroy mak mak!

Vịt Nấu Cam - Vietnamese Canard à l'Orange

The culinary traditions of Vietnam and France are deeply intertwined.  Each has had great influence on the other, creating a delicate and beautiful fusion of flavors.  Vịt Nấu Cam is one of the most delicious examples of this union, combining the French dish canard à l'orange with Vietnamese ingredients and tastes, resulting in a harmonious and delicious dish.

Ingredients-

• 3 duck legs

• 5 garlic cloves, lightly crushed

• 2 lemongrass, bashed

• 5 Thai chilis, crushed

• 4 star anise

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 large knob of ginger, sliced

• Palm or brown sugar to taste

• 5 tbsp fish sauce

• Black pepper to taste

• 300 ml orange juice

• Some spring onion and coriander leaf for garnish

• 2 tsp cornstarch mixed with a little water

Let's start!  First, heat some oil in a dutch oven or heavy pot.  Dry the duck legs and fry on both sides for 5 minutes each, then remove and set aside.

Now, drain about half the fat from pan and set aside for later.  Add in the ginger, lemongrass, star anise, and garlic then fry in the fat until nice and fragrant, then add the fish sauce and sugar.  Then put the duck legs back in the pot, followed by the orange juice and the black pepper.

 

Now, bring to a boil, then cover and return to very low heat.  Simmer like this for about 1-2 hours or until meat is very tender.  At this time, preheat your oven to 200c.  When done, remove the duck, brush with some of the reserved fat, and bake for maybe 3-5 minutes or until the duck is a nice golden cover.  During this time, return the sauce to high heat and add cornstarch solution when boiling to thicken.  Remove duck from the oven, plate, pour the sauce overtop, and garnish with spring onion and coriander.  Serve hot with rice or vegetable side dishes!

Ayam Panggang Sulawesi - Sulawesi Style Roast/Grilled Chicken and Basil

The food from the northern parts of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) is the result of a very interesting mixture of cultures.  Local flavors mixed heavily with those brought by colonizing forces from Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands.  In this unusual region, the majority of the population is Christian rather than Muslim.  This delicious, mouthwatering roasted chicken dish is a beautiful example of food from Manado, the capital of the Northern Sulawesi province.  Originating with the Minahasan people who live in the area, this dish has a unique flavor that will have you gasping for more!

Ayam panggang Sulawesi recipe (serves 1-2)

for the rempah (paste-to be blended in a food processor)

• 6 shallots
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 inch piece of turmeric root, peeled
• 1 inch ginger, peeled
• 1 inch galangal, peeled
• 4 candlenuts
• 4 birdseye chillis

other ingredients

• 1/2 chicken or equivalent amount of other pieces.  I like to use 3 thighs and 3 drumsticks
• 1 bunch of lemon basil (it's ok to substitute with a different kind if you can't find lemon basil)
• 2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, bashed
• 6 kaffir lime leaves
• 200 ml coconut milk
• salt to taste

Let's go!  First, blend all the spices together under the list titled "rempah."  Then heat some oil in a wok.  Add in the paste and fry until fragrant and the oil separates.

Next add in the coconut milk along with all other inredients except the chicken pieces. 

Heat till coconut milk is simmering, then add chicken.  Let simmer in the sauce for 30-40 minutes, stirring to keep from burning occasionally.  Now preheat the grill or preheat oven to 200˚c.

 

 When done, take the chicken pieces out of the sauce and place in the oven or on the grill.  On the grill, cook for about 5 minutes on both sides or until you get some nice dark grill lines.  Leave in the oven for 10-15 minutes on each side.  While the chicken cooks, allow the remaining sauce to reduce.  Now, remove the lime leaves and lemongrass grom your reserved sauce.  Plate the chicken pieces and pour the sauce overtop.  Serve with lots of plain rice.  Enjoy!!

