Stir-fried Minced Beef with Chillies and Holy Basil (Neua Pat Bai Grapao)

I had this dish on my ‘to cook’ list for a great length of time before actually biting the bullet. I was hesitant because I was actually afraid of this dish when I was living in Thailand! It stems from an incident when I went to my favourite restaurant in Bangkok where one of my best friends works. After thinking about ordering my usual red curry (gang dang), I told my Thai friend that I wanted something completely authentic, and done in the Thai style. That meant I didn’t want it toned down for a farang (a foreigner), and I wanted it served to me as Thai people ate it. Intent to prove to my local friend that I had what it takes to mix it with Thai people in the heat department, I displayed a great level of confidence. Quite simply, it was misplaced. My friend sat down with me and had actually ordered two, so we were eating the same dish at the same time. He started eating and was perfectly fine, and I must admit the apprehension was getting the better of me. Finally I began, and, as is relatively usual, things seemed to be going quite well. Then after just 30 seconds, it began. My head starting throbbing, my throat seemed to be closing and I really struggled to breathe. Nothing would help me – water, beer, ice cubes even. They just seemed to intensify the heat, and I went home with my tail between my legs realising that I was, after all, just a ‘farang’, and couldn’t match it with the locals.

When I eventually cooked this dish, I was still trepidatious. As it turned out, however, it was absolutely delicious! I probably used around 15 bird’s eye chillies, so it’s not as if I played it on the safe side. Of course, this recipe doesn’t call for as much chilli as the Thais would use, but it’s not by any means a soft version of the recipe. After all, it comes from David Thompson, who is a purveyor of very authentic Thai recipes. All of the elements just seemed to work so well together – the Thai basil, the hit of chilli, the oiliness of the minced beef, and the crispiness of the fried egg, all soaked up by steamed jasmine rice. It makes a great combination! While I was in Thailand, I really came to love Thai basil, and it’s really one of those ingredients that doesn’t have a great substitute. While of course regular basil would be an obvious substitute if you can’t find Thai (Holy) basil, it doesn’t provide the same flavour. For me, this dish is synonmous with Thai street food, something that I came to not only savour but depend on when I worked and lived in Thailand. I must admit that it took my stomach a few months to come to terms with Thai street food, those few months of struggling were well worth it. Even today I saw an article about 20 reasons to visit Bangkok, and street food was of course high up on that list. It just made me realise how lucky I was to immerse myself in another culture, especially one so vibrant and flaboursome. So I heartily recommend this recipe if you want to taste a relatively authentic version of a major Thai street food dish.

8 garlic cloves, peeled

8-20 bird’s eye chillies (scuds)
Good pinch of salt
6-8 tbs vegetable oil
4 eggs
400g coarsely minced beef
About 4 tbs fish sauce
Large pinch of white sugar
½ cup stock or water
4 large handfuls of holy basil leaves
Chillies in fish sauce (below), to serve

Chillies in fish sauce

¼ cup fish sauce
10-15 bird’s eye chillies (scuds), finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, fnely sliced
1 tbs lime juice
Good pinch of chopped coriander

To make the chillies in fish sauce, combine the fish sauce, chillies and garlic in a bowl and set aside. Just before serving, stir through the lime juice and coriander.

To make the stir-fry, coarsely chop the garlic with the chillies and salt.

Heat a well-seasoned wok over a high heat then turn down the heat and add 4 tbs of the oil. Crack in one of the eggs and fry gently, shuffling the egg to prevent it from sticking, until it has cooked to your preference. Spoon some of the hot oil over the egg to ensure the yolk cooks evenly. Carefully lift out the egg with a spatula and place on a warmed plate. Repeat with the remaining eggs, and keep warm while cooking the beef.

Add more oil – you’ll need about 8 tbs of oil all up in the wok. When the oil is hot, fry the garlic and chillies for a moment, but don’t let it colour. Add the beef and continue to stir-fry for a minute until just cooked. Season to taste with the fish sauce and sugar.

Add the stock or water and simmer for a moment, ensuring it doesn’t boil. Stir in the holy basil and as soon as it is wilted, remove from the heat.

Serve on plates with plenty of steamed jasmine rice, a fried egg on top and a bowl of chillies in fish sauce on the side.

