What is Cashew Chicken? Is it Chinese or Thai?

Cashew chicken is simply a stir fry of chicken and cashews with a sauce that's got a salty-sweet flavour profile. Many people might think of cashew chicken as a Chinese dish, and indeed China is where this dish originated. You can tell by the presence of sesame oil, which we don't use very much of in Thai cooking.

But Thai cuisine is heavily influenced by Chinese food, and this is one dish that has become a mainstay in Thailand, and in Thai it's called gai pad med mamuang himmapan ไก่ผัดเม็ดมะม่วงหิมพานต์ . (I swear that whole thing just says "cashew chicken stir fry"!)

But as usual, no matter where dishes come from, once they arrive in Thailand, Thai people put our own spin on it. So the flavours are a little different in predictable ways; a little lighter, a little spicier, and with a little more fish sauce 😉.

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients for Thai cashew chicken with important notes. It looks like a lot, but many of these you probably already have on hand. And if anything looks unfamiliar, not to worry - I'll explain everything you need to know!

• Spicy dried chilies (optional). You can use any kind you want, I uses the generic dried chilies you find at Chinese markets. These are totally optional, but they are a classic part of cashew chicken in Thailand. They serve mostly as garnishes but people can also break them up for extra heat.
• Extra-roasted cashews. The extra roasting makes them a little darker, crunchier, and nuttier! (See more under Pro Tip)
• Garlic, chopped
• Green onions, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-2 inch pieces.
• Chicken thigh or breast, cut into bite-sized pieces. If using breasts don't cut them thinner than ½-inch to prevent them from drying out too quickly.
• A mix of green, red and/or yellow bell peppers, 1-inch diced
• Onion, 1-inch diced
• Soy sauce
• Golden Mountain Sauce, this is another type of Thai soy sauce. You can use Maggi Seasoning instead which is very similar, or sub more fish sauce.
• Fish sauce
• Sugar
• Thai chili paste, store bought or homemade. For store bought I like Mae Pranom brand, but Pantai brand is also good. (See more on this in the FAQ)
• Oyster sauce
• Toasted sesame oil

How to Make Cashew Chicken

Here's a bird's eye view of the steps. But to ensure success I highly recommend watching the video tutorial before you start, as I often include extra tips; and for a very fast-cooking dish like this it's always good to see the whole process ahead of time, as you won't have time to read the recipe once the stove is on!

1. Marinade chicken in soy sauce. If using breast, add a little water.
2. Combine all sauce ingredients together.
3. Heat oil in a wok until very hot and spread the chicken in one layer and allow to sear.
4. Once browned, toss the chicken until fully cooked. Remove from the pan.

5. In the same wok, add the garlic and cook till golden.
6. Add the onions and cook briefly.
7. Add bell peppers, chicken, and the sauce mixture.
8. Toss on high heat for about a minute until everything is well combined and heated through.

9. Turn off the heat, then toss in the cashews and green onions.
10. Enjoy with some jasmine rice!

Pro Tips: Why This Recipe Is Special

• Double-roasting cashews make them crunchier and nuttier, and that makes then pop. Some brands of commercially roasted cashews are quite light in colour, and aren't that crunchy. Stick them on a baking sheet and roast them again at 350°F for another 8-10 minutes, and you'll get crunchier and nuttier-tasting cashews that will be well worth the extra time.
• Marinating the chicken while you prep makes it flavourful inside and out. The sauce is super flavourful, but it's only sitting on the outside. For the best result your chicken should also be flavourful inside.
• Browning chicken adds flavour without the need to fry. Restaurants often dredge the chicken in flour and then deep fry them before tossing them into the stir fry. But if you just let the chicken brown in the wok, you'll develop that deeper "fried chicken" flavour, no frying required!
• Adding onions after the garlic keeps them crisper. You might be tempted to cook onions first along with the garlic to get them soft and sweet, but here, the sauce is already sweet, and the chicken is tender, so minimally-cooked onion can better provide balance.

How to Make Cashew Chicken Faster

If you love cashew chicken and, like my husband, want to eat it again and again but don't want to do all the prep every time, I got you. Here are a couple of ways you can prep ahead and save time when the urge for cashew chicken strikes:

Make a big batch of cashew chicken sauce

1. Make 3, 4 or even 10 times the amount of sauce in this recipe. Be sure to scale all ingredients proportionally. Because sugar doesn't dissolve well in the thick sauce, I would first dissolve it in just a little bit of hot water before adding it to the rest of the sauce ingredients. Stir to mix well.
2. Measure the final volume of the sauce before you put it away, and divide it by the number of batches to get the volume that you need per batch. Write this amount on a piece of tape and tape it to the jar so you don't forget. Keep it in the fridge, it'll last indefinitely. Stir the sauce well before using.

OR..Start with my Universal Stir Fry Sauce

1. If you don't want cashew chicken THAT often, make a jar of my universal stir fry sauce, which is super useful for all sorts of things, including this recipe.
2. For the recipe given below, use 3 tablespoon of the universal sauce instead of the oyster sauce, soy sauce, Golden Mountain Sauce, and fish sauce. When you cook, you'll just need to add the chili paste, sugar and sesame oil.

Before you start, be sure to watch the video tutorial to ensure success! I always include little tips and tricks not mentioned in the blog post. The video is in the recipe card below, but you can also watch it on YouTube!

Print

Cashew Chicken Recipe

A popular takeout dish that's easy to make at home and is super weeknight-friendly. This authentic Thai recipe also includes many tricks to maximize deliciousness. Guaranteed to be better than takeout!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 391kcal

Author Pailin Chongchitnant

Ingredients

• 14 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs bite-sized pieces (see note 1)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 7-10 dried chilies, small to medium size (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• ½ onion 1-inch diced
• ¾ cup green bell pepper 1-inch diced
• 1 ¼ cups red, orange and/or yellow bell pepper 1-inch diced
• ¾ cup unsalted roasted or raw cashews plus extra for sprinkles (see note 2)
• 2 green onions halved lengthwise and cut in 1.5-inch

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Golden Mountain sauce (see note 3)
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 ½ Tablespoons Thai chili paste
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• For the cashews: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and roast the cashews (yes even if you bought them roasted, roast them again) on a baking sheet for 8-10 minutes, and until they darken in color. If starting with raw cashews, roast them for 10-12 minutes, stirring them half way through for more even roasting, until they are slightly darker than golden.
  ¾ cup unsalted roasted or raw cashews
• Combine the chicken thigh with soy sauce and mix well. If using chicken breast, add 1 ½ tablespoon of water in addition to the soy sauce. In either case let it sit for at least 15 minutes.
  14 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs, 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
  1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon Golden Mountain sauce, 1 teaspoon fish sauce, 1 ½ teaspoon sugar, 1 ½ Tablespoons Thai chili paste, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• If using dried chilies, add the oil to a wok and add the dried chilies; turn the heat on to low. Keep stirring the chilies until they puff and darken into a maroon colour, about 1 minute. Quickly remove them with a mesh skimmer, leaving the oil behind, and place them onto a paper towel lined plate to drain.
  7-10 dried chilies, small to medium size, 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• In the same wok, turn the heat up to high. Once the oil is very hot, add the chicken and spread the pieces out into one layer as much as you can.

  Allow the chicken to sear, undisturbed, for about 2 minutes or until the underside is nicely browned. Once browned, toss the chicken, and keep cooking, stirring frequently, until the chicken is completely cooked. Turn off the heat and remove the chicken from the pan, leaving all the oil behind.
• With the heat still off, add the chopped garlic, then turn the heat on to medium. Stir the garlic until the smallest pieces turn golden, then add the onions and stir for about one minute.
  4 cloves garlic, ½ onion
• Turn the heat up to high then add the bell peppers, the chicken, and the sauce mixture and toss until heated through and well mixed, about 1 minute.
  ¾ cup green bell pepper, 1 ¼ cups red, orange and/or yellow bell pepper
• Turn off the heat, then add the green onions and cashews and toss just until mixed. Plate and top with fried chilies, and serve immediately with jasmine rice.

  Note: Cashews should only be added right before serving to maintain crunch. Trust me, soggy cashews are NOT good! So if you’re making more of this recipe than you can finish today, set aside what you won’t eat before adding the cashews.
  2 green onions

Video

Notes

1. I prefer chicken thighs for this, but if using breasts, cut them into pieces no thinner than ½ inch thick, to prevent them from drying out too quickly. Also add 1 ½ tablespoon water to the marinade to give them some extra juiciness. 
2. You can also start with raw cashews and roast them as per the instructions below.
3. Instead of Golden Mountain Sauce you can sub Maggi Seasoning or more fish sauce in equal amounts.

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 853mg | Potassium: 639mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1680IU | Vitamin C: 87mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 3mg

What is "Nam Tok"?

Nam tok literally means "falling water" or "waterfall," so you might have seen this steak called "waterfall salad" on some menus. The name refers to the dripping (i.e., falling) of meat juices as it’s being grilled; so the one requirement for this dish is that the meat has to be grilled. There are two common types of nam tok: one made with pork, usually grilled pork jowl, and the other made with beef.

Ingredients and Notes

Ingredients for the Steak Marinade

This marinade is a simplified version of my ultimate steak marinade recipe because the steaks are going to get even more flavour from the salad.

• Grilling steaks. Pictured are picanha steaks, also known as "top sirloin cap," but any other grilling steaks can be used. In Thailand, tri-tip is quite common.
• Oyster sauce. Check out this post for how to choose the best oyster sauce.
• Soy sauce. Watch this video for a soy sauce 101.
• Sugar
• Water
• Neutral oil
• Black pepper

Ingredients for the Salad

• Uncooked jasmine or glutinous rice for making toasted rice powder
• Makrut lime leaf (optional, not pictured). This is for adding fragrance to the toasted rice powder.
• Cilantro
• Mint
• Shallots
• Lemongrass
• Shallots
• Sawtooth coriander (optional, not pictured)
• Roasted chili flakes - You can simply toast some plain chili flakes in a dry skillet over low heat for just a minute or so, until it darkens slightly and smells smoky. Or toast whole chilies, then grind.
• Fish sauce. Learn more about choosing the best fish sauce here.
• Lime juice
• Water
• Sugar
• Thai sticky rice, for serving. This salad is always paired with sticky rice and I highly recommend it. Check out this post for how to make sticky rice.

How to Make Thai Grilled Steak Salad

Here's a bird's eye view of how to make neua yang nam tok, but be sure to watch the video tutorial first to ensure success!

1. Make the marinade by combining all ingredients.
2. Marinade steaks for at least 2 hours.
3. Grill the steaks, flipping at least twice for more even cooking.
4. I recommend medium to medium-well doneness for this recipe. Rare steaks don't hold up as well in this salad.

5. Toast the rice with a makrut lime leaf in a dry skillet or wok until browned.
6. Grind into a powder.
7. Slice the steak and place into a mixing bowl, adding any juices collected during resting.
8. Add all dressing ingredients and the toasted rice powder and toss.

9. Toss in all the fresh herbs.
10. Serve immediately with sticky rice!

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What does REAL traditional pad thai look like?

You've probably had pad thai in your local restaurant, but what you had may not be anything like the authentic version. First, it should not have ketchup or any tomato product in it. Second, it should not be syrupy sweet. And finally, it shouldn't be just a heavy, soggy clump of noodles with bits of green onions.

Real pad thai should be:

• Stir-fried in a hot wok, and all the sauce should be absorbed into the noodles; it should not saucy!
• A good balance of sweet, salty and sour, not leading with any one flavour. It should not be overly sweet!
• LOADED with beansprouts which lightens the noodles and add freshness.
• Have lots of "bits" in it which gives complexity: shallots, garlic, tofu, dried shrimp, etc.
• All in all it should be a well-balanced dish that leaves you satisfied, and not heavy.

Ingredients for Pad Thai

Here's everything you'll need, with more details on a few less common ingredients and how to substitute them. For the amounts, see the recipe card below.

FOR THE SAUCE:

• Tamarind paste (aka tamarind concentrate) - This is a key ingredient for the sauce, and homemade is recommended for best flavor. Here's how to make tamarind paste from pulp. A store bought one is fine to use to make life easy, but do make sure it is a product of Thailand or Vietnam, not India, and should be a brown liquid with a pourable consistency.
  IMPORTANT NOTE ON TAMARIND: The sourness of tamarind varies greatly between brands, so after feedback from a few people that their pad thai is too sour, I have changed the amount of tamarind to 3-4 Tbsp. Taste your tamarind, and if it's so sour it makes you pucker, use only 3 Tbsp. If it doesn't make you pucker, 4 tablespoon is fine. If you're not sure, start with 3 and you can always add more lime at the end.
• Palm sugar - Choose high quality palm sugar when possible, for more info check out my ultimate guide to palm sugar. If not available, substitute equal weight of light brown sugar.
• Fish sauce - Good fish sauce is perhaps the most important thing for flavour. For more info, here's my guide to fish sauce. If you're vegetarian, check out my vegan pad thai recipe.

