Vegan PadSee Ew Traditional Thai monksare plant-based eaters, so vegan dishes are nothing new to Thai food. The lackof eggs in this version of pad see ew will make the pan a little sticky, so getyour pan very hot and keep the food moving. Don’t be scared to scrape bits offthe pan as the tofu and noodles are browning so they don’t burn.
3tbsp45 ml vegetarian fish sauce or Thai soybean sauce
1tbsp15 g white sugar
3tbsp45 ml canola or other high-temperature cooking oil
4oz112 g firm, unseasoned vacuum-packed tofu, sliced thin
2clovesgarlicminced
1½cups150 g broccoli florets
4cups480 g fresh rice noodles (store-bought or homemade from here)
½tspwhite pepper
Instructies
Combine the Chinese sweet soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, vegetarian fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl, mixing well to dissolve the sugar.
Set aside.
Heat the oil over high heat in a large skillet for about 1 minute.
When you see the first wisps of white smoke, add the tofu and garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, or until the exterior of the tofu is lightly browned on the edges.
Make sure to scrape any bits off the pan before they burn.
Add the broccoli and noodles, tossing them constantly until the edges of the noodles begin to brown and the broccoli starts to turn dark green, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the sauce and stir constantly to combine for about 3 minutes, until the noodles soak up the sauce and start to crisp slightly on the edges.
SpicyBasil Tofu Stir-Fry This is one of the mostpopular Thai street foods. You can play around with the types of tofu toachieve different textures. Firm tofu packed in water, cut into a small dice,will give you a ground meat experience, while vacuum-packed tofu, thinlysliced, will eat more like sliced meat. Vegetarian oyster sauce exists only inthe Chinese style, so don’t be frustrated if you can’t find Thai vegetarianoyster sauce. Also, don’t be scared to substitute with Italian basil here ifyou can’t find Thai basil.
Morning Glory On FireThis is a fun recipewhere you load all the ingredients on a large platter or quarter sheet pan, getthe wok screaming hot, then dump and stir-fry. In Thailand, there are vendorsthat cook this dish on one side of the street, then hurl it across the streetand catch it with a plate that lands on your table. It’s also called flyingmorning glory for that reason.
½lb226 g morning glory, washed, drained and cut into 3-inch (8-cm) pieces
2Thai bird chiliesminced
2clovesgarlicminced
1tbsp20 g yellow soybean paste
1tbsp15 ml light soy sauce
2tbsp30 ml oyster sauce
2tsp10 g white sugar
2tbsp30 ml canola or other high-temperature cooking oil
Instructies
Place the cut morning glory on a large platter.
Then right on top, place the chilies, garlic, yellow bean paste, light soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar.
The idea is that once the pan is hot, you dump the morning glory and seasonings in all at one time and start cooking.
Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat for about 1 minute.
This is one of the few times I do recommend a wok, about 12 to 14 inches (30 to 36 cm) wide.
A large Dutch oven would be great for this dish, too.
Add the oil to the pan.
When you see wisps of white smoke, carefully dump the morning glory and seasonings into the pan.
It might sputter and pop, so be careful.
Using two large spoons or large tongs, turn the contents of the pan over every 5 to 10 seconds, until the greens wilt by half and turn bright green, 3 to 4 minutes.
Taste and adjust any of the seasonings if you’d like.
Bean Sprouts Stir-Fried With Fried TofuAli and I make thisdish when we want a clean meal. It gives us the vegetables we want and needwhile the tofu also makes it filling. You can make this dish completelyplant-based by using vegetarian oyster sauce.
Thai Yum Rice SaladBesides being a verygood way to utilize cooked rice, this is also one of those dishes that willsatiate but is still light. I like to add grilled meat or seafood to this tomake it a complete meal. If you can’t find green mango, just use all GrannySmith apples.
Crispy Morning Glory SaladMorning glory, aka pakboong, is a tasty dark leafy green usually used in stir-fries. This is myfavorite way to eat it—lightly battered with a light, tangy coconut dressing.Yes, it’s deep-fried, but because it’s a salad, that means it’s healthy, right?
1½qt1.8 L canola or other high-temperature cooking oil
7oz200 g morning glory (stalk and leaves), cut into 3-inch (8-cm) pieces
2cups250 g cornstarch
1cup125 g all-purpose flour
1tspbaking soda
1½cups360 ml ice-cold water
Dressing
2tbsp30 ml canola or other high-temperature oil
1clovegarlicfinely chopped
1–3 fresh Thai chiliessliced thin
6mediumshrimppeeled and deveined, sliced in half lengthwise and widthwise
1shallotfinely sliced
¼cup60 ml fresh lime juice
¼cup60 ml fish sauce
¼cup55 g palm sugar or brown sugar
2tbsp30 ml full-fat coconut milk
Garnish
½cup60 g thinly sliced red onion
¼cup30 g peanuts, crushed
¼cup4 g cilantro leaves
2tbsp10 g store-bought fried shallots
Instructies
To make the crispy morning glory, heat the oil in a 4-quart (3.
