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392 recipes

Moo tod kratiem (Thai garlic pepper pork)

Moo tod kratiem is a one-plate dinner sold at made-to-order stalls across Bangkok and the rest of Thailand: slices of pork marinated in garlic, white pepper and soy, fried until the edges caramelise, then showered with crisp golden garlic and served over rice with a fried egg and cucumber. This is a pork dish. The mistake is frying the garlic on high heat; it burns in seconds and turns bitter, so fry it gently and take it out when it is pale gold. Chef's tip: pound the garlic, pepper and coriander root together rather than chopping, so the paste clings to the meat.

22 min

Thai Meat

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Pad thua ngok tao hoo (Thai bean sprouts and tofu stir-fry)

This plain, fast stir-fry is a fixture of home kitchens and made-to-order rice stalls across central Thailand, where it is eaten as one of two or three dishes shared over jasmine rice at dinner. Firm tofu is browned first, then the sprouts go in for barely a minute so they stay juicy and snap when you bite them. Thai cooks often season it with oyster sauce and fish sauce; this version uses soy and a mushroom-based sauce so it is vegan. The mistake almost everyone makes is cooking the sprouts too long, which turns them limp and watery. Chef's tip: pick off the stringy tails of the sprouts if you have five spare minutes; it makes the dish noticeably crisper.

11 min

Thai Vegetarian

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Algerian mkhabezIced almond and lemon diamonds

No Algerian wedding tray, and few Eid tables in Algiers or Constantine, is complete without mkhabez: soft, chewy diamonds of ground almond and lemon zest under a smooth white icing, each topped with a sugar flower or a silver ball and set in its own paper case. Making them is a social affair, with sisters and aunts icing and decorating hundreds the week before a celebration. The almond base is flourless and dairy free, sweet and lemony, and the icing sets to a thin shell; serve them with mint tea or strong coffee. Overbaking is the mistake to avoid: the diamonds should come out pale and soft, or they go dry and crumbly under the icing. Chef's tip: ice them when completely cold, and get the icing so thick it only just flows; runny icing slides off the sides and never sets glossy.

105 min

Algerian Baking

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Tcharek el arianeAlmond crescents with orange blossom

On the last nights of Ramadan, kitchens across Algiers and Constantine fill up with trays of tcharek el ariane, the 'naked' tcharek: crescents of thin, buttery dough wrapped around almond paste with cinnamon and orange-blossom water. Unlike their sugar-coated cousins they are left bare, so the fine dough with its pinched, lace-like pattern shows. Families give them to neighbours on Eid morning and set them out at weddings with mint tea and coffee. The dough is traditionally made with smen (aged butter); plain melted butter works well. Overbaking is the common slip, because they turn hard and dry; they should stay pale with only golden tips. Chef's tip: keep the dough under a damp cloth while you shape, as it dries in minutes and then cracks along the curve.

120 min

Algerian Baking

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Khai luk khoei (son-in-law eggs)

Khai luk khoei, son-in-law eggs, is a central Thai dish made for family meals and temple fairs, and a favourite way to turn a few eggs into dinner: boiled eggs fried until blistered and golden, halved and spooned over with a sticky tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce sauce, then finished with crisp shallots and chilli. It contains fish sauce, so it is not vegetarian. The mistake is frying wet eggs in oil that isn't hot enough; dry them well and the skin puffs and crisps instead of spitting. Chef's tip: boil the eggs for 7 minutes for a jammy centre; give 10 minutes and fully set yolks for anyone pregnant, very young, older or vulnerable.

27 min

Thai Snacks & Starters

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Moo manao (pork in lime and chilli dressing)

Moo manao is a drinking snack and dinner side from central Thailand, served in Bangkok bars and at home with sticky rice: thin slices of pork, blanched until just cooked, laid on ice-cold cabbage or lettuce and drowned in a fierce dressing of lime, raw garlic, bird's eye chilli and fish sauce. This is a pork dish. The mistake is boiling the pork for too long, which makes the thin slices tough and dry; poach them only until they turn white all through. Chef's tip: plunge the cooked slices into iced water for a few seconds, so they stay tender and take the dressing well.