FOR THE PAD THAI:

• Shallots
• Garlic
• Dried shrimp - Can be omitted if not available or allergic.
• Pressed tofu (pic below) - Sometimes labeled as bean curd, this is the firmest of all tofu. Extra firm tofu can be substituted, but if you feel like they might break in the wok, pan-frying them first will firm up the exterior and prevent breaking.
• Sweet preserved radish (chai po waan, pic below) - Can be omitted if not available. These sweet-salty chewy bits of preserved daikon is always added to pad thai in Thailand. You'll likely need to go to a specifically Thai grocery store to find these, and it may come whole or pre-chopped. Japanese sweet preserved daikon, takuan, makes for a decent substitute and is much easier to find. Note that there is also a salty Thai preserved radish, which cannot be used instead.
• Chili flakes - Optional but recommended. Pad thai is really much better when it's a little bit spicy!
• Eggs
• Roasted peanuts
• Rice noodles - I recommend Erawan Brand size medium (pic below) which is the traditional size used in Thailand. If using a different brand, you might need to adjust the amount of water and soaking time.
• Bean sprouts - Go for mung bean sprouts, not soybean sprouts.
• Garlic chives - If you can't find these at your regular Asian store, try looking at Japanese or Korean markets also. You can substitute green onions but the two really do taste different. If using green onions, finely chop them as they have a much stronger taste than garlic chives.
• Lime wedge for serving.

PS. You can make the sauce fresh as I showed in the video tutorial, or make it in bulk in advance and keep it in the fridge for months! Check out this large-batch recipe for pad thai sauce.

How to Make Pad Thai

I highly recommend watching the full video tutorial to ensure success, but here's a bird's eye view of what you need to do:

1. To make the sauce, melt and caramelize the palm sugar.
2. Once the sugar has darkened into a caramel colour, add water to stop the caramelization.
3. Add fish sauce and tamarind and bring to a simmer.
4. Turn off the heat and let it sit until the sugar is completely dissolved.

5. Sear the shrimp until browned, then flip and cook the other side. Once fully cooked remove from the pan. If using other kinds of meat, you can cook it all off as well.
6. Saute shallots, garlic, tofu, dried shrimp, preserved radish, and chili flakes until the garlic starts to turn colour.
7. Add the soaked noodles.
8. Add the sauce.

9. Toss until the noodles have absorbed all the sauce.
10. Push the noodles to one side and add the eggs to the space you've made and break the yolks.
11. Put the noodles on top of the eggs and let it cook for 15-30 seconds until the egg is almost cooked through
12. Flip and toss to mix the eggs with the noodles.

13. Add the peanuts, bean sprouts and garlic chives.
14. Turn off the heat and toss until the beansprouts are incorporated and slightly wilted.
15. Plate and top with more peanuts and shrimp.
16. Don't forget to add fresh lime before eating!

How to Make Pad Thai in 5 Minutes

Pad thai made from scratch isn't exactly weeknight-friendly because there's so much prep to do. But good news: the prep can be done days in advance so you can have pad thai on a Tuesday night in minutes, just like at a restaurant!

There are "4 levels of preparedness" when it comes to pad thai prep, all of which I explain in detail in this video, and even doing just level 1 in advance will save you a lot of time. If you've got all 4 levels done, you can cook pad thai in 5 minutes - watch me do it in real time!

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success. You can also watch this video on my YouTube channel, and if you enjoy the show, consider subscribing. Thank you!

Recipe Card

Authentic Pad Thai Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 104 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings
• Category: Noodles
• Cuisine: Thai
• Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

This pad thai recipe is the real deal. Fully loaded with all the classic ingredients an authentic pad thai should have. Perfectly balanced flavour that is complex and not overly sweet. It's also naturally gluten-free. Vegetarian or vegan? Check out my vegan pad thai recipe.

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Ingredients

Pad Thai Sauce

• 35 g palm sugar, chopped (3 tablespoon tightly packed)
• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) water
• 3-4 tablespoon Thai cooking tamarind (see note 1, and also see how to make tamarind paste from pulp)
• 2 Tbsp good fish sauce (how to choose good fish sauce)

Pad Thai

• 4oz (115g) dry rice noodles, medium size, soak in room temp water for 1 hour (see note 2)
• 2 Tbsp dried shrimp, medium size, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• ¼ cup roughly chopped shallots
• 3 oz (85 g) pressed tofu, cut into small pieces
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped SWEET preserved daikon radish (see note 3)
• Dried chili flakes, to taste (optional)
• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) vegetable oil
• 10 medium sized shrimp, or as many as you like (to sub other protein, see note 4)
• 2 eggs
• 2 ½ cups (120 g)bean sprouts, loosely packed
• 7-10 stalks (70 g) garlic chives, cut into 2” pieces
• ¼ cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
• 1 lime
• Garnishes and condiments for serving: chili flakes, roasted peanuts, bean sprouts and garlic chives.

(In Thailand, fresh banana blossom is sometimes served on the side of pad thai. I don't love them personally, but if you do and can find them, go for it!)

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

To make pad thai sauce (see note 5): 

1. Add palm sugar to a small pot and melt over medium heat. Once the sugar is melting, keep stirring until it darkens in colour (see video for colour). Immediately add water, fish sauce, and tamarind paste. The sugar will harden immediately and this is okay.
2. Bring sauce to a simmer, then turn off heat. The hardened sugar will not have dissolved at this point, but let it sit while you prep other ingredients and it should be dissolved by the time you need it. Check that it is dissolved before you start cooking!

To make pad thai (see note 6): 

1. Cut drained noodles once with scissors so they are half as long. This makes them easier to toss and separate in the wok.
2. In a bowl, combine tofu, garlic, shallots, preserved radish, dried shrimp, and chili flakes.
3. Heat a wok or a large nonstick skillet over high heat and add just enough oil to coat the bottom. Sear shrimp, or whatever protein you're using, until done and remove them from pan.
4. In the same wok over medium heat, add a little more oil if needed, then add everything in the tofu bowl and sauté for a few minutes until garlic starts to turn golden and shallots are wilted. If the wok looks dry, add a little more oil. (Don't skimp on oil otherwise the noodles will clump up together.) 
5. Turn heat up to high then add noodles and sauce. Keep tossing until all the sauce is absorbed.
6. Once sauce is absorbed, you can turn off the heat and taste the noodles for doneness. If they're still undercooked, add a little more water and continue cooking, being careful not to add too much water!
7. Once noodles are done, push them to one side of the pan. Add add little extra oil to the empty space and add eggs. Break the yolks, then put noodles on top of eggs and cook for about 30 seconds. Flip and toss to mix eggs into noodles. 
8. Toss the cooked protein back in, plus any collected juices. Then add bean sprouts, garlic chives and half of the peanuts. Turn off the heat and toss until well mixed.
9. Serve immediately with a lime wedge and extra peanuts on top. For a classic presentation you can add a little extra side of bean sprouts and some garlic chives garnish.
10. Be sure to squeeze a bit of lime on top before eating!

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Notes

1. Do not use the black, sticky tamarind concentrate or paste from India as it is much more concentrated; use only tamarind from Thailand or Vietnam. (Watch the video to see the product consistency).
   Sourness between brands vary significantly, so give your tamarind a taste, and if it's so sour it makes you pucker, use only 3 Tbsp, but if it feels mildly sour, use 4 Tbsp. (If unsure, use 3 Tbsp). If you're making it from pulp, start with 3 Tbsp. 
2. You can soak noodles in advance, drain, and keep them well sealed in the fridge for a few days. I use Erawan brand noodles. Some brands, such as Thai Kitchen, have thinner noodles and take less time. Keep an eye on them and drain once the noodles are completely pliable (no resistance when bending). No time to soak? See emergency noodle-soaking in the blog post.
3. Thai sweet preserved radish is hard to find, but you can omit or use the Japanese version instead which is called “takuan” and is bright yellow. See blog post for more info.
4. If using chicken, pork or beef, slice into bite-sized pieces and marinate them with just a bit of fish sauce or soy sauce so the meat isn't bland.
5. You can make a big batch of sauce in advance and store indefinitely in the fridge. See this recipe for large-batch pad thai sauce.
6. I recommend cooking no more than 2-3 servings at a time to avoid crowding the pan and making the noodles soggy.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 682

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

What is Mango and Sticky Rice?

Mango sticky rice is a classic traditional Thai dessert, and in Thai it is called kao niew mamuang ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง. Kao niew means sticky rice, and mamuang means mango. The sticky rice part of the dessert is made from white long grain glutinous rice that has been steamed and then macerated in a sweet coconut syrup. The rice is then topped with a salted coconut sauce and crispy mung beans.

The mango part of the dessert is simply fresh mango! Of course you've got to get the right kind of mango for this dessert to work, as the varieties are very different. More on this in the ingredient section below.

In Thailand, you can find mango sticky rice just about anywhere, as it is popular amongst Thais and foreigners alike. But for the best mango sticky rice, you should get it from a shop that specializes in it as opposed to a restaurant that sells many things.

Also, even though mango sticky rice is available year around in Thailand, the best time to eat it is during the mango season which is in Thailand's summer; roughly from March until May.

Ingredients and Notes

There are 4 components to Thai mango sticky rice, but the ingredients for each one is incredibly short! Here are important notes about them, and for amounts, see the full recipe card below.

1. Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice

• Thai white glutinous rice, also known as Thai sweet rice or Thai sticky rice. To make sure it is the right kind, ensure it is long grain and a product of Thailand.
• Coconut milk, a good coconut milk is important here. I like Aroy-D in the carton (not the can!) as shown in the pic. Also check out this post about how to choose good coconut milk. Do not use coconut cream for this recipe.
• Salt
• Granulated sugar. While you might be tempted to use palm sugar in Thai desserts, white sugar is used in this recipe to maintain the white colour of the rice. But if you're making a coloured rice, you can substitute half or all of the white sugar with palm sugar.

2. Salted Coconut Sauce

This is a simple yet extremely important component of the mango sticky rice. The salt helps balance out the sweetness and adds moisture and creaminess, so together you end up with a dish that is well balanced and not overly sweet.

• Coconut milk.
• Salt.
• Rice flour or cornstarch. This is just to thicken the sauce so that it will stay on the rice and not run all over the plate, so any starch or flour that you have on hand will do the job.

3. The Mangoes

Mark my words: if the mango is not good, it does not matter how good your rice is.

The quality of the mango makes or breaks this dish, so make sure your mangoes are sweet, ripe and juicy. In Thailand, we use nam dok mai or ok rong mangoes.

In North America, the best mangoes for the job are Manila mangoes, also known as ataulfo or champagne mangoes. Avoid varieties that are fibrous or have a dense, firm texture. Usually the large, round-ish, reddish mangoes don't work well for this.

To ensure ripeness, I wait until the mangoes develop wrinkles on the skin, or even a black spot or two. Those are sure signs of ripeness. At the very least, I wait 3 days after the mangoes have turned completely yellow. I typically buy the mangoes at least a week before serving because most mangoes in stores are still green.

4. Crispy Mung Beans

Though many people consider these optional, I think they make a huge difference because they add an element of crunch. You'll be surprised at how much a little crunchiness adds to any dessert!

All you need is shelled, split mung beans which you can find at many Asian grocery stores. Do not get whole mung beans which are green; the ones you need are yellow, and they should be split in halves.

Here's a bird's eye view of the steps involved, but if it's your first time, I highly recommend watching the full video tutorial to ensure success!

For the sweet sticky rice

1. Wash the glutinous rice about 4-5 times until the water runs mostly clear. Then soak the rice in plenty of room temp water for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
2. If you want to colour the rice, you can add the colour to the soaking water (see instructions in the section below).
3. Drain the rice very well and place it on a moist (not wet!) muslin or tea towel, then fold the edges of the cloth over the rice. You can steam different colours at once, as long as they don't touch.
4. Steam the rice for 20-25 minutes over boiling water. Make sure the rice doesn't cover the entire rack - there should be space around the rice to allow the steam to come up.

1. Prepare the coconut syrup. In a pot, combine the coconut milk, sugar, salt; and if you have a pandan leaf handy you can throw it in as well. Cook it over medium high heat, and at the first sign of bubbling, turn off the heat and keep covered until the rice is done. Do not let this syrup reduce.
2. Macerate the rice. Shortly before the sticky rice is done, reheat the syrup back up so it is piping hot. When the rice is done, immediately place it into a mixing bowl and pour the hot syrup over the rice. Stir to break up any lumps, then cover with a lid, a plate, or aluminum foil and let sit for 20 minutes. It's very important both the rice AND the syrup are very hot to ensure proper absorption.
3. After 20 minutes, fold the bottom of the rice up to the top to help redistribute the liquid, and let sit for at least another 20 minutes or until ready to serve.
4. The rice should've absorbed all the liquid and looks plump and shiny, but not mushy. There should be no pooling liquid remaining.