Cuisine: Thai

Source: “Thai Street Food” by David Thompson
Rating: Four stars

Laksa with Beef and Dried Prawns (Guay Tio Kaew)

This laksa recipe from David Thompson is the War and Peace of laksa recipes, if not all Asian recipes. Indeed, it’s the most complicated, lengthy and labour-intensive recipe I’ve ever cooked. A brief look at the ingredients of the recipe indicates the multi-layered elements of this laksa. I actually prepared and cooked it over two nights – I prepared the laksa paste on the first night, which itself took longer than the usual laksa paste takes to make because of the unique method of char-grilling the garlic and ginger. In my opinion, it would just be impossible to cook this in a single night unless you had help from your partner or someone else (I cooked it by myself and so had to prepare all of the elements). I’m not saying at all that the effort isn’t worth it, but you need to be prepared to spend a great deal of time and energy in making this dish. While I always enjoy the process of cooking and creating, I must admit that it was a stressful dish to make, and by the time I had finished it, my shoulders and neck were so tense that I could barely turn my head. I think a great deal of the stress comes from time management – the timing of all the separate elements of this dish is quite important, and you need to make sure that you pay attention to all of these elements in order to bring them together at their peaks.

The recipe is quite unique and interesting, and in my opinion it’s actually arguable whether it ultimately is a laksa or not. It comes from Thai Street Food by David Thompson, perhaps the best non-native expert on Thai food (other than myself, of course). Certainly, laksa is not a Thai dish. It originates from Malaysia and Singapore, and to a lesser degree from Indonesia. Laksa is in my top three favourite foods in the world, what I call my 'desert island' foods. Everyone has probably asked themselves this hypothetical – if you were placed on a desert island and could only eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be? Well, one dish would become monotonous after a while, so I've altered the hypothetical to include three dishes. It’s one of those difficult questions to answer, such as what your favourite movie of all time is, because there are so many dishes that I love. I think the three would be stuffed crust pepperoni pizza (we’re all allowed an unsophisticated dish!), Thai red curry and laksa.

So I’m very familiar with laksa and its basic elements. Further, I lived and worked in Thailand for one and a half years, not to mention all the other times that I have travelled there, so I know a great deal about Thai cuisine. I was going to say that I know the A-Z of Thai cuisine, but it’s such a broad and regional cuisine that I think it’s impossible to cover the gamut of Thai food without immersing yourself in all areas of Thailand for many, many years. Basically, while this recipe is delicious, it’s not really a Thai dish in my opinion. Nowhere in Thailand have I ever come across a laksa – most Thai people don’t even know what laksa is! Further, it certainly isn’t considered a common form of street food, which Thailand is famous for. There are definitely elements of Thai cuisine in the dish, but to label it as not only a laksa but an example of Thai street food is, in my humble opinion, incorrect and a misrepresentation of Thai food. It actually more closely resembles a Thai red curry than a laksa, as the consistency of the ‘soup’ is quite thick, similar to red curries, whereas laksa soup is usually not nearly as viscous.

Saying all that, this dish is certainly worth the effort! The final result is a delicious combination of some of the best flavours of south-east Asian cooking. The fact that it isn’t exactly a laksa or a red curry, but something in between, is actually quite intriguing and provides a unique eating experience for lovers of Asian food. There could be an argument that there are too many competing flavours and elements to the dish, but south-east Asian food can be quite complex and layered. So prepare yourself in advance if you want to make this dish, which I recommend you do, and I recommend you make it as I did over two nights, unless, as I said, you are going to have help in making it. Just enjoy it for what it is – not a traditional Thai recipe, not an example of Thai street food, not really a laksa, but nevertheless a delicious, creative and ultimately fulfilling recipe.