17 min

Thai Meat

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Tao hoo tod (Thai fried tofu with sweet chilli peanut dip)

In Bangkok and towns all over Thailand, tao hoo tod is sold from street-side woks in the late afternoon, scooped into paper bags with a little bag of sweet chilli dip and a spoon of crushed peanuts for snacking on the way home. Done properly, each cube has a thin, blistered, crisp skin and a soft, almost creamy centre. The mistake that ruins it is frying wet tofu in oil that isn't hot enough, so it soaks up fat and never crisps. It makes a good starter or a light supper with sticky rice and cucumber. Chef's tip: press the tofu under a heavy pan for 10 minutes while you make the dip; drier tofu crisps faster and spits less.

22 min

Thai Snacks & Starters

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Khanom kleeb lamduanFlower shortbread cookies

Named after the lamduan, a fragrant cream-coloured flower with three curled petals, these tiny Thai shortbreads are a classic of the royal-style Thai sweets once made in palace kitchens and now sold in Bangkok's old dessert shops and given at weddings and merit-making. Each flower is three teardrop petals around a ball, pale and fragile, and they melt like sandy fudge. Their perfume comes from tian op, a special scented dessert candle: it is lit, blown out, and left to smoke inside a closed container with the cookies. If you cannot find one, a little jasmine water in the dough gives a different but lovely scent. The mistake is baking them hot or long; they should stay ivory, never golden. Chef's tip: candle smoke is real fire and smoke, so do it in a metal or ceramic pot, well away from curtains and children, with the flame blown out before the lid goes on.

78 min

Thai Baking

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Khao bod tap gai (mashed rice with chicken liver)

Khao bod, mashed soft rice, is how Thai babies start eating with the family, and steamed chicken liver is a favourite addition because it is so rich in iron. Here it is mashed with sweet pumpkin and a few morning glory or spinach leaves, so the flavour is mellow rather than strong. Liver is very high in vitamin A, so keep it to a small portion about once a week. It contains none of the common allergens (milk, egg, gluten, peanut, tree nuts, soya, sesame, fish). Chef's tip: trim every white sinew from the livers, and the mash will be silky rather than stringy.

40 min

Thai Rice & Grains

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Mashed nam wa banana (kluay nam wa bod)

Ask a Thai grandmother about first foods and she will talk about kluay nam wa, the short, plump banana that grows in nearly every garden in Thailand. Ripe ones are steamed, which softens the slightly astringent edge, then scraped and mashed for a baby's first taste, often in the afternoon. It is sweet, creamy and needs nothing added. There are no common allergens (milk, egg, gluten, peanut, tree nuts, soya, sesame, fish). If you can't find nam wa, use a small, very ripe ordinary banana. Chef's tip: steam the banana in its skin; it keeps the flesh moist and stops it browning.

13 min

Thai Desserts

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Kuay teow nam sai (clear rice noodle soup for toddlers)

Kuay teow nam sai, clear noodle soup, is ordered for Thai children at noodle shops everywhere because it comes without chilli, sugar or vinegar: thin rice noodles in a light broth with minced pork and blanched greens. At home it is easy to make it even gentler, with no-salt stock fragrant with garlic and coriander root, so that toddlers can have it from a year old and adults season their bowls at the table. It contains none of the common allergens (milk, egg, gluten, peanut, tree nuts, soya, sesame, fish) unless the family adds fish sauce. Chef's tip: soak the noodles in warm water rather than boiling them, then dip in the broth just before serving, so they stay silky.