For The Salted Coconut Sauce

1. Stir the rice flour in some water until there are no more lumps.
2. Combine the rice flour slurry, coconut milk, and salt in a small pot. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil.
3. Pour into a bowl and let cool. It will not look like much has happened at this point.
4. After it has cooled it'll thicken to the perfect consistency. This will keep for up to a week in the fridge.

For the crispy mung beans

1. Rinse the beans, add them to a small pot and cover with 2 cups of water.
2. Bring the water to a simmer, and as soon as it simmers immediately remove from heat and cover the pot; let sit for 10 minutes. Watch the beans carefully and turn the heat off as soon as the water is bubbling. Do not let them simmer or soak too long or they will overcook.
3. Promptly drain and rinse the beans in cold water then dry them on paper towel.
4. In a lightly greased pan, toast the beans over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until the beans are dry, crunchy and slightly golden brown. Cool on a plate. These will keep in an airtight container for up to a month.

Assembly

Scoop the rice onto a plate, then drizzle the salted coconut sauce over the rice. Sprinkle the crispy mung beans on top and serve beside fresh mangoes. Enjoy!

Making Colourful Sticky Rice

There are 2 ways to colour the sticky rice: colour the soaking water OR colour the coconut syrup. If using natural dyes, I find it is easier to add the colour to the water than to the coconut syrup, because colours have a hard time infusing into fatty liquid.

If using food colouring, then it will be easier to just stir a few drops into the coconut syrup.

Here are the natural dyes Thai people like to use. The following are formulas for 1 cup of soaking water, which is enough to soak up to 1 cup of sticky rice. Tip: It is much easier to see the dying process in action in the video!

• Green - Pandan leaves + food colouring. Blend 50g pandan leaves with 1 cup of water until mostly fine. If you have a super blender like a Vitamix don't go max power and completely annihilate it as it will become bitter, and all of the fibers won't be caught in a sieve. The rice will not pick up that much green, so I find adding a couple of drops of green food colouring is necessary here for a bright colour.
• Blue - Butterfly pea flowers. Steep 20 dried butterfly pea flowers in ½ cup of hot water for 15 minutes. Drain, then add ½ cup of cold water to cool it down. Make sure the water is room temp before you soak the rice.
• Purplish blue - Butterfly pea flowers + lime juice. After you get the blue water from above, add about 2 teaspoons of lime juice to turn the colour purple. It will look quite purple now, but will turn more blue after steaming.
• Yellow - turmeric. Dissolve ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder in about ¼ cup of hot water and stir to extract the colour. Add ¾ cup of cold water to cool it down. Make sure the water is room temp before you soak the rice.
• Orange - red beets. Grate about ¼ of a beet into 1 cup of room temp water, then strain. The water looks red but the rice will turn orange after steaming.
• Pink - Food colouring. In Thailand we have a type of wood called mai faang that we use to extract pink colour, but since it's not availablee here, you will need to use food colouring.
• Dark purple - black sticky rice. Substitute 25% of the white glutinous rice with black glutinous rice (so if making 1 cup of rice, use ¼ cup black rice and ¾ cup white rice). Pour 1 cup of hot-off-the-boil water over the black rice and cover and steep for at least 30 minutes; or let it go until the water cools down to room temp. If the water is still hot add some ice cubes to cool it down, then add the washed white rice into it and let the two soak together for the required 4 hours. The initial hot soak is necessary for the black rice because it is a whole grain rice, and without the hot soak it will be too chewy.
  **You will need slightly less coconut milk in the syrup if making black sticky rice because the black rice does not absorb liquid readily.

Logistical Tip for making multiple colours: I recommend making the same amount of each colour to make the math easy on yourself. Make the syrup in one big batch, then measure the total volume and divide it by the number of colours you have, so you know how much syrup is needed for each batch.

Tips for Success

It sounds like a simple dessert, and it is, but there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure success:

• The sticky rice is best served the day it is made. While you can reheat it, the texture is never as good as when it's fresh. But there are lots you can do to prep ahead of time to make serving day much easier, see advance prep tips below.
• Do not use any other method to cook the rice. Over the years I have shown you many ways to cook sticky rice, including this hot soak sticky rice method. But for this recipe I recommend only using the cold water soak method as shown here. Other methods will yield rice that is on the softer side, which is fine when eaten plain, but it could turn mushy after the syrup gets added.
• Drain the rice VERY VERY well before you steam. If there is a lot of leftover water in the rice, it'll trickle down to the bottom and soak the cloth which will make the bottom of the rice soggy. PS. this is not as much of an issue if you use the traditional bamboo cone steamer as the bamboo can absorbs excess water.
• Use good coconut milk. As you can see, coconut milk plays a large role in this dessert, and it's important to use a good one. My preference is for Aroy-D in the carton, NOT in the can. Coconut milk varies greatly in quality, so to learn more, read my post on how to choose good coconut milk.
• Always use sweet ripe mangoes. There is nothing that ruins mango and sticky rice more than sour or flavourless mangoes!!! This is not a dessert to make out of season.
• If you're using natural dyes for your rice, refrigerate the rice after 4 hours of soaking if not steaming yet. This is to ensure food safety since we have introduced fresh plant materials to the water.

Advance Prep Tips

Here are things you can do to prep ahead:

• Make the coconut syrup up to a few days ahead and reheat before macerating the rice.
• Make the salted coconut sauce up to a few days ahead and reheat just until warm or room temp before serving.
• Make the crispy mung beans up to a week ahead and store in an airtight container.
• Soak the rice up to one day ahead, and be sure to steam the rice at least an hour before serving to ensure enough maceration time.

Storage and Reheating Instructions

As mentioned, it's best to serve the rice the day it is made, but leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 1 month. Reheated rice will have slightly compromised texture, but it is fine to eat.

To freeze the sticky rice, divide the rice into portions and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible.

To reheat refrigerated or frozen sticky rice, cover the rice with a damp paper towel and microwave until piping hot. Halfway through, take it out and break it up into smaller chunks and mix the up for more even heating.

Alternatively, cover with dry paper towel or tea towel and steam it in a steamer until the rice is piping hot. After a few minutes of steaming, break the rice up into smaller chunks for more even heating. The rice will not regain its softness unless it is fully reheated!

Let cool to room temp or slightly warm before serving.

The salted coconut sauce will last at least 1 week in the fridge without any issues. Simply reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

To store leftover cut mangoes, cover it well and refrigerate for up to 3 days. It may develop some browning, which is not pretty, but is fine to eat.

Recipe Card

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Thai Mango and Sticky Rice

An iconic dessert of Thailand. Mango and sticky rice has it all: sweet, salty, fruity, crunchy...it is the perfect balance and explains why it is famous the world over!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Rice Soaking Time 4 hours hours

Servings 6 servings

Author Pailin Chongchitnant

Ingredients

Coconut Sticky Rice

• 1 cup white glutinous rice see notes 1 and 2
• ⅔ cup coconut milk
• ½ teaspoon table salt
• ½ cup sugar

Salted Coconut Sauce

• ½ cup coconut milk
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• 1 teaspoon rice flour
• 1 Tablespoon water

Others

• 2 Tablespoons shelled and split mung beans
• 3 sweet, ripe mangoes see note 3

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the sweet sticky rice:

• *If you want to make colourful rice, first prepare the soaking water using instructions in the blog post above.

  Wash the rice by placing it in a mixing bowl and cover with cold water, then vigorously swish the rice with your hand to release loose starch. Pour off the cloudy water and repeat the process 4 more times or until the water runs mostly clear.
  1 cup white glutinous rice
• Soak the rice with room temp water for at least 4 hours and up to overnight. If you're using naturally dyed water to soak the rice, refrigerate the rice after 4 hours of soaking if you're not yet ready to steam.

  While the rice is soaking, make the salted coconut sauce and the crispy mung beans (below).
• Preheat the steamer by bringing it to a full boil over high heat. While you wait for the water to boil, drain the rice very well, shaking off excess water in a sieve until there is no more dripping. Line a steamer rack with moist muslin (not soaking wet!) or a thin white tea towel and place the rice on the cloth. Fold the edges of the cloth over the rice, making sure the rice doesn't cover the entire rack - there should be space around the rice to allow steam to come up. Cover the steamer rack with a lid.
• Steam the rice for 20-25 minutes over rapidly boiling water, until the rice is fully cooked through (it should not be crunchy in the middle).
• While the rice is cooking, make the coconut syrup. Combine the coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a small pot. If you have a pandan leaf handy, tie it into a knot and throw it in for extra aroma. Cook it over medium heat, and as soon as it starts to bubble, turn off the heat and cover. You will need to reheat this once the rice is ready.
  ⅔ cup coconut milk, ½ teaspoon table salt, ½ cup sugar
• Few minutes before the rice is done, reheat the syrup so it is steaming hot then keep covered. When the rice is done, immediately place the rice into a mixing bowl and immediately pour the syrup over the rice. Stir to break up any lumps, then cover with a lid, a plate, or aluminum foil and let sit for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, use a rubber spatula to fold the bottom part of the rice up to the top to help redistribute the syrup, and let sit for at least another 20 minutes or until ready to serve. At this stage the rice will keep at room temp all day.

For the salted coconut sauce:

• Stir the rice flour into the water until there are no more lumps.
  1 teaspoon rice flour, 1 Tablespoon water
• Combine the rice flour slurry, coconut milk, and salt in a small pot. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Let cool completely before serving.
  ½ cup coconut milk, ¼ teaspoon table salt

For the crispy mung beans:

• Rinse the beans in cold water and add them to a small pot and cover with about 2 cups of water.
  2 Tablespoons shelled and split mung beans
• Over medium heat, bring the water to a simmer. Once simmering, immediately remove from the heat and cover the pot for 10 minutes ONLY. Do not over-soak.
• Drain off the cooking water and rinse the beans in cold water. Lay the beans on a paper towel to dry.
• In a lightly greased sauté pan, toast the beans over medium high heat, stirring frequently until the beans are dry, crunchy and start developing a light golden colour.
• Let cool on a plate. This can be kept in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Assembly:

• Serve the rice beside sweet, fresh cut mangoes. Spoon some salted coconut sauce over the rice and sprinkle with the crispy mung beans.
  3 sweet, ripe mangoes

Video

Notes

1. White glutinous rice is also labelled as white "sweet rice". Make sure it is long grain and a product of Thailand.
2. If making the black sticky rice version, use ¼ cup black sticky rice, ¾ cup white sticky rice, and reduce the coconut milk for the syrup to ½ cup (120 ml). See black rice soaking method in the blog post above.
3. The quality of mangoes is so important for this dessert. I prefer Ataulfo mangoes (aka Manila or Champagne mangoes). See more mango tips in the blog post. 

Hung Lay Curry Powder

Whole spices are always preferred as the flavours are more aromatic when freshly ground, but if you don't have it, ground version can be substituted.

• Cinnamon stick or ground cinnamon
• Black peppercorns
• Turmeric powder, you can also pound fresh turmeric root into the curry paste
• Green cardamom
• White cardamom, these can be found a Chinese grocery stores.
• Cumin seeds
• Coriander seeds, this is the one spice I ask you use whole because in my experience ground coriander has so much less flavour than whole.
• Star anise
• Cloves
• Nutmeg
• Fennel seeds

How to Make Gaeng Hung Lay

Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

Make Hunglay Curry Powder:

1. For whole spices, toast them in a dry saute pan until aromatic and darkened slightly. You can combine spices of similar size and toast them at the same time.
2. Then combine all spices in a coffee grinder or blender and grind into a powder.
3. Once made, store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. You will have more than you need for this recipe, so feel free to use it as rubs, marinades, or on vegetables!

Make the curry paste: 

1. Grind dried chilies into a powder in a coffee/spice grinder, removing the seeds if you want to reduce the heat. 
2. If using an immersion blender: combine lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, shallots, garlic and shrimp paste, and blend into a paste. Add the ground dry spices and blend just to mix.
3. If using a mortar and pestle: start by pounding lemongrass and galangal into a fine paste. Then add turmeric and pound until fine, then add shallots and garlic until fine. Then add the shrimp paste and ground dry spices and pound to mix.
4. If using a regular blender: combine lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, shallots, garlic and shrimp paste, and blend into a paste. If it's too thick you can add a little water to get it going, but only add as much as needed. Pour
5. Add the dried chilies and the hung lay curry powder and blend just until well combined.