Pad Thai ผัดไทย

Pad Thai is probably the most widely known Thai dish.  Pad Thai (ผัดไทย) means "Thai style stir fry" in the Thai language.  Having become very popular after a nationalist campaign in the 1930s, pad Thai is today well known all over the world.  A lovely and hearty mixure of noodles with protein and fish sauce, tamarind, and palm sugar, this is a great dish for any time.  I like to have it for lunch as it is really quick and easy to make.

Due to its wide popularity, there are now many different versions of pad Thai, but the one I share is closer to the roots of the dish.  Today it's common to see pad Thai with lots of protein, but originally this was very expenive in Thailand-not many people could afford to make food with prawns, chicken, etc. so dried prawn was really the extent.  Protein was from tofu and egg.  Again, even in Thailand everybody makes this differently, so this is just my version.  Many non-Thai people also use a pre-made pad Thai sauce, but this is really bad as the sauce is very easy to make, and when you make your own you can adjust the taste based on your own palette, adding more or less fish sauce for salt, tamarind for sourness, or palm sugar for sweetness.


Pad Thai recipe (serves 1-2)

for the pad Thai sauce

• 1/4 cup tamarind concentrate
• 17g palm sugar
• 1.5 tbsp white sugar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce 

other ingredients

• 150g rice noodles
• A few pieces of preserved
• 1 chicken breasts or protein of your choice, sliced into bite size pieces 
• 1 handful deep fried tofu
• 1 handful bean sprouts
• 2 garlic cloves, minced finely
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp chopped preserved turnip
• 1 bunch garlic chives or spring onions, sliced into manageable pieces
• 2 tsp. roasted chili flakes or 3 thai chilis, minced
• 2 tbsp dried prawns, soak in a little water until soft
• 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed

First, add the sugar, palm sugar, and tamarind concentrate to a small saucepan.  Heat until the sugars dissolve, then remove rom heat, add in the fish sauce, and mix well (you can add all three at once if you like, but I add fish sauce later so as to avoid stinking up the kitchen).  While you do this, boil some water in the kettle and pour over the rice noodles.  Let sit briefly (1-2 minutes) then drain.  Noodles should not get too soggy.

 

 Now heat some oil in a large frying pan or wok.  Crack two eggs into the pan and shove to one side.  On the other side, add in the dried prawns, chili, and garlic.  Keep the garlic moving so as to avoid burning.  When the eggs are cooked, add in the rice noodles.  At this time you can add also the chicken or whichever protein you choose (I did not add any meat this time around).

Stir the noodles in with the garlic, prawn, and egg.  Now add 1/2 of the already prepared sauce.  Throw in the chopped spring onion/garlic chives, tofu, turnip preserves, and bean sprouts at this point.  Add in the rest of the sauce and stir in.  Wait until the garlic chives/spring onion is wilted and the noodles are coated with sauce.  The misture should not be too watery, but not too dry.  Cook until you have a nice middle ground.

Serve immediately with a lime wedge and crushed roasted peanut.  Aroy mak mak!

Soto Ayam

SS

Soto ayam is a delicious Indonesian chicken soup.  Flavored with lots of strong spices and colored yellow with turmeric, this hearty soup is my favorite to serve on cold days when you are feeling a little sick!  In Indonesia this is always thought of as a family dish where people gather with those they love to share a large bowl of soto broth.

Soto ayam recipe

for the spice paste, ground in mortar/pestle or a food processor

• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 inch ginger
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp white peppercorn powder

For the broth

• 3 liters stock
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 1 daun salam or bay leaf
• 6 cloves

The rest

• 1.5 kilos chicken (I use thighs)
•  oil for frying
• Rice vermicelli, cooked for a few minutes in boiling water and strained

Let's go!  First, sautee the ingrediants for the broth (sans stock of course) until the onions are rosy.

Next, add in the chicken pieces and the spice paste and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.  Then pour in the stock.

Now, let simmer for about 30 minutes.  Remove the chicken and shred. 

Place the noodles in a bowl, cover with the chicken, then pour the broth overtop.  Serve with chopped spring onion, coriander, lime wedge, and hardboiled egg.  Enjoy!