30 min

Thai Pasta & Noodles

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Khanom khai (Thai egg cakes)

Khanom khai are the tiny golden sponge cakes that Thai market vendors bake in heavy brass moulds, filling the air with a sweet, eggy smell, and Bangkok children buy a paper bag of them after school. They are light and spongy inside with crisp, caramelised edges, and taste of egg and vanilla. They're made with oil rather than butter. They contain egg and gluten. Without a traditional mould, a mini-muffin or madeleine tin works well. Chef's tip: beat the eggs and sugar until really thick and pale; all the lift comes from that air.

30 min

Thai Baking

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Pla neung manao (steamed fish in lime and chilli)Steamed fish with lime and chilli

Restaurants all over Bangkok bring this dish to the table in a fish-shaped steamer with a flame underneath, the fish swimming in a broth of garlic, chilli, lime and fish sauce that keeps bubbling as you eat. Sea bass (pla kapong) is the usual choice. It is clean, sour and very garlicky, ideal for a light dinner with rice and a plate of greens. A whole fish is traditional; two thick fillets work just as well and steam faster. Chef's tip: pour the sauce over at the end, not before steaming; lime cooked for 15 minutes loses its freshness and turns bitter.

35 min

Thai Fish

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Tom kha gai (chicken in coconut-galangal soup)

Central Thai home cooks make tom kha as one of the dishes at a shared dinner, spooned over rice rather than drunk as a starter, and Bangkok restaurants serve it in a bubbling fire pot. Galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf are simmered in coconut milk with chicken and mushrooms, then seasoned at the end with fish sauce and lime, so the soup is creamy, sour, salty and only gently hot. For a vegetarian version (tom kha het), use 400 g mixed mushrooms and firm tofu, vegetable stock and light soy sauce instead of fish sauce. Chef's tip: add the lime juice off the heat; boiling lime turns bitter and dulls the whole pot.

30 min

Thai Soups

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Oliang (Thai black iced coffee)

Old Bangkok coffee shops in Chinatown and Bang Rak still brew oliang through a long cotton sock, using a dark blend of coffee roasted with corn, soybeans, rice and sesame that gives it a toasty, almost cocoa-like flavour. It is served black, heavily sweetened and poured over crushed ice in tall glasses, a mid-morning pick-me-up for market traders. Look for any Thai 'oliang powder' blend in Asian shops, or mix dark coffee with roasted grains as below. It contains caffeine, so it is not one for children. Chef's tip: adding sugar after chilling is the mistake; dissolve it while the coffee is hot, or it stays gritty.

15 min

Thai Drinks

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Look chupMung bean fruit sweets

Once made in the palace kitchens of Ayutthaya, these miniature chillies, mangosteens and mangoes now fill gift boxes in Bangkok bakeries for weddings, merit-making and Mother's Day. The inside is a smooth, sweet paste of mung beans and coconut milk; the outside is a thin, shiny skin of jelly, so each one tastes a little like marzipan in a glass coat. Making them is an afternoon project best shared. Chef's tip: a paste that is too wet won't hold a shape and slides off the stick; cook it until it pulls away from the pan in one soft ball.

150 min

Thai Desserts

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Plah goong (prawn salad with lemongrass)

Plah is the old Thai word for a salad of barely cooked seafood or meat, and plah goong is a favourite at restaurants along the Gulf coast in Phetchaburi and Hua Hin, where the prawns come in that morning. The dressing of lime and nam prik pao is sweet, sour and smoky, and thin slices of raw lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf make it fragrant and crunchy. Traditionally the prawns are only seared or even served barely 'cooked' by the lime; this recipe cooks them through, which is safer. Chef's tip: dress the prawns while they are still warm, not straight from the fridge; cold prawns won't soak up any of the dressing.

20 min

Thai Salads

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Gaeng kari gai (Thai yellow chicken curry)

Thai yellow curry came to Bangkok through Muslim and Indian traders, and you still find it at curry-over-rice shops near the old mosques of Bang Rak, ladled out with a sharp cucumber relish called ajad. It is the gentlest of the Thai curries: turmeric and curry powder in coconut milk, with chicken, waxy potatoes and onion that soak up the sauce, and children usually like it. For a vegetarian version, use 400 g fried tofu and extra potato, a shrimp-free paste and light soy sauce instead of fish sauce. Chef's tip: fry the paste in the thick coconut cream until the oil separates before adding anything else; skipping this is why many home yellow curries taste raw and powdery.