Make the curry:

1. Preheat a wok or large pot over medium heat, do not add any oil as there will be a lot of pork fat rendered. Add the pork belly pieces in one layer, and without crowding the pan, and let them sear until well browned on 4 sides. They will stick at first but once they are browned they will release from the pan.
2. Add the pork ribs and give it a quick toss. Then add the curry paste and toss to coat all pieces of pork well. Once the paste is well distributed and it has had a couple of minutes to fry in the pork fat, add water just until it barely covers the pork.
3. Add fish sauce, black soy sauce, tamarind and sugar, and cook for 1 hour 45 mins to 2 hours, loosely covered, until the pork is fork tender.
4. Towards the last 20 minutes, check the amount of liquid, and if it's very soupy, uncover the pot completely to allow liquid to evaporate. You want the sauce to be thick and rich in the end.
5. Once pork is tender add julienned ginger, whole garlic and pearl onions and simmer for another 15-20 minutes until the garlic is tender. You can add a little more water at any point if it gets to dry. 
6. Taste and adjust seasoning.
7. Garnish with extra fresh julienned ginger if desired and serve with rice, enjoy! This curry can also be made in advance and kept in the fridge, and it'll keep well in the fridge for at least a week.

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

What is Pad See Ew?

In Thai, pad means to stir fry and see ew means soy sauce, so...soy sauce stir fry? The unspoken word is guay tiew or "noodles," so it's full name is guay tiew pad see ew. It's a popular Thai stir-fried noodles that you can find all over Thailand, but it has its roots in Chinese cuisine which came to Thailand with the millions of Chinese immigrants.

It's a homey dish of fresh rice noodles seasoned primarily with soy sauce, and stir fried in a hot wok along with slices of meat and Chinese broccoli. In Thailand, pad see ew is a quick solo lunch, so you often find it sold at food courts and by street vendors. They're kind of like the sandwiches of Thai cuisine!

Ingredients

Pad see ew ingredients are short and simple, but using the right noodles and the right sauces are key.

• Fresh wide rice noodles. These tender chewy rice noodles are what make dishes like pad see ew and drunken noodles (pad kee mao) so lovable. These are called sen yai in Thai, but they are also often referred to by their Cantonese name, ho fun. You can buy these at some Asian grocery stores, usually in big cities, in the refrigerated section.
  If you can't find them, don't worry, homemade rice noodles are better anyway! Dried wide rice noodles do exist and can be used if necessary, but they are quite different and not nearly as good as the fresh ones.
• Protein of your choice, thinly sliced. This can be chicken, pork, beef, tofu, or seafood such as shrimp. In Thailand, pork is the most common.
• Soy sauce for marinating the meat, omit if using shrimp which do not need to be marinated.
• Vegetable oil or another neutral oil of your choice
• Garlic, chopped
• Eggs
• Chinese broccoli, also known as gai lan. Choose smaller stalks if you can as they are more tender and are less likely to be bitter. If you cannot find gai lan, broccolini is a good substitute. I don't suggest using bok choy as it is much more watery and lacks the crunchiness of gai lan stems. 
• Sugar. White sugar is fine, but brown sugar will also work.
• Ground white pepper, to taste. This is a common condiment to pad see ew, and the aroma of ground white pepper on top of pad see ew is truly iconic!
• Prik nam som, Thai-style chili vinegar that is a classic condiment that I highly recommend. Pad see ew is sweet and salty, and drizzling a little spicy vinegar really brightens the dish and makes a more balanced flavour. It can be as simple as blending chilies and vinegar, but there are variations which I talk about in my prik nam som recipe here.

Pad See Ew Sauce Ingredients

Watch The Video Tutorial

All my recipes come with video tutorial to ensure success. If you've never made pad see ew before, I highly recommend watching the video first as this dish goes fast, and you'll need to know exactly what to do once the heat is on!

5. Once the meat is browned, toss until the meat is fully cooked. Remove from pan and set aside. If there is meat juices left in the wok, wipe it with a paper towel.
6. From this step onward, I recommend cooking 1 portion at a time for best results, so before cooking, divide up your ingredients into single portions. Heat the wok over medium high heat then add a little oil and 1 portion of the garlic; sauté until the smallest bits of garlic starts to turn golden.
7. Add 1 egg and scramble briefly.
8. Add 1 portion of the Chinese broccoli and toss to coat it evenly in the oil, about 10–15 seconds.

9. Add 1 portion of the noodles (8oz/225g), 1 portion of the sauce (2 tablespoon + 1 tsp/35 ml) , and 2 teaspoon (10 ml) of sugar. Turn the heat up to high and toss to coat the noodles evenly in the sauce.
10. Spread the noodles out and let them sit without stirring for about 15-30 seconds until some of the noodles have charred on the underside.
11. Flip or toss the noodles and let them sit again to further toast the noodles. Repeat the tossing and toasting 1-2 more times.
12. Add 1 portion of the cooked protein back in without adding any meat juices that has accumulated in the bowl, and toss briefly to mix. Plate and enjoy with white pepper and chili vinegar.

Common Pad See Ew Problems and How to Avoid Them

After many years of teaching this recipe, I've noticed there are a few things that commonly trip people up. Read these carefully to avoid the same problem! 

• Broken noodles. Assuming you're cooking 1 portion at a time as recommended, you're likely stirring too aggressively. Fresh noodles are very delicate, so you want to flip and toss gently, pushing noodles around from the edges rather than haphazardly stirring. Also avoid metal spatula as they can cut noodles more easily.
• Mushy noodles. You might be crowding the pan and trapping too much moisture, which overcooks the noodles and/or your heat is too low. I stress that you should cook one portion at a time to prevent trapping too much moisture under a big pile of noodles. Remember these noodles are already fully cooked, so it doesn't take much additional moisture for them to become over cooked and mushy!
• They don't taste right. Did you eyeball ingredients? Did you measure everything? Pad see ew is one of those dishes where the ratio between sauce and noodles is everything. Unlike meat-and-veggie stir fries, these noodles absorb ALL of the sauce you give them, so if there's too much, it'll be too salty, and if there's too little, it'll be bland...so measuring is crucial!
• Noodles stuck to the pan. Fresh rice noodles love to stick. Make sure your wok or skillet is well seasoned. You can use a nonstick pan but those typically should not be heated over high heat so the noodles may not get a good char.
• There is no wok hei. Wok hei is that smoky wok flavour that many people consider a key ingredient of a good pad see ew. To get wok hei, you need a carbon steel wok on very high heat so the noodles can char and the oil can smoke. Not crowding the pan is also key. Sometimes, this just isn't possible to create given our home equipment, but I think it's still good without it!

How to Use Dry Rice Noodles Instead

I'll be honest...pad see ew made with dried noodles is not nearly as good as fresh. They have a totally different texture and flavour. I much prefer fresh, and once you experience the wonderfulness of fresh rice noodles... you kinda can't go back.

With that caveat, I understand that in desperate times, sometimes you just gotta get some kind of pad see ew on the table. So if needed: Don't follow package instructions for cooking the noodles, those can be unreliable. Here's what to do:

The best way to keep leftover pad see ew is...to freeze??

Yes! But first let me say that pad see ew, like all rice noodle dishes, is best consumed fresh off the stove. That is how you will get the best soft-chewy noodle texture with crunchy veg. So the best thing to do is to not make anymore than you can eat in one meal.

However, sometimes leftovers are inevitable, and you might be surprised that the best way to store pad see ew is to FREEZE it. Yes! This is because if you refrigerate them, the noodles will continue to absorb moisture from the meat and veggies, and eventually become soft and mushy. One day in the fridge, reheated pad see ew noodles will be noticeably less chewy, but 2 days in the fridge and they're basically inedible by my standard.

When you freeze them, however, this moisture absorption does not happen, so when you reheat, the noodles will still maintain their chewiness to a surprising degree, albeit slightly less so than when fresh. And of course the veggie stems will no longer be crunchy, but that's the price you have to pay.

More Thai Stir-Fried Noodle Recipes

Once you've mastered pad see ew, here are a few other Thai recipes to satisfy your noodle cravings:

• Pad kee mao or "drunken noodles". If you love pad see ew and you love spicy, this is a must try. You can think of this as the spicy sister of pad see ew, or a noodle version of pad gaprao.
• Rad na sometimes spelled as lad na, this is one of the most underrated Thai noodle dishes! The same fresh wide rice noodles are charred in a wok, and served with a pork gravy over them.
• Pad See Ew with Vermicelli. If wide noodles are not available, try going the other extreme and make PSE with the thinnest of noodles! It's also a very quick and easy dish!

Will Any Char Siu Recipe Work?

Yes. The recipe I show you here is the closest to what a Thai street vendor would make, and it is also a bit simpler. But if you already have your own trusted char siu recipe, or you've made my super popular authentic Cantonese style char siu recipe, each will work just as well. All of these styles have the same flavour profile, just slightly different ingredients.

Choosing Pork for Kao Moo Dang

Chinese style char siu typically uses port butt or pork shoulder, which works fine for this, however the Thai style is leaner and we like to use pork loin. This works because there's gravy to keep the dish moist even though the meat is lean.

Buy a pork loin roast (pic shown in the video), then cut it lengthwise with the grain into long strips about 2"x1" in diameter. Try to cut it in such a way that each piece has a bit of fat on it, because this fat will help keep everything moist and tender.

If you can, get the fatty end. When I went to get my pork from the specialty butcher, he was cutting my roast from a whole piece and asked if I wanted the "lean and pretty end" or the "fatty end". Turns out the two sides of a pork loin are different! Either will work depending on whether you like fatty or lean meat, but it's nice to have the option! I got the fatty end, naturally.

How about pork chops? If you can't find pork loin roast, pork chops will work but you want to make sure they are at least 1-inch thick. The pork needs time to brown and char slightly without overcooking the inside.

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe and important notes about them. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

Thai-Style BBQ Pork (Moo Dang)

• Pork loin roast, you can also use tenderloin if you prefer that.
• Soy sauce
• Golden Mountain Sauce. This is a type of soy sauce with a different flavour. You can also use Maggi Seasoning which has a similar flavour, or simply sub more soy sauce.
• Black soy sauce. This is added for a dark, rich colour. You can sub Chinese dark soy sauce, but because it is saltier you should reduce the amount of regular soy sauce slightly.
• Five spice powder, store bought or see my homemade recipe
• Honey
• Toasted sesame oil
• Garlic
• Ground white pepper
• Red food colouring (optional). In Thailand the pork is typically dyed bright red. If you're not going for the classic look, it can be omitted.

Gravy:

• Pork or chicken stock, unsalted or low sodium. See my homemade pork stock recipe here.
• Pork marinade from above
• White sesame seeds, toasted
• Tao jiew fermented soybean paste. This is basically the Thai version of miso, but it is runnier and comes in a glass bottle. You can substitute equal amount doenjang or miso.
• Chopped palm sugar or light brown sugar
• Black soy sauce (optional) to adjust colour as needed. Chinese dark soy can also be used.
• Cornstarch or tapioca starch to thicken the gravy.

Dark Soy Chili Vinegar (optional):

This is a condiment typically served with kao moo dang, it adds bright spicy acidity which works nicely with the dish. But it is optional as not everyone uses it.

• Sweet soy sauce or packed brown sugar
• White vinegar
• Soy sauce
• Thai black soy sauce or sub Chinese dark soy sauce and omit the regular soy sauce
• Chopped chilies, to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Here are some ingredients you may not have and how to substitute. You can also watch my video where I explain all the different sauces used in Thai cooking.

• Thai seasoning sauce (Golden Mountain Sauce is a brand most commonly available). This is a type of soy sauce with a different flavour from our regular soy sauce. Maggi Seasoning or Bragg's Liquid Amino will work fine.
• Tao Jiew or Thai fermented soybean paste. This is the Thai version of miso, except the consistency is runny and the soybeans are whole. It's very salty and comes in a glass jar; typically Healthy Boy Brand is the one most commonly available. You can substitute Japanese miso paste or Korean doenjang paste although they do taste slightly different; use them in equal amounts.
• Five Spice Powder is a Chinese blend of spices that is absolutely key to the identity of this dish and is not substitutable. You can buy it, but if you have a lot of spices in your cabinet you can probably just make it. It's as simple as blitzing them in a coffee grinder. I prefer to make it from whole spices because the flavours are so much fresher than pre-ground spices. Check out my recipe for homemade five-spice powder here.
• Thai black soy sauce is what we use to add dark, delicious-looking colour to various dishes like pad see ew. It's not very salty and has a molasses-y, slightly sweet flavour. You can substitute Chinese dark soy sauce, but because the Chinese one is much saltier, you have to be careful how much you add, and you may need to reduce the amount of the regular soy sauce a bit. You can also omit it altogether if you don't care about the colour.
• Sweet soy sauce. Think brown sugar syrup + soy sauce. Indonesian sweet soy sauce will work just as well as the Thai one. As the name suggests it is mostly sweet and is very thick. In this case you can use dark brown sugar instead.