Semur Ayam

Semur is a very popular type of stew originating in Java.  It is a wonderful and hearty example of Javanese cuisine.  It uses the famous Indonesian sweet soy sauce, "kecap manis," as the main flavoring.  It's traditionally made with beef or buffalo meat, but as I don't like beef I will be sharing what's called semur ayam (chicken semur).  This is a lovely dish to serve for lunch and can stand easily on its own.  It is a very nice example of how simple and delicious Javanese cuisine can be.  I love to make this if I am feeling sick, like many do with chicken soup in the West.

Semur Ayam recipe (serves 2)

for the rempah-

• 3 shallots
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 inch peeld ginger

Other ingredients

• 2 pinches ground nutmeg
• 2 pinches ground white peppercorn
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 500 ml water
• 1 large potato, peeled and chunked
• 1/2 kilo chicken
• 1 lemongrass, white part only, bruised
• 50 ml kecap manis

First, pound the garlic, shallot, and ginger together in a mortar and pestle or blend in a food processor.

Next, heat a little oil in a large wok.  When hot, add the blended shallot/ginger/garlic paste and fry for several minutes.  Next throw in the chicken and fry until they are no longer pink.  

Now pour in the water and all the other ingredients.

Simmer on medium-low heat uncovered for half an hour, then serve immediately.  Enjoy!!

Gulai Kambing - Padang Style Lamb Curry

Gulai Kambing is a very popular dish, especially in Sumatra and peninsular Malaysia.  "Gulai" is a type of sauce from the Minangkabau ethnic group in West Sumatra.  Today, gulai is made with all kinds of meat, including squid, crab, prawns, beef, chicken, and all other meats.  However, the most popular kind of gulai is made with goat or lamb ("Kambing" means the animal "goat", but when speaking of meat, kambing can refer to goat and lamb meat interchangeably).  This dish is a popular part of what is called Padang food (makanan Padang) in Indonesia, which means food from Sumatera Barat province (the capital of which is Padang), which is very popular in all parts of Indonesia and Malaysia.  This dish is a lovely part of any Indonesian meal, and often serves to cool off the palette due to its mild flavor.  It is in many ways idiomatic to the Indian Korma, which also tends to be creamy, somewhat mild, and yellowish in color.  Now, let's get cooking!

Gulai Kambing recipe (serves 1-2)

For the rempah (spice paste).  Blend these ingredients to a fine paste.

• 4 small shallots
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 inch galangal
• 1/2 inch fresh turmeric
• 1/2 inch ginger
• 1/4 tsp fennel powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 3 candlenuts
• 1/4 tbsp palm sugar (gula jawa is best)
• 1/4 tsp ground white peppercorn
• 1 tsp salt

Other ingredients

• About 200g lamb meat, you can also use mutton or goat.  Shoulder meat is best.
• 2-3 kaffir lime leaves, ripped
• 1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, bruised
• 2 cloves
• 1 star anise
• 1 Indonesian bay leaf (these are not the same as regular bay leaves, but if needed you can substitute regular ones.  Look for leaves labeled "daun salam" or "Indonesian bay leaf")
• 1 cardamom pod
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1.5 tbsp oil for frying
• 400 ml coconut milk (ayam brand is the best)
• 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
• water

Let's go!

First, heat the oil in a large wok or other deep pot (I use a faitout).  Fry the whole spices (lime leaves, lemongrass, cloves, star anise, daun salam, cardamom, cinnamon) in the oil until fragrant, then adding the rempah (curry paste.)  Fry for about five minutes until aromatic and the oil separates out.  Then add in the lamb pieces and stir into the rempah until no longer pink.  Then pour in the coconut milk and tamarind.  Mix well with the spice paste and add enough water now to cover the lamb pieces entirely.  Let simmer on medium-low heat for about 2-3 hours depending on how thick you like your sauce.  In Sumatera people like it very thick, but the Javanese way is to leave the sauce a litle thinner.  Either way will be delicious!  Check seasonings before serving with plain rice, nasi kuning, nasi liwet, roti jala/canai or anything else you like.  Enjoy your gulai!