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354 recipes

ไอติมกะทิ (Itim kathi, Thai coconut ice cream)

Itim kathi is the ice cream of Bangkok's pushcarts: a vendor lifts the lid of an insulated drum, scrapes up a scoop of snow-white coconut ice cream and piles it into a small cup over sticky rice, then adds whatever the customer points at, from roasted peanuts and sweet corn to chewy palm seeds. It is sold all afternoon in the hot months, outside schools and temples and in markets. Some vendors tuck the scoop into a soft bread roll; serve it in cups as here and it stays gluten free. It is naturally egg-free and dairy-free. Coconut milk carries the fat that makes it creamy, and a little cornflour cooked into it binds the water so crystals stay fine and the texture stays smooth without any custard, while a pinch of salt sharpens the coconut. Chef's tip: use full-fat coconut milk with no added water; the common mistake is using a light one, which freezes hard and icy.

300 min

Thai Desserts

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Kaeng khae with tofu and mushroomsHerb curry with tofu and mushrooms

Kaeng khae comes from the hills around Chiang Mai and Lampang, where it is cooked through the rainy season with whatever the garden and forest give: pea aubergines, long beans, pumpkin tips, acacia shoots and handfuls of leaves, in a brothy, coconut-free curry scented with lemongrass and the peppery prickly ash called makhwaen. In northern homes it is a lunch dish eaten with sticky rice. It is normally cooked with chicken, frog or fish and seasoned with fermented fish; this vegetarian version uses firm tofu, oyster mushrooms, soy sauce and a little salted soybean paste. With the tofu a portion has about 11 g of protein, so it is light rather than high protein. The common mistake is adding all the vegetables at once: the leaves are done in a minute while the beans and aubergines need five. Chef's tip: dry-fry the curry paste in a spoon of oil until it smells toasty before adding water; it gives the broth its depth without any fish.

45 min

Thai Curries

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Kluay chuam (Thai bananas in palm-sugar syrup)

Kluay chuam is a market dessert of central Thailand, cooked in big brass pans and sold by the bag year round, and it is a common sweet to offer monks at merit-making. Small, starchy nam wa bananas are simmered slowly in palm-sugar syrup until they turn translucent and amber, soft and chewy rather than mushy, then served with thick, salty coconut cream poured over. The flavour is deep caramel and banana, cut by the salt. Serve at room temperature in small bowls. Being egg-free by nature, it relies on the long simmer in syrup firms the bananas and a little rice flour thickens the coconut topping. Chef's tip: keep the syrup at the gentlest simmer and don't stir; the common mistake is a fast boil and a spoon, which break the bananas before they have time to turn glassy.

60 min

Thai Desserts

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ซาหริ่ม (Sarim, mung bean noodles in coconut syrup)

Sarim is an old dessert of central Thailand, served at temple fairs and in market dessert shops on sweltering afternoons: thin, slippery strands in pastel green, blue and white, floating in a pale coconut syrup over a mound of crushed ice. The strands are almost flavourless and very soft, so the syrup does the work; in Thailand it is scented with jasmine flowers or the smoke of a scented candle, and here with pandan and optional fresh jasmine. It is naturally egg-free: the strands are pure mung bean starch cooked with water into a clear, thick paste, which sets into a soft gel the moment it hits ice water. Pandan juice and butterfly pea flowers give the colours, so there is no need for dyes. Serve it straight away, as a light end to a spicy meal. Chef's tip: cook the paste until it turns fully glossy and see-through; the common mistake is stopping while it is still milky, which gives strands that break and taste floury.

60 min

Thai Desserts

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Fak thong kaeng buat (Thai pumpkin in coconut milk)

When the rains end and pumpkins pile up in the markets of central Thailand, kaeng buat is what cooks make with them: chunks of dense kabocha simmered in coconut milk sweetened with palm sugar and sharpened with a pinch of salt. It is a homely, everyday dessert, sold warm from big pots at markets in the afternoon and also cooked at Ok Phansa, the end of Buddhist Lent. The pumpkin turns velvety but keeps its shape, and the thin, creamy, caramel-scented broth is meant to be drunk from the spoon. Eat it warm or at room temperature, in small bowls. There is no egg in it and never was: nothing needs setting or binding, as the pumpkin's own starch gives the coconut milk a light body as it cooks. Chef's tip: pick a dry, orange-fleshed kabocha and keep the coconut milk at a bare simmer; letting it boil hard is the common mistake that splits the milk and breaks the pumpkin into mush.

30 min

Thai Desserts

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Khanom jeep (Thai pork and prawn dumplings)

Steamer stacks of khanom jeep sit outside Bangkok's 7-Elevens and on Chinatown dim sum carts all day, sold by the half-dozen in a plastic bag with a squirt of sweet soy and a spoon of fried garlic. These Thai cousins of Cantonese siu mai are filled with springy minced pork and chopped prawns seasoned with coriander root and white pepper, gathered into yellow wrappers and steamed. Eat them as a snack or with rice soup for breakfast. Chef's tip: an underworked filling is the usual mistake; beat the pork and prawn mix hard for a few minutes so it turns sticky and springs back.

60 min

Thai Snacks & Starters

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Nam dok anchan (butterfly pea lemonade)

Vines of butterfly pea climb fences in gardens all over Thailand, and cafés from Bangkok to Krabi serve the flowers as an iced drink that changes colour at the table. The tea itself is mild and earthy, blue as ink; stirring in lime juice turns it violet and makes it tangy, which children love to watch. Chef's tip: the common mistake is mixing the lime in beforehand; serve the blue tea and lime separately so the colour change happens in the glass.

15 min

Thai Drinks

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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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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 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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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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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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Yam makheua yao (grilled aubergine salad)

In Bangkok's evening markets, cooks blister long green aubergines straight over charcoal until the skins blacken, then peel them and dress the soft, smoky flesh with lime, chilli, shallot and plenty of herbs. It is a cooling side for grilled meats and sticky rice, or a light lunch on its own. Stalls usually top it with minced pork or dried shrimp and season with fish sauce; here crisp fried tofu and tamari make it vegan. Chef's tip: char the aubergines until they collapse completely and the skin is papery; pulling them off too soon leaves spongy, bitter centres.

30 min

Thai Salads

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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