How to Make Chinese BBQ Pork & Rice (Kao Moo Dang)

Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

1. Cut pork loin into long strips, about 1" x 2" wide (see video to get a better idea of what this looks like). You can then cut each strip in half if you wish.
2. Place them in a large zip-top bag or a dish that's just big enough to contain the pork in one, even layer.
3. Combine all marinade ingredients together and stir to dissolve the honey then pour over the pork, mixing well to ensure all surfaces of the pork are coated.
4. Marinade for 24 - 48 hours, flipping the bag or turning the pork over half-way through to ensure even marinating.
5. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) with the rack set in the middle. Allow it to preheat for at least 30 mins.
6. While the oven preheats, pull the pork from the fridge so that it has time to come to room temp a bit before roasting. Also now is a good time to get the rice going and prep any other garnishes you're serving. 
7. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and put a rack on it. Remove the pork strips from the marinade (don't throw away the marinade!), shaking off as much excess as possible, and place them on the roasting rack. If your pork is quite lean, it's a good idea to brush with some vegetable oil.
8. Roast for 30-35 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 155°F for well-done but still juicy pork. If you want medium doneness, pull them at 145°F. 
9. While the pork is roasting, make the gravy: In a small pot, add the stock and the pork marinade and bring to a boil. 
10. While you wait for it to boil, in a mortar and pestle crush the toasted white sesame seeds briefly just until they're broken but still look mostly whole. You should be able to smell the aroma once they're sufficiently broken. Remove from the mortar.
11. Add the Thai fermented soybean paste to the mortar and crush until there are no more chunks of soybeans; if using doenjang or miso you don't need to do this. 
12. Once the stock is boiling there will be a lot of congealed scum floating on top; this is just cooked pork juice, and you can skim it off with a fine mesh skimmer and discard.
13. Add the tao jiew, white sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon of the palm sugar, and just enough of the black or dark soy sauce to get a nice rich brown colour (if using Chinese dark soy sauce, add a little at a time as it can become too salty.)  Allow the gravy to simmer gently for about 5 minutes then taste and adjust seasoning with more soy sauce or sugar as needed. 
14. Mix the cornstarch with a splash of water and stir to dissolve, then pour the slurry into the gravy while stirring. Bring the gravy to a boil, stirring constantly, until it's thickened.

For the dark soy chili vinegar

1. Combine all ingredients together and stir. This can be made well in advance and any leftovers will last in the fridge for several weeks. 

Assembly:

1. Once the pork is done, allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing. The pork can even be served room temp if the gravy and rice are hot. 
2. While the pork rests, slice the cucumber, cut the boiled eggs in half, and prep any other sides you're serving.
3. Slice pork into thin pieces and place on top of the hot rice, ladle some gravy on top and serve with the eggs, cucumber slices, and Chinese sausages, if using.

Traditional vs Vegan Pad Thai

How is this vegan pad thai different from the traditional pad thai recipe? There are a few things we substituted:

• Fish sauce. Fish sauce is the main flavour of pad thai, and the reason you will rarely find vegan pad thai offered in Thai restaurants. Because to make a vegan version they would have to make another batch of pad thai sauce, which most places would not do. For this vegan version we use tao jiew instead, which is a fermented soybean paste similar to miso. You can also use miso instead.
• Dried shrimp. These are chewy little umami bits, and here I used shiitake mushrooms instead which work wonderfully. FYI, many Thai restaurants overseas don't add them anyway, so if that's what you're used to, you won't miss it.
• Eggs. We simply omit them, but if vegetarian pad thai is what you're going for, then feel free to add them.

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

​Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need. For the amounts and instructions, see the recipe card below!

Sauce Ingredients

• Soy sauce. Thai soy sauce is best but it's not necessary. Confused by different types of soy sauces? See this soy sauce explainer post here!
• Tao jiew. This is Thai fermented soybean paste that is essentially the Thai version of miso. It's sold in glass bottles (Healthy Boy Brand) at Asian grocery stores that sell a lot of Thai ingredients, though it is harder to find. You can substitute equal amount of miso or doenjang.  
• Tamarind paste. If buying pre-made tamarind paste, always buy ones from Thailand to make sure you have the right product. These are often labeled as tamarind concentrate (see pic below). You can also make your own tamarind paste from pulp and it's what I do. Never buy tamarind products from India as they are not the same!
  **Tamarind sourness varies from brand to brand, so if it's your first time, start out with a little less and you can add more later if needed.**
• Chili flakes, optional, only if you want to make it spicy. Store bought is fine, or you can easily make your own using my roasted chili flakes recipe. You can also leave it out of the sauce and let people add their own at the table.

Pad Thai Ingredients

• Dry rice noodles, medium size (2-3 mm wide). You need to soak them in room temp water for 1 hour, so don't forget to do this ahead of time! You can soak them the day before, drain, then keep them in the fridge until ready to use. If you did not plan ahead, you can do an emergency soak in hot off the boil water and for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse immediately under cold water.
  *If you have previously had trouble working with rice noodles, be sure to check out this ultimate guide to mastering rice noodles.
• Neutral oil, this can be any neutral flavoured cooking oil you normally use. I use avocado oil or canola oil
• Pressed tofu. Pressed tofu is the firmest tofu you can buy. It has a nice chew and will not fall apart in the wok. It's also the tofu that's traditionally used in pad thai. Sometimes they are labeled as "bean curd". If not available, use extra firm tofu or fried tofu. 
• Fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced. If stems are thick and hard, remove them. If they're small and tender you can leave them on.
• Shallots, chopped
• Garlic, chopped
• Palm sugar. Light brown sugar can be used instead. 
• Garlic chives, cut into 2-inch pieces. If not available you can substitute green onions (though they don't taste the same), but chop green onions smaller and use less as they are more intense in flavour than garlic chives.
• Bean sprouts. Be sure to get mung bean sprouts, not soybean sprouts. 
• Roasted peanuts, optional, roughly crushed or chopped. Peanuts are not typically added to pad mee korat, so feel free to skip them, but I add them here to get it closer to a traditional pad thai.
• Lime wedges, optional. I find a squeeze of fresh lime can add a nice burst of freshness.

How to Make Vegan Pad Thai

Here's a bird's eye view of all the steps so you know what's involved, for full instructions see the recipe card below!

1. Soak your noodles for 1 hour in room temp water. Meanwhile, make the sauce by adding tao jiew to a small bowl and mash with a fork to break up the soybeans, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir to mix. 
2. In a wok or a large nonstick skillet, sear the mushrooms and tofu in a little bit of oil until golden brown and the mushrooms are cooked through. Remove from the pan. 
3. To the same pan, add the oil, garlic, shallots, palm sugar and cook, stirring frequently until the sugar caramelizes into a deep brown colour.
4. Deglaze with the sauce mixture and stir to mix.

5. Add the soaked rice noodles along with the mushrooms and tofu.
6. Toss until all the sauce has been absorbed. Taste the noodles, and if it is still undercooked, add a splash of water and keep it cooking longer.
7. Turn off the heat, add bean sprouts and garlic chives and toss to mix.
8. Once mixed, you can taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Plate and sprinkle with roasted peanuts and serve with a wedge of lime.

Storing Leftovers and Reheating

I get asked all the time how leftover pad thai should be stored and heated, and to be frank, rice noodles do not keep well, so ideally, you don't want to have leftovers. If you want to have it again later in the week, it's better to prep all the ingredients (see tips above) and cook a fresh batch because the cooking takes only a few minutes!

But sometimes you just can't help it and you end up with extras. In that case, keep it in the fridge in an airtight container for ideally no more than 1 day. The longer you keep it, the more mushy the noodles become.

When you reheat, you can simply microwave it, however, it's crucial that the noodles are reheated until steaming hot, and not just warm. Rice noodles harden in the fridge, and they need to be fully heated in order to regain their softness.

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

Just an FYI that the recipe has been updated after the release of this video (which is very old!), so some of the steps and amounts in the recipe card may differ slightly. But it is still good to watch to get the idea of the process!

How to Make Massaman Curry มัสมั่นไก่

Here's a bird's eye view of this recipe, when you're ready to make, please see the full recipe card below!

Before you cook: Like all stews, this dish is better the next day after the flavors have had time to mingle. So if you can, make it a day in advanced!

Storage

Massaman curry keeps VERY well. In fact, I recommend making it one day in advance for even better flavour. But when you reheat, be careful not to overcook the potatoes! In the fridge, in an airtight container, the curry will keep for up to a week.

If you want to make this recipe a part of your regular rotation, I suggest making the massaman curry sauce in advance and freeze it!

Ingredients and Notes

Here are ingredients you'll need and important notes about them. For amounts, see the full recipe card below.

• Red curry paste - Using store bought red curry paste is fine, most Thai people do! BUT it's important to choose a good brand as that can make or break your curry. I recommend Maeploy, Aroy-D, or Namjai in that order, and you can see my full review of red curry paste here. If you're feeling ambitious, you can absolutely make your own! Here's my homemade Thai red curry paste recipe.
• Coconut milk - This is what makes the curry rich and creamy, and it's important to use good quality, full-fat coconut milk. See this post on how to choose the best coconut milk.
• Chicken thigh - I highly recommend using chicken thighs over breast so that it can have time to braise in the liquid so it will become tender and load the curry sauce with more chicken flavour.
• Chicken stock - you can theoretically use water, but for maximum flavour, go with chicken stock. You can use store bought or homemade stock, but make sure it's unsalted or at the very least low-sodium because the curry paste and fish sauce are both quite salty already.
• Fish sauce - fish sauce is the key seasoning for all Thai curries! If you're allergic to fish, soy sauce can be used instead. It's important to choose good quality fish sauce, and you can read more about how to choose good fish sauce here.
• Palm sugar - it is traditional to use palm sugar, but light brown sugar or granulated sugar are fine substitutes in this case because the curry is strongly flavoured, so it won't much much difference.
• Kabocha squash - I love using kabocha squash for red curry as the creamy sweetness pairs so well with the curry. However, feel free to substitute other vegetables - Thai eggplant and bamboo shoots are common vegetables for Thai curries.
• Thai basil - If you don't have it, regular Italian basil will do.
• Red pepper - this is added just for some colour. Red bell pepper will do, or anything mild.

How to Make Thai Red Curry Chicken

Here's a bird's eye view of the process. For full instructions, see the recipe card below, and I also recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!

1. Wash the kabocha squash and slice off any woody blemishes off the skin, but otherwise the skin can be left on. Remove the seeds and cut into bite-sized cubes. (If you have leftover squash, try using it in this stir-fry recipe.)
2. Bring ½ cup of coconut milk to a boil, add curry paste and stir to break up lumps.
3. Continue cooking and reducing over medium high heat until it is very thick and the coconut oil starts separating from the curry paste.
4. Add the chicken and toss to mix with the paste and add the remaining coconut milk.

5. Add the chicken stock, half of the fish sauce, and the palm sugar, then simmer for about 8 minutes.
6. Add the squash, then simmer on low heat for another 6-8 minutes or until the squash is cooked through.
7. Taste the sauce and add more fish sauce as needed. Be sure the make it strong-tasting as it'll be served over plain rice.
8. Turn off the heat and stir in Thai basil and red peppers, if using. Enjoy!

Substituting Other Proteins

Anything and everything, but make sure you change the cooking time to match your protein of choice! Everything works with red curry - pork, beef, seafood, you name it.

You can check out my pineapple red curry recipe and a vegan red curry with tofu here as examples. While other curries in Thailand have common meat pairings, for example massaman is usually paired with chicken or beef, the basic a Thai red curry can take any and all proteins.

This is because the flavours of red curry is "basic" relative to other curries, meaning it doesn't have a lot of spices (compared to Thai massaman curry, for example), so the flavours can go with anything from delicate fish to gamey beef.

Substituting Other Vegetables

I like using kabocha squash because creamy squash and red curry is one of my absolute favourite flavour pairings.

While you can use a different kind of squash or whatever vegetables are available to you, here are a few common pairings in Thailand: Thai eggplant, pineapple, winter melon, and bamboo shoots (see the green curry recipe for how to deal with bamboo shoots).

Is it better to make the curry paste from scratch?

Homemade red curry paste can taste better, but not necessarily. I want to get this misconception out of the way because it hinders many people from making Thai food. You do not have to make the curry paste in order to make "legit" curry, and most Thai people do not make their own curry paste.

Growing up in Thailand my family always bought curry pastes, with the exception of very simple curries such as the sour curry or gaeng som. Go to any markets in Thailand and you'll see mounds of curry pastes people but in bulk.

Making curry paste from scratch is not something I'd do on a weeknight. Even if you're using a power tool to help as shown in my red curry paste recipe, gathering ingredients is no small feat. And just because you made the curry paste from scratch, does not mean you'll end up with a better curry! There are some very good curry pastes on the market that can rival homemade ones.