50 min

Thai Curries

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Pad khing jay (ginger mushroom stir-fry)

Ginger does the work garlic usually would in this festival favourite from the jay kitchens of Phuket and Bangkok's Yaowarat, where it is ladled over rice from steel trays under yellow flags. Crunchy wood ear and soft oyster mushrooms soak up a glossy sauce of fermented soybean paste and soy, and fine matchsticks of young ginger give heat and fragrance. No garlic, onion or spring onion go in, as jay rules forbid them. Chef's tip: old, fibrous ginger is the mistake here; choose plump young ginger with thin, pinkish skin so you can eat it by the forkful.

20 min

Thai Vegetarian

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Nam takrai (lemongrass drink)

Thai spa receptions and roadside rice shops both pour this from big glass jars, and in Chiang Mai and Bangkok homes a pot is often simmering on hot afternoons. Bruised lemongrass gives a clean, lemony, slightly grassy taste and pandan a soft vanilla note; lightly sweetened, it is refreshing over ice and soothing warm on a rainy-season evening. Chef's tip: the usual mistake is chopping the lemongrass fine and boiling it hard, which makes it bitter; bash the stalks and simmer gently.

20 min

Thai Drinks

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Khanom tokyoPandan custard pancake rolls

Outside Bangkok schools at home time, a vendor with a hot griddle on a cart pours small pancakes and rolls each one around a stripe of sweet custard, while children queue with coins. They are soft, eggy and barely sweet outside, oozing cream inside, and a savoury cousin wraps a sausage. Despite the name, the snack is Thai, said to be inspired by a Tokyo-themed department store of the 1960s. This version fills them with pandan custard. Chef's tip: the mistake is a griddle that is too hot; the pancakes should set pale with only light freckles, or they crack when rolled.

30 min

Thai Snacks & Starters

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Khanom mo kaeng (Thai coconut custard cake)

Drive south from Bangkok and every roadside shop in Phetchaburi sells this dense custard in foil trays, because the province's sugar palms give it the palm sugar that defines it. Duck eggs, coconut cream and mashed taro bake into a firm, fudgy slab with a browned top, then a scattering of crisp fried shallots adds a savoury, sweet-onion crunch. Cut it in squares for an afternoon snack. Chef's tip: the common mistake is baking it too hot, which makes it puff and crack; bake low until just set, then brown the top under the grill.

75 min

Thai Desserts

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Tom klong (smoky sour dried-fish soup)

Tom klong is the older, rustic cousin of tom yum, cooked in central Thai homes along the rivers of Suphan Buri and Ang Thong, where fish was dried and smoked to keep through the rains. Shallots, garlic and dried chillies are charred first, then simmered with tamarind, lemongrass and galangal, and smoked dried fish turns the clear broth deep and savoury. It is sour, smoky and hot, eaten with rice and a plain omelette. Look for dried smoked fish (pla krob or pla salid) in Asian grocers, or use smoked mackerel. Chef's tip: grill the aromatics until blackened in patches; pale, raw shallots give a thin soup without the smoke that defines it.

35 min

Thai Soups

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Khanom chan (layered pandan cake)

Bangkok's old dessert shops in Thonburi and the markets around Ayutthaya stack trays of this cake on their counters, and it turns up at weddings and house blessings because 'chan' also sounds like rising a level in life. Each green or white band is steamed on top of the last, so the finished slice is springy, faintly chewy and scented with pandan and jasmine; children eat it by peeling off one layer at a time. Serve it at room temperature with hot jasmine tea. Chef's tip: the classic mistake is pouring the next layer before the one beneath has turned fully translucent, which blurs the stripes; give each layer its full five minutes.

120 min

Thai Desserts

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