8-L) Dutch oven to 375°F (190°C).
While the oil is heating up, rinse the morning glory and drain in a colander until mostly dry.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, flour and baking soda.
Measure out 1 cup (125 g) of the flour mixture and place it into a separate large bowl for dredging.
Whisk the cold water into the remaining flour mixture until a thin pancake batter forms.
Dredge the cut and rinsed morning glory in the dredging flour.
Place in the batter and coat until a thin layer of the batter forms.
Fry the pieces in two to three batches until golden brown and crispy, 2 to 4 minutes for each batch.
Drain the morning glory on paper towels or a rack for a minute, then transfer to a large serving plate.
To make the dressing, place a medium skillet over medium-high heat and let preheat for 1 minute.
Swirl in the oil, then toss in the garlic, chilies and shrimp and sauté until the shrimp are just pink and opaque, 1 to 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.
Using the residual heat of the pan, stir in the shallot, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and coconut milk.
Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if you’d like.
To serve, arrange the morning glory in the center of the serving plate.
At the very last minute before eating, dress the salad with the dressing, keeping the shrimp and shallot pieces on top of the morning glory.
Garnish with the red onion, crushed peanuts and cilantro, then sprinkle the store-bought fried shallots on top.
Papaya SaladGreen papayas arereadily available at Asian and Latin markets. They are the same long papayaseaten ripe, just picked green and young. If they are tough to find, you can subin a julienned fruit or vegetable blend, including carrots, apples andcabbage—all work great for this recipe. Thai salted shrimp are little, orange,bay-sized shrimp that have been salted and dried. They add amazing umami andsalty flavor to this and any dish.
1cup85 g green beans or long beans, cut on the bias into 1½-inch (4-cm) lengths, divided
4cups640 g young green papaya, grated
1cup120 g chopped roasted peanuts, divided
Instructies
To make the dressing, place the dressing ingredients, four of the cherry tomatoes and ¼ cup (21 g) of the beans into a blender and pulse them together for about 5 seconds.
The dressing should be slightly chunky, not smooth.
Adjust the number of chilies depending on how spicy you like your food.
To assemble the salad, in a large bowl, toss the papaya, remaining tomatoes, remaining beans and some of the peanuts together with the dressing to taste.
Make sure to aggressively mix the ingredients to slightly break up the tomatoes and beans.
Thai BeefSaladThis recipe uses agreat marinade that would work for any meat you like to slap on the grill, likesteaks, pork chops or even lamb chops. It also uses a great Thai dressing thatyou can serve on way more than just lettuce. Try it on anything you would calla salad.The dressing calls forlemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, and you can use frozen versions of both.It’s always tough to buy just a few leaves or stalks for a recipe, so when youdo, chop your leftovers finely and keep them in a resealable plastic bag in thefreezer.
CoconutMango Salad With ShrimpThere are hundreds, ifnot thousands, of mango varieties in the world. In Thailand, there is a greenmango that is tart and very crisp. Green mangoes are great for crunchy saladsor cut up to serve with dips. Some Asian markets will have them, but if youcan’t find them, just use an under-ripe mango for this recipe. You could alsojulienne Granny Smith apples for half of the recipe for some tang and crunch.
SavoryPork JerkyWhile not technically“jerky” because it’s not dehydrated, these sweet, savory nuggets are a greatsnack by themselves or eaten with Thai sticky rice as a meal. They also travelincredibly well because they are glazed with soy and sugar and fried. I packthem for long trips and for my kids’ lunches.
4cups960 ml canola or other high-temperature cooking oil, for frying
Instructies
Cut the pork into thin strips about 3 inches (8 cm) long and ½ inch (13 mm) wide.
It’s okay to trim any silver skin away, but don’t trim off too much fat.
Combine the garlic, pepper, fish sauce, soybean sauce, sweet soy sauce and sugar in a blender and blend into a fine puree or until you can’t detect any garlic bits in the marinade.
Place the pork in a bowl, pour the marinade over the pork and massage it well until the pork is completely coated.
Marinate the pork, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Line a sheet pan with paper towels or parchment paper.
Shake off the excess marinade, lay the pork on the sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Many cooks like to take an extra step and at this point dry the pork in the fridge overnight, uncovered.
That will create a dryer jerky.
I like a moister jerky so I cook it immediately.
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over high heat.
Bring the temperature up to about 375°F (190°C), and fry the pork strips in small batches.
Cook for about 4 to 6 minutes, until cooked through and the edges are slightly crisp.
Remove the pork from the oil and drain on paper towels.