So when I make curry paste, I do it more for the experience of it. It connects me to the dish and the cuisine in a deeper way, it's a labour of love, and I love it when I can really taste the difference between mine and the store bought one. Or sometimes I make it because it's not available to buy, such as the paste for kao soi.

How to Make Gai Lan Oyster Sauce Stir Fry

Here's a bird's eye view of all the steps. If this is your first time, I recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!

1. Slice thicker gai lan stems on a sharp diagonal. For thinner stems, cut into 1-2 inch pieces.
2. Cut the leaves into roughly 2" chunks, dividing wider leaves in half if needed, keep the leaves and stems separated.
3. Combine the oyster sauce, soy sauce, water and sugar; stir to dissolve the sugar completely.
4. Pound the garlic until broken into chunks, alternately smash them with the side of your knife and roughly chop.

5. In a wok, cook the garlic over medium low heat until smallest bits turn golden.
6. Add the stems and cook for about a minute.
7. Add the leaves, the sauce mixture and the white pepper and turn the heat up to high. Toss for about 30 seconds or just until the leaves are wilted.
8. Once the leaves look wilted but not totally collapsed, turn off the heat and plate immediately. Do not overcook as the leaves can become chewy; you want the leaves to still have some freshness and volume to them when you turn off the heat as they will continue to wilt on the plate.

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

Recipe Card

Gai Lan Oyster Sauce Stir-Fry (Chinese Broccoli)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 27 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 3-4 servings
• Cuisine: Thai

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Ingredients

• 300 g gai lan, aka Chinese broccoli, preferably smaller stems
• 6-7 cloves garlic
• Optional: 1-2 Thai chilies, if you want it spicy
• 1½ Tbsp oyster sauce 
• ½ Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp water
• ½ tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp ground white or black pepper, or to taste
• Jasmine rice for serving

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

1. Cut thick gailan stems on a sharp bias into thin slices. Thinner stems can be chopped into 2-inch pieces. Once you get to the leaves, cut them into bite-sized chunks. Keep the stems and leaves separated.
2. Then add garlic and pound just until they look "shredded" (see video for visual). You can also smash the garlic with the side of your knife and roughly chop. If using chilies, pound them along with the garlic or roughly chop.
3. In a small bowl, combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and water; stir until the sugar is dissolved.
4. In a wok, fry the garlic in a little oil over medium-low heat for a minute or so until light golden. Don't use high heat as you want the garlic to have time to soften and infuse the flavour into the oil.
5. Add gai lan stems, turn heat up to medium and cook for about 30-45 seconds.
6. Turn the heat up to high, then immediately add gai lan leaves, the sauce, white or black pepper, and cook for only about 30-45 seconds. Remove from heat immediately once the leaves look wilted but not completely collapsed. Do not overcook, the residual heat will wilt the leaves further, and the leaves also get chewy when cooked too much. 
7. Serve immediately with jasmine rice. Enjoy!

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What is Som Tum? And What is Som Tum Pla Ra?

Som tum is the generic term for pounded salads that are made in a mortar and pestle. You can make som tum using many ingredients, but the original one is made using green papaya, which is simply the underripe version of an orange papaya.

In most Thai restaurants overseas, there is only one type of papaya salad on the menu, and that is typically a Thai style papaya salad or som tum thai. But in Thailand, we have many kinds of papaya salads, and one very popular kind is som tum pla ra - a.k.a. som tum lao. It's so named because it uses pla ra, a fermented fish sauce that is commonly used in Laos, hence its alternate name. You can read a lot more on this ingredient below!

Compared to Thai style papaya salad, som tum pla ra does not use dried shrimp, peanuts, and tends to be less sweet. 

Ingredients & Notes

Here are all the ingredients you need and some important notes about them. For amounts see the recipe card below.

• Garlic
• Thai chilies, fresh or dried. Add as many as you like depending on your heat tolerance. Some people prefer fresh chilies, others prefer dried, so it really doesn’t matter which you choose and you can even do both. Arbol chilies are a great dried chili option for som tum. If you prefer it milder, instead of adding less chilies I recommend removing the seeds and pith so you keep the chili flavour in the salad. 
• Palm sugar. Finely chop the sugar so that it will dissolve readily, especially if you do not have a mortar and pestle for making the salad. If you don’t have palm sugar, light brown sugar will work as a substitute.
• Long beans. These are optional for tum lao though I quite like the flavour and colour that they add. If omitting, you can simply add more papaya or carrots, or you can substitute blanched green beans. Note: Long beans can be eaten raw but green beans cannot, so make sure you give green beans a quick 1-min blanch in boiling water, then shock them in ice water so they remain crisp. 
• Tomatoes. You can use regular tomatoes cut into wedges, or grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half.
• Fresh lime juice. Emphasis on fresh as it makes for the best flavour, and we also need the skin to add some extra aroma!
• Tamarind paste this is a sour seasoning that is optional, but I like the complexity that it adds to the salad. If not using, you can substitute more lime juice. You can buy tamarind paste premade, but I prefer making it from pulp. You can read more about tamarind here, and if you want to make your own, here's my homemade tamarind paste recipe. 
• Pla ra fermented fish sauce. This is the identifying ingredient, without which you cannot make this recipe! More on this below.
• MSG (optional), I never call specifically for MSG, but for this style of papaya salad it is usually added. So if you want your salad to taste like it does in northeastern Thailand, then a little pinch is recommended 🙂.
• Julienned green papaya. Green papaya is an unripe papaya that has a crisp, firm, and neutral-flavored flesh. Choose the type that is large (not the small Hawaiian ones) sold at many Asian grocery stores. Don’t have papaya? Read about papaya substitutes below.
• Julienned carrots. This is optional, but a handful of julienned carrots adds a pop of colour that makes this salad much prettier! 
• Pumpkin seeds, toasted. I am using these as a sub for kratin seeds, which are seeds of the river tamarind plant. They look similar to pumpkin seeds, and both add a nuttiness to the salad.
• For serving:
  - Sticky rice is a classic accompaniment.
  - Crispy pork rind (store bought) add a nice fatty crunch.
  - Vietnamese style rice vermicelli (kanom jeen) is amazing with this. You can serve them on the side or mix a small bundle right into the salad. Note: Vietnamese rice vermicelli are the round, slightly thicker noodles like ones I use in my kanom jeen namya recipe, whereas Thai rice vermicelli are the super thread-thin Thai ones. 

How to Make Som Tum With and Without a Mortar and Pestle

The word "tum" in som tum means to pound, which is the technique of pounding ingredients in a mortar and pestle. But don't worry if you don't have a mortar and pestle, or if you only have a small one; below I show you 2 different ways to make som tum, with and without the mortar and pestle.

*If you have a mortar and pestle but it is too small for the salad, simply do everything in your M&P right up until it's time to add the papaya, then transfer into a mixing bowl and switch to the hand method.

But first...you have to julienne the papaya

Here are 3 different ways to julienne green papaya. The julienning techniques are much easier understood by video, so I recommend watching the video tutorial if you've never done it before!

Method 1 - Traditional method: use a chef's knife and chop-chop-chop to make many incisions on the papaya, then use the knife to shave off a layer and you should get beautiful uneven sticks.

Method 2 - Julienne peeler. You can buy a Thai julienne peeler at many Asian stores and online (Kiwi brand). This is what I do at home as it's convenient and fast. Note that the first layer you peel off will be stuck together into a sheet, which you simply have to hand-chop into sticks.

Method 3 - Hand chop. If method 1 is too scary, and you don't have a peeler, you can also just hand chop it! It's slow but it will work. Halve the peeled papaya, scrape off the seeds, and thinly slice into sheets, then chop the sheets into sticks.

How to Make Som Tum in a Mortar & Pestle (traditional method)

1. Julienne the papaya and carrot using one of the methods shown above.
2. In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and chilies until there are no big chunks.
3. Add the palm sugar and pound until it is melted into a paste.
4. Add the long beans and pound until they are broken.

5. Add the tomatoes and pound gently to smash and release the tomato juices, then use a large spoon to scrape the sugar off the bottom of the mortar and let it mix in with the juices.
6. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, pla ra and MSG (if using), then use a spoon to stir and mix. If using a mortar that's too small for the papaya, transfer to a mixing bowl and continue to step 7 of the hand massage method below.
7. Add the julienned papaya and carrots and do the "pound and flip" method - pound a few times, then use the large spoon to flip the papaya to distribute the dressing, then repeat the pounding and flipping a few more rounds until everything is well mixed and the papaya is wilted slightly.
8. Plate and garnish with pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!

How to Make Som Tum without a Mortar & Pestle (Hand Massage Method)

1. Combine the finely chopped palm sugar, fish sauce and lime juice, then stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved. You'll still have some chunks, but leave them for now.
2. Grate or press the garlic into a mixing bowl. Then finely mince the chilies and add them to the bowl as well.
3. Use whatever you have to smash the long beans until they're split open, then cut into 2-inch pieces.
4. Back to the dressing, stir it well, then use the back of a spoon to mash any remaining sugar lumps which should now easily dissolve. Then add the tamarind, pla ra and MSG (if using).

1. Add the long beans and tomatoes, and use a gloved hand to massage the tomatoes to smash and release the juices.
2. Add the dressing and mix well.
3. Add the papaya and carrots and hand-massage everything until well mixed and the papaya is wilted slightly.
4. Plate and garnish with pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!

What is Pla Ra and Where to Find it?

Pla ra (or padaek in Lao) is a fermented fish sauce. But unlike regular fish sauce (nam pla) which is also fermented, it is made from freshwater fish rather than anchovies. Pla ra can be made from a variety of fish, but gourami is a common one. It is thicker, funkier and absolutely packed with umami.

Unlike regular fish sauce which is a commercial product that most people buy, pla ra is an ingredient many people still make still at home, though nowadays you can also buy it. But because it’s historically a homemade item, the flavour of different pla ra varies greatly depending on the recipe used. Some people add various herbs such as lemongrass and makrut lime leaves, others add pineapple juice or even pandan leaves. 

Where to buy pla ra? You can find pla ra wherever you find your Thai ingredients. Most of the time it'll be available at Asian grocery stores that carry a good amount of Southeast Asian ingredients. You can also buy it online; here's the brand I use and like and it is a good beginner pla ra that isn't overly funky and is well seasoned (not sponsored, but the company did send the product for me to try).

When shopping, the labelling can often be confusing as it often is labelled simply as "fish sauce." So make sure the liquid inside is cloudy and thick, and the colour can vary from grey to brown. Ingredients should include fish, salt, and some seasonings, and it may also contain herbs, rice bran or some kind of rice product.

Note: The Vietnamese also have a similar product called mắm nêm, which is available at some Asian markets, and you can use it in place of pla ra *in theory.* However, I don't have much experience with it and don't know the extent to which their flavours can vary between brands. So if possible I would stick to Thai brands to ensure the right flavours.

Substituting Green Papaya in Som Tum

Green papaya can be hard to find and in some places they can be expensive. But the good news is you can make som tum using a number of vegetables that are firm, crunchy, and have a relatively neutral flavour. Here are some options:

• Kohlrabi. This is probably the best sub in terms of colour, flavour, and ease of use. Simply peel the head and julienne it into sticks. The flavour is similar to broccoli stems.
• Broccoli stems. Now you have a reason to buy broccoli with the giant stem attached! Before you julienne, peel off the tougher skin on the bottom part of the stem, but once you get close to the crown the skin is thin enough that it doesn't need to be peeled.
• Premade broccoli slaw mix. If you can find bagged julienne broccoli slaw mix, which is made from broccoli stems, this is a convenient option.
• Cabbage. The flavour will change, and taste quite distinctly of cabbage, but it is still a delicious salad. I even have a purple cabbage som tum in my cookbook SABAI: Simple Weeknight Thai Recipes.
• Cucumber. In Thailand we make tum tang gwa which is som tum made from cucumber and it's super tasty; and I also have a recipe for a corn and cucumber som tum. If working with an English cucumber, you can remove the seeds to make it less watery, but if using smaller cucumbers the seeds can be left in.

Advance Prep Tips

You can actually make som tum up to an hour ahead of serving time and it'll hold up quite well if you wrap and put it in the fridge. If you want to get ahead of the prep, here are things you can do.

• Julienne the papaya and carrots up to a few days ahead, and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge.
• Make the dressing ahead of time (garlic, chilies, and all the seasonings) and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. When ready to use, pound the long beans and tomatoes, then add in the dressing and the papaya.

What is Panang Curry?

Of all the different Thai coconut milk based curries, panang curry is one that is quite unique. Instead of having plenty of liquid like a Thai green curry or red curry, panang curry comes in a small amount of thick, rich sauce. You can make an argument that it's more of a saucy stir fry.