Recipe (serves 2-3):

400g beef flank, cheek, shin or brisket

2 cups coconut milk

2¼ cups coconut cream

3 cups stock or water

Good pinch of salt

3 bay leaves

2 green cardamom pods

3cm cassia bark piece or cinnamon quill

2 pandanus leaves, knotted

2-3 tbs fish sauce

Pinch of white sugar

¼-½ tsp roasted chilli powder

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

½ cup sliced red shallots

150g firm tofu

250g fresh rice vermicelli or 200g dried rice vermicelli, soaked for 20 mins

3 cups bean sprouts

¼ cup dried prawns, coarsely ground

2 tbs preserved Chinese vegetable (dtang chai) rinsed and drained

3 eggs, hardboiled, shelled and quartered

¼ cup roasted peanuts, coarsely ground

2 tbs chopped spring onions

2 tbs chopped coriander

Wedges of lime & roasted chilli powder to serve

Laksa paste

2 bamboo skewers

5 dried long red chillies

1 tbs coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2-3 cloves

5 slices ginger

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

3-5 dried bird’s eye chillies

Pinch of salt

2 tbs chopped lemongrass

1 tsp Thai shrimp paste

2 tsp curry powder for beef (see below)

Pinch of grated nutmeg

Curry powder for beef

5 long peppers known as pipalli or peepar (optional)

1 tsp black peppercorns

1½ tbs coriander seeds

1 tbs cumin seeds

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp fennel seeds

7 Thai cardamom pods or 4 green cardamom pods, husked

2 tbs turmeric powder

1½ tbs ground ginger

To make the curry powder for beef, grind the whole spices to a powder using a mortar and pestle. Add the turmeric and ginger, then pass the powder through a sieve. Store in the fridge.

Next, make the laksa paste. Soak the skewers in water for about 30 mins. Nip off the stalks of the dried long red chillies, then cut along their length and scrape out the seeds. Soak the chillies in water for about 15 mins until soft.

Meanwhile, separately roast the coriander, cumin and cloves in a dry, heavy-based frying pan, shaking the pan, until aromatic. Grind to a powder using a mortar and pestle.

Thread the ginger and garlic onto individual skewers. Grill all the skewers: the ginger need only be coloured, but the garlic must be charred and the flesh soft. Allow to cool, then peel the garlic.

Drain the soaked chillies, squeezing to extract as much water as possible, then roughly chop them. Rinse the dried bird’s eye chillies to remove any dust. Using a mortar & pestle, pound the long red chillies with the salt and, when reduced to a paste, add the bird’s eye chillies. Continue to pound, adding the lemongrass, galangal, shallots, ginger, garlic and shrimp paste, reducing each one to a fine paste before adding the next. Finally, stir in the ground spices, curry powder and nutmeg.

Place the beef in cling-wrap in the freezer for 30 mins beforehand. Trim the beef and cut into thin slices around 2cm thick. Rinse well and dry.

In a large saucepan or stockpot, bring the coconut milk, 2 cups of the stock and 1 cup of the coconut cream to the boil with the salt. Add the paste and, when it has dissolved, the beef. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the beef is just cooked and beginning to become tender. This could take anywhere between 25-45 mins.

In a dry, heavy-based frying pan, briefly roast the cardamom or bay leaves, cardamom pods and cassia bark/cinnamon quill, then add them to the beef, along with the pandanus. Simmer for another 5 mins, skimming occasionally.

Return the soup to the boil (after the option of straining it) and add the fish sauce, sugar and chilli powder. Add the remaining cup of stock and another cup of the coconut cream. Leave to simmer very gently for several minutes, stirring as needed. It improves if left to stand for an hour or so at this point.

Meanwhile, pour the vegetable oil into a large, stable wok or a wide, heavy-based pan until it is about 2/3 full. Heat the oil over a medium-high flame until it reaches 180 degrees. Deep-fry the shallots in the oil until golden, stirring so they cook evenly, then drain on paper towel. Deep-fry the dried chillies for a few moments, then drain on paper towel. Pat the tofu dry and deep-fry it until it has a golden skin. Once drained, cut tofu into cubes. Reserve the oil as the Laksa may need to be enriched later.

When almost ready to serve, re-heat the soup and check the seasoning – it shouldn’t be too thick. The surface should be dappled with an attractive amount of oil. If not, add 1-2 tbs of the remaining oil.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Pull apart the rice noodle strands and add to the water, together with 2 cups of the bean sprouts. Simmer for a moment or two then drain and divide among four bowls. Add the beef and ladle over the soup.

Sprinkle the Laksa with the ground dried prawns, preserved Chinese vegetable, quarters of hard-boiled egg, roasted peanuts and the remaining cup of bean sprouts. Garnish each bowl with 1 tbs of the remaining coconut cream, 1 tbs of the deep-fried shallots, and some spring onion and coriander. Serve with wedges of lime and roasted chilli powder.

Cuisine: Thai (arguable)

Source: “Thai Street Food” by David Thompson

Rating: Four stars

Red Curry with Chicken (Gang Dang Gai)

It's quite apt that the first recipe published on this blog is my favourite dish. I cooked this dish for a friend and myself at PB in February. I had just returned from Thailand two months prior to the trip to PB, and was trying to re-adapt to life in Sydney, something that I'm still finding hard. My friend has also been going through a difficult time after experiencing many setbacks throughout his 20s. So we can relate to each other greatly, and it was great to go to PB to get out of the city and relax, or to get grounded, as my friend would say.

My friend cooked slow-braised lamb shoulder on the first night, which was aroi maak (Thai for very delicious), and which I thought would be impossible to come close to, not that I was treating it like a competition at all. I decided that I would cook Thai red curry. I was a bit concerned that it would not turn out well, but I followed a recipe from a Thai cookbook that I bought at the Bookazine store on Khao Sarn Road, and it turned out to be wonderful. My friend was very impressed. I had wondered whether I should use chicken or beef, as I actually had initially fallen in love with red beef curry (Gang Dang Nua), but I thought that it had the capacity to toughen up too much. As it turned out, the method of cooking this recipe made everything so tender, especially the vegetables. I decided to use asparagus rather than aubergines, as I’m not a great fan. They turned out to be a beautifully tender addition to the dish. I had to use canned baby corn because there was no fresh baby corn – it’s Umina after all!!! I loved the twist of adding the halved tomatoes towards the end of the dish, together with a handful of brown sugar. The tomatoes actually melted into the dish quite quickly, and added a layer of lushness. I topped it off with a garnish of coriander, which actually was lovely (I’m not usually a huge fan of coriander).

As I said to my friend, the best red curry I’ve ever eaten is at Center Khao Sarn in Bangkok. I would eat it probably twice a week, if not more! My friends, who have been there, agree. It’s just so rich and luscious, my mouth waters even thinking of it now. Red curry for me is the epitome of Thai cooking. I believe you can judge how good a Thai restaurant is by its red curry. Most can make a decent Pad Thai, but red curry is a marker of excellent Thai cooking. I was a bit hard on myself when tasting my dish, as I was comparing it with Center Khao Sarn's red curry, which obviously can’t be beaten. However, I’m proud to say that I was very happy. The only thing that I would do in hindsight would be to add one or two chillies, chopped in large slices keeping the seeds in, in order to add heat to the curry base. It’s Thai cooking, after all! One other thing to note about this recipe is that it uses jarred red curry paste. The advantage of using jarred paste include reducing the cooking time and getting to know the general flavour of a red curry paste. However, I now make my own red curry pastes because the ingredients are fresh and I can alter the balance of the ingredients depending upon my own taste (the spicier the better!).

Recipe (serves 3-4):

500g chicken breast, sliced

3-4 tbs Red Curry Paste

1½ tbs sunflower oil

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Bunch of asparagus, chopped into inch-length pieces

15 baby corns, halved

1 red capsicum, chopped into inch-length pieces

500 ml coconut milk

50 ml chicken or vegetable stock

2½ tbs fish sauce

25g brown sugar (or 2 tablespoons clear honey)

2 tomatoes, cut in half

3 kaffir lime leaves, torn in half

2-3 red chillies, sliced into large pieces

Coriander leaves, chopped

Jasmine rice

 

Heat the oil in a wok or saucepan and stir-fry the Red Curry Paste and garlic over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant.

Add the chicken and stir for 4-5 minutes. Add the vegetables, coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce and sugar and cook on a low to medium heat for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomatoes, sliced red chillies and kaffir lime leaves and simmer for an extra two minutes.

Spoon into dishes and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with Jasmine rice on the side.

Cuisine: Thai

Source: "200 Thai Favourites" by Oi Cheepchaiissara

Rating: Four stars