Another defining feature is the generous use of cumin and coriander seeds which distinguishes its flavour from the basic Thai red curry. Makrut lime leaves (aka kaffir lime leaves) are also considered must-have for panang curry. Peanuts are ground into the curry paste, making the resulting sauce thicker and richer, though for commercial panang curry pastes, the peanuts are often omitted or replaced with mung beans to avoid allergies.

You can buy panang curry pastes from some Asian grocery stores that stock a lot of Southeast Asian products, but it's not an easy one to find. So I have included how to make panang curry paste from scratch in this recipe, OR if you're short on time you can also try my shotcut - the semi-homemade panang curry paste - which includes just a few ingredients added to store bought red curry paste.

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need and important notes about them. For amounts, see the full recipe card below.

• Panang curry paste, store bought or homemade (recipe below). This is the heart of the curry and the quality of your curry hangs on the quality of your paste. So if you're going to use store bought, make sure it is good quality. My preference is for Maeploy or Aroy D brands, and if you cannot find store bought panang curry paste, you can also buy red curry paste and add a few ingredients to it to turn it into a panang paste.
• Coconut milk. It's important to use good quality coconut milk when it comes to Thai curries, read more about how to choose good coconut milk here.
• Fish sauce. More about how to choose good fish sauce here.
• Sugar. If you have palm sugar, you can use it, but for this granulated white sugar or light brown sugar will also work just fine.
• Pork tenderloin or pork collar butt, sliced thinly (~⅛ inch) or you can substitute chicken breast or thigh, sliced about ½-inch thick.
• Makrut lime leaves, also known as kaffir lime leaves. This is an important flavour in panang curry. It adds a citrusy aroma the helps brighten and lighten the otherwise rich curry. If you can't find fresh, frozen is the second best option, and dried would be the last resort.
• Mild red chilies for garnish, optional. This is just to give it some colour. Traditionally we use spur chilies or prik chee fa, but any kind of red pepper will do.

Homemade Panang Curry Paste Ingredients

Again, you do NOT have to make it from scratch! It is perfectly acceptable to use store bought, and see my hack for making semi homemade panang curry paste below!

• Dried Chilies. Panang is not supposed to be a super spicy curry, so I stick with mild dried chilies such as guajillo or puya chilies. If you want to add some heat, you can add some spicier chilies such as Thai or arbol chilies as well.
• Coarse salt. If you're pounding by hand, the coarseness will help add some friction, but if making by machine, any kind of salt is fine.
• Cumin seeds, toasted
• Coriander seeds, toasted
• White peppercorns
• Chopped lemongrass, use lemongrass from the bottom half only which is where the flavour is most concentrated. More about lemongrass here.
• Chopped galangal. Fresh or frozen galangal will do. More about galangal here.
• Makrut lime zest. AKA kaffir lime zest. This is the green part of the skin of the makrut limes, and it is very hard to find so I wouldn't worry so much if you don't have it. It has the same aroma as makrut lime leaves, so you can always just add a few extra leaves into the curry. More about makrut lime leaves here.
• Cilantro roots. Simply the roots of the cilantro/coriander plant! This is a common ingredient in Thai cuisine, but outside of Thailand it can be hard to find. Not to worry, you can substitute cilantro stems instead!
• Garlic
• Shallots
• Shrimp paste, called gapi in Thai, this is a fermented shrimp paste, which is an ingredient added to most Thai curries. It is salty and has a funky smell but adds a huge amount of umami. If you don't have it, you can omit it, and you'll just need to add a little more fish sauce to the curry.
• Roasted peanuts. This adds richness to the curry, if you're allergic to peanuts you can substitute another nut or seeds that you are not allergic to to mimic the same richness.

How to Make Panang Curry

Here's a bird's eye view of the process, the full instructions are in the recipe card below, and if it's your first time make sure you watch the video below to ensure success.

1. Reduce some of the coconut milk in a wok or large skillet until very thick.
2. Add the curry paste and stir to mix.
3. Keep stirring until coconut oil starts to separate and sizzle around the curry paste.
4. Add the palm sugar and torm makrut lime leaves and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

5. Add the meat and toss to coat in the paste (image shows beef, but it would be the same if using pork or chicken).
6. Add the remaining coconut milk and stir until the meat is cooked through, then turn off the heat.
7. Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce if needed, then stir in the red pepper.
8. Plate and top with julienned makrut lime leaves for garnish.

Watch the Video Tutorial

Here's the video showing how to make panang curry with beef, though the process would be exactly the same if using pork or chicken. (I do have a video that shows how to make panang curry with pork, but I have since updated my process so this one is better 😊). If you enjoy my videos, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

Storing Leftover and Advance Prep

Panang curry keeps quite well and is great for meal prep. In the fridge it should last up to a week, just be sure not to overcook the meat when you reheat it. Any leftover curry paste can be frozen.

To make this dish even quicker to pull off on a weeknight, make your curry paste in advance, and you can keep curry paste frozen for several months. You can even make a large amount if you want to come back to this dish regularly!

FAQ

More Classic Thai Recipes You'll Love

If you're ready to try more dishes, here are some popular classic Thai recipes to check out, complete with video tutorials as always!

Recipe

Authentic Thai Panang Curry

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 12 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• If making curry paste: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings

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Description

Authentic recipe for Thai panang curry, just like you'd have it in Thailand! This recipe uses pork, which is the most common type of panang curry in Thailand, but you can substitute chicken if you wish. If you want to use beef, see my recipe for panang beef which gives some extra tips for making sure your beef is tender.

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Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp (60 ml) panang curry paste, store bought use one of the recipes below (see note 1)
• 10.5 oz (300 g) pork tenderloin or collar but, thinly sliced against the grain (see note 2)
• 1½ tsp (7.5 ml) fish sauce
• 2 tsp (10 ml) neutral oil
• 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) coconut milk, plus a little extra for garnish if you wish
• 10 makrut lime leaves, 7 roughly torn into chucks, 3 finely julienned for garnish
• 1½ Tbsp (18 g) palm sugar, finely chopped, packed 
• ⅛ red bell pepper, julienned for garnish, optional
• Jasmine rice for serving

Option 1: Homemade Panang Curry Paste

• 10 g dried mild chilies, such as guajillo or puya peppers. 
• ½ tsp coarse salt
• ¾ tsp cumin seeds
• 1½ tsp  coriander seeds
• ¼ tsp white peppercorns
• 3 Tbsp chopped lemongrass, from bottom half only
• 1 Tbsp chopped galangal
• 1 ½ tsp makrut lime zest (aka kaffir lime)
• 2 cilantro roots or 6 cilantro stems, chopped
• 3 Tbsp chopped garlic
• ¼ cup chopped shallots
• 1 tsp fermented shrimp paste (gapi)
• 2 Tbsp roasted peanuts (if allergic, sub another type of nuts or seeds)

Option 2: Semi-Homemade Panang Curry Paste

• 4 tablespoon red curry paste
• ¾ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 ½ tsp coriander seeds
• 2 Tbsp roasted peanuts (if allergic, sub another type of nuts or seeds)
• 1 tsp fermented shrimp paste (optional, only if the red curry paste doesn’t already have it)

Kitchen Tools & Ingredients I Use

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Instructions

For the Curry:

1. Add 1½ teaspoon fish sauce and oil to the pork and massage it in with your hands, separating the pieces  that are stuck together as you mix.
2. In a saute pan or a wok over medium high heat, reduce ¾ cup coconut milk until thickened and creamy. Stir in curry paste and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook the paste for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until coconut oil separates away from the paste. If the paste sticks to the pan, you can deglaze with a bit of the remaining coconut milk.
3. Add palm sugar and torn makrut lime leaves and cook for a minute or so until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Add the pork and quickly toss it with the curry paste, separating the pieces as much as you can. Once the pork is about 50% cooked, add the remaining coconut milk and stir for just one more minute, just until the pork is mostly cooked through, then turn off the heat. *Do not overcook the pork or it will become chewy; it will continue to cook in the residual heat even after you turn off the heat. If it looks too dry, you can add a splash of water at this point.
5. Stir in red peppers, if using. Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce as needed. The amount of fish sauce you need greatly depends on how salty your curry paste is, which varies between brands.
6. Plate, and if you have extra coconut milk handy, it's traditional to garnish panang curry with a little drizzle of coconut milk on top, but don't worry if you don't have any extra. Top with julienned makrut lime leaves and more red peppers as desired.
7. Serve with jasmine rice, enjoy!

For the Homemade Panang Curry Paste:

*This method requires the use of a large granite mortar and pestle. You can also use an immersion blender if you have one, but you'll need to double the recipe to make it grind properly. See my red curry paste recipe for how to use an immersion blender to make curry paste.

1. In a dry skillet toast the cumin seeds over medium heat until they darken slightly and are aromatic and start to pop, 2-3 minutes; remove from the pan. Repeat with the coriander seeds.
2. Add the coriander and cumin seeds into a coffee/spice grinder. Then cut the chilies into chunks and pour out the seeds, and add them to the grinder also. Grinde everything into a powder. Add the roasted peanuts and grind just until mostly fine. 
3. In a large mortar and pestle, add lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime zest, cilantro roots/stems and salt and pound into a fine paste. Add the shallots and garlic and pound into a fine paste, adding the dry spices once the shallots and garlic start to become wet to help absorb liquid. 
4. Pound everything into a fine paste, then add the shrimp paste and pound to mix. 

For the Semi-Homemade Panang Curry Paste:

1. In a dry skillet toast the cumin seeds over medium heat until they darken slightly and are aromatic and start to pop, 2-3 minutes; remove from the pan. Repeat with the coriander seeds.
2. Grind the cumin and coriander seeds until very fine using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder.
3. Add the roasted peanuts and grind until fine.
4. Mix ground spices into the red curry paste and shrimp paste, if using a mortar and pestle, simply add the paste into the mortar and pound to mix.

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Notes

1. If you are using store bought curry paste, add 2 tablespoons of ground roasted peanuts because most store bought pastes leave out peanuts.
2. If you want to substitute chicken, I recommend boneless skinless chicken thigh, sliced into ½-inch thick pieces. If you want to use beef, see my panang beef recipe for some tips on making sure the beef is tender.

What is pad pak ruam?

Pad means "stir-fry," pak means "vegetables," and ruam means "mixed," so it's very straight-forward! Though you often see pad pak ruam on menus of Thai restaurants overseas, in Thailand, this is very much home cooking.

Because Thai people eat family style, every meal is made up of multiple dishes, so no one dish needs to be "complete." So we have a lot of dishes that are mostly meat, and others, like this one, that is mostly veggies, and things balance each other out. Learn more about how Thai people eat here.

The vegetables can be flexible, and indeed I often use this dish as a "fridge cleanout," so the veggies in the recipe are just suggestions. I included several kinds in my version to give you ideas about things that work well, you can make this dish with just 2-3 veggies, no problem!

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe and important notes about them. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

Sauce

You can use this sauce to stir fry just about anything, and indeed it's very similar to my universal stir fry sauce recipe!

• Oyster sauce. The queen of Thai stir fry sauce. Read more about how to choose good oyster sauce here.
• Soy sauce, any kind will do, but best if you have Thai soy sauce and my preference is Healthy Boy Mushroom Soy Sauce.
• Golden Mountain sauce, is another kind of soy sauce that has a slightly different flavour. You can substitute Maggi Seasoning or fish sauce instead, or simply use more soy sauce. Here are types of soy sauces explained.
• Water
• Sugar. Just a wee bit to balance the salt.

The Stir Fry

Again I repeat: these veggies are just suggestions and ideas. You do not need all of these vegetables, just a few kinds will do, but ideally you want a good mix of colours and textures.

• Carrots, "roll cut" for some cool shapes (you can see the video for technique), or simply cut them into thin sticks. Don't make them big, remember with stir fries you only have a few minutes in the pan.
• Cauliflower, SMALL florets. Again they won't have much time to cook in the wok so these should smaller than what you imagine a "floret" normally is.
• Green cabbage, bite-sized pieces. I prefer Asian cabbage (the squat ones) as they're sweeter and more delicate, but regular cabbage is fine.
• Chinese broccoli (gai lan), stems thinly sliced on a diagonal, leaves roughly torn into chunks
• Sugar snap peas, strings removed, which is done by snapping off the stem-end and pulling downward, and the strings on the sides of the pea should come away (see pic below). I like to then cut them in half on a sharp diagonal as allows the sauce to penetrate the otherwise impenetrable pods, making them more flavourful.
• Shiitake mushrooms, fresh, cut into slices. You can use any other kinds of mushrooms here.
• Garlic, roughly chopped
• Thai chilies, optional, only if you want to make it spicy. Most of the time this dish is done with no chilies in Thailand, but I wanted to include it here to give you the option. I like to just crushed the chilies with the side of a knife just until broken and the heat will gently infuse into the sauce so it's not overwhelmingly spicy.

How to Make Mixed Vegetable Stir-Fry ผัดผักรวม Pad Pak Ruam

Here's a bird's eye view of the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!

1. Organize your vegetables in order they are added to the pan: Bowl 1 with firm veggies: carrots and cauliflower in this case. Bowl 2 with softer veggies: Cabbage, snap peas, gai lan stems, and mushrooms. Bowl 3 with anything leafy, like gai lan leaves.
2. In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
3. In a wok or a large saute pan on medium high heat, add a little vegetable oil, garlic and chilies and saute until small bits of garlic turns golden.
4. Add the firm veg in bowl 1 and a splash of water, and stir for 1-2 minutes or until they're about halfway cooked. Adding more water as needed.

5. Add bowl 2 of vegetables and the sauce and toss until the vegetables are done to your liking, 1-2 minutes.
6. Add gai lan leaves or anything leafy.
7. Toss just until the leaves are wilted, 20-30 seconds, and off heat.
8. Enjoy with jasmine rice!

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

Ingredients

Here are all the ingredients and all the important notes you'll need to know for this recipe. For amounts and the complete instructions, check out the full recipe card below.

• Glass noodles, rehydrated and cut into 2-inch pieces. They only take 7-10 minutes to rehydrate in room temp water. Look for Thai/Chinese style glass noodles (not Korean) which are sometimes labeled as bean vermicelli or bean threads. The ingredients should ideally be made only of mung bean starch. My favourite brand is Pine Brand glass noodles from Thailand. 
• Ground pork, optional. Adding meat makes it a little more substantial. You can use ground chicken instead, or even chopped up shrimp, or simply omit the pork and add an equivalent weight of all the other veggies, or you can also check out my vegetarian crispy spring rolls recipe here.
• Soy sauce. I use Thai Healthy Boy Mushroom Soy Sauce, which is my go-to soy sauce for Thai cooking, but any soy sauce you have will do. 
• Ground black pepper
• Ground white pepper. This recipe is heavy on the pepper, which is one of the reasons it's so good! But it does have a kick, so if little kids will be eating them you may want to cut down on the white pepper a bit. 
• Minced garlic
• Dried shiitake mushrooms, soak until soft, and finely diced. How long these take to rehydrate will vary depending on the size of the mushrooms. If using hot water, most sizes should rehydrate in 30 minutes, but if you plan ahead, you can simply soak them in room temp water for a few hours.
• Julienned green cabbage. Think coleslaw, make it look like that!
• Grated carrots
• Cilantro stems, finely chopped. Leaves would turn black once cooked and look unappetizing, so we use stems instead which are equally if not even more aromatic!
• Salt
• Sugar
• Spring roll wrappers, I use an 8-inch wrapper (20 cm) but you can make smaller ones if you wish. Do make sure these are not wrappers for egg rolls which are different.
• Egg, for sealing the wrapper
• Oil for deep frying. I use canola oil, but any neutral flavoured oil that's high heat resistant will work here. Make sure you have enough to get at least 2 inches of depth in the pot that you're using. Yes, you can bake or air-fry these. See FAQ below.
• Dipping Sauce: Sweet Chili Sauce. Though these are great even without any sauce, it certainly doesn't hurt to dip it in some sweet chili sauce which you can buy, but it's quite easy to make and it tastes so much better! Use my sweet chili sauce recipe here. 

How to Make Crispy Spring Rolls

Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

1. Saute the garlic, black pepper, and white pepper in a wok until the garlic starts to turn slightly golden.
2. Add the ground pork and stir to break up the lumps until fully cooked.
3. Add the noodles, cabbage, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and all of the seasonings.
4. Keep tossing over medium high heat until the vegetables are wilted and the noodles are fully cooked. Add a splash of water if needed if the noodles stick to the work, or if the wok is dry but the noodles are still a bit too firm. (Tip: Go easy on any additional water. There should not be any pooling liquid at the bottom of the wok when done, you want to the filling to be dry.)
   *Allow the filling to cool to no more than lukewarm before wrapping. While you wait for the filling to cool, carefully peel apart the spring roll wrappers so they are loose from each other because they will be quite stuck together after thawing. Once peeled, keep them in a stack, covered under a slightly moist kitchen towel.

5. To wrap spring rolls: Place a spring roll wrapper with a corner pointing to you. Place a healing ¼ cup of filling onto the wrapper slightly off the centre towards you. Spread the filling out into a log shape, leaving about 1.5-2 inches of space on either side.
6. Pull the corner of the wrapper over the filling then pull back on the filling slightly to tighten.
7. Roll forward once, then fold the side corners in towards the middle.
8. Roll forward a couple of times, then use your finger to paint some beaten egg along the top edges of the wrapper to help seal the roll.

9. Keep rolling until the end, and now you can fry these right away or freeze them for later.
10. To fry, heat 2 inches of oil to 375°F over medium high heat and fry the spring rolls for about 5 minutes until deeply golden.
11. Drain on paper towel, and cool slightly before digging in.
12. If you're cutting these to serve at a party, I recommend cutting on a diagonal for nicer presentation!

My Other Crispy Spring Rolls Recipes

• For a fully vegan recipe, try my ultimate veggie spring rolls.
• For something different that will wow your guests, these green curry spring rolls are totally awesome.
• If you have more spring roll wrappers and want to try something different, these easy curry puffs are a crowd pleaser!

Recipe

Best Crispy Spring Rolls - Thai Style

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 12 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: Makes 12-14 pieces

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Description

I didn't know spring rolls could be that good until I had these. I learned this recipe from a restaurant I worked at where they made 500 of these every week!  The perfect party appetizers. You will not be disappointed.

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Ingredients

• 40 g (1.4 oz) glass noodles, dry
• 120 g (4.2 oz) ground pork (optional, see note)
• 3 tsp (15 ml) soy sauce, divided
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium size dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water until soft (at least 30 mins), then finely chopped
• 1½ cup finely shredded green cabbage (about 2-inch juliennes) 
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 6 cilantro stems, finely chopped
• ½ - 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2-3 tablespoon water, as needed
• 12-14 pieces of 8-inch spring roll wrappers, thawed
• 1 egg, beaten, for sealing the wrapper
• Oil for frying
• Dipping sauce: sweet chili sauce, store bought or homemade

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

1. Soak glass noodles in room temperature water for 7-10 minutes. Drain, then cut into 2-inch pieces.
2. Mix the ground pork with 1 teaspoon of the soy sauce, set aside.
3. In a wok or a large saute pan, add a little vegetable oil and turn the heat to medium. Add garlic, black pepper, and white pepper; stir until garlic starts to turn colour slightly.
4. Up the heat to medium high then add the pork and cook until the pork is no longer clumpy and is almost completely cooked.
5. Add shiitake mushrooms, noodles, cabbage, carrots, cilantro stems, sugar,½ teaspoon of salt, and 2 teaspoon soy sauce. Toss until noodles are fully cooked and cabbage is wilted, adding a splash of water if noodles start sticking or if the vegetables are cooked but the noodles feel too chewy.
6. Turn off the heat, then taste and add more salt as needed.
7. Put the filling into a bowl and let cool before wrapping. While the filling is cooling, peel the wrappers apart so it’s easier when you wrap. (Spring roll wrappers tend to be hard to peel apart right out of the package, so I like to separate them before I start wrapping.)
8. Beat one egg in a bowl which you will use to seal the wrapper.
9. Use a heaping ¼ cup of filling per roll, and if you need instructions for wrapping, see the pictured instructions in the post above!
10. To fry, heat at least 2 inches of oil in a pot to 350°F (heat the oil to 375°F if frying from frozen).  Keep the heat on medium or medium high while you fry, then add the spring rolls and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towel and repeat until. If they're not browned after 5 minutes the heat is too low, if they're too browned, the heat is too high.
11. Cool slightly before serving. These are great even without dipping sauce, but a dip in Thai sweet chili sauce certainly doesn't hurt!

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Notes

1. If not using pork, you can add a little bit extra of each of the vegetables.

What is Panang Curry?

Panang curry is kind of an interesting dish, because it's quite unique compared to other Thai curries. You may have noticed that most dishes that are classified as "curry" of "gaeng" in Thai cuisine are rather soupy. Lots of sauce, thin and runny sauce, some are even water-based and eat very much like brothy soups like this sour curry or this breast milk boosting curry. (If you have my cookbook, I talk about what is curry in there.)

Panang, on the other hand, might be closer to what you imagine when you think of the word "curry"— a thicker, richer sauce, and just enough of it to coat all the stuff and pool a little. We even have a special word for this amount of liquid in a dish, it's called "kluk klik".  Panang is also unique in that it is all meat—it never has any vegetables added to it. The meat is always thinly sliced, and at most you'll get some red peppers thrown in as garnish.

Flavour-wise, it is similar to a red curry with a couple of important ingredients added: coriander, cumin, and peanuts. You can check out my Thai red curry recipe to compare!

It's a great weeknight curry because it comes together so fast. The cooking technique is almost more of a stir-fry, which awesome!

How to Ensure Tender Beef

When eating a beef curry or stir-fry, my biggest pet peeve is when the meat is chewy. I hate it. No matter how delicious it is...if the meat it chewy, the dish is ruined in my books. There are a few simple keys to make sure you have tender beef without having to braise it for a long time.

1. Choose a cut of beef that you would eat as a steak. The assumption being that any beef you will eat as a steak is considered "tender", at least compared to cuts you would need to stew or braise. This is a good rule of thumb for choosing stir-fry beef, which this recipe essentially is. I'm using New York strip in this video (it's a particularly fatty one, which was just a lucky pick at the store!).This does NOT mean it has to be an expensive cut, but if you're choosing the less expensive, leaner steaks, the next two points are very important.
2. Slice the meat AGAINST THE GRAIN. If the meat is naturally tender (New York, ribeye, or tenderloin), it's not as big of a deal, but for cuts that are borderline chewy....like flank, or lean sirloin tip, it's very important. You want the shortest meat fibers possible because the longer it is, the harder it is to chew. Think of slicing the beef as "pre-chewing"—let the knife do the hard work for you. So pay attention to your steak, look at which direction the meat grain runs, and slice across it. See my video for an example.
3. Slice meat THINLY. For 2 reasons, one is because the thinner the beef the more tender is it to chew, which is important if you're using leaner, less tender meat. The other reason is that this is a quick-cooking curry, not a long simmering one, so if the meat is thick the flavour will not have time to penetrate the inside. Using meat that is still a little frozen inside makes slicing thinly much easier.

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

Ingredients

Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

• Beef, very thinly sliced against the grain (see notes about tender beef above)
• Fish sauce. More about fish sauce here.
• Oil
• Coconut milk
• Homemade or semi-homemade panang curry paste (recipe follows)
• Makrut lime leaves, 7 roughly torn into chunks which we'll add to the curry, and 3 finely julienned which we will use as garnish on top.
• Palm sugar, finely chopped, packed. If you don't have it, light brown or even granulated white sugar will be fine as it is a small amount.
• A handful mild red pepper, thinly julienned for garnish, optional
• Jasmine rice for serving

Semi-Homemade Panang Curry Paste

If you can't find pre-made panang curry paste at the store, you can easily make one using red curry paste as a base.

• Store bought red curry paste. I recommend Maeploy, Aroy D, Maesri and Namjai brands. I don't recommend Thai Kitchen. Read my red curry paste review here.
• Toasted cumin seeds.
• Toasted coriander seeds. Do not use ground coriander as it is often lacking in flavour. Buy whole coriander seeds, widely available at Asian and Indian grocery stores.
• Roasted peanuts, if allergic, you can sub another type of nuts or seeds.
• Fermented shrimp paste, for some extra umami. This is optional, only if the red curry paste doesn’t already have it.

How to Make Panang Curry Beef

Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

For the semi-homemade panang curry paste:

1. Grind the cumin and coriander seeds until very fine using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder.
2. Add roasted peanuts and grind until fine.
3. Mix the red curry paste and shrimp paste into the ground spice mixture.

For the Curry

1. Add 1½ teaspoon fish sauce and oil to beef and massage it in with your hands, separating the pieces of beef that are stuck together as you mix.
2. In a saute pan or a wok over medium high heat, reduce ¾ cup coconut milk until thickened and creamy.
3. Stir in curry paste and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook the paste for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until coconut oil separates away from the paste. If the paste sticks to the pan, you can deglaze with a bit of the remaining coconut milk.
4. Add palm sugar and torn kaffir lime leaves and cook for a minute or so until the sugar is dissolved.
5. Add beef and quickly toss it with the curry paste, separating the pieces of beef as much as you can. Once the beef is about 50% cooked, add the remaining coconut milk and stir for 30 more seconds or just until the beef is fully cooked. If it looks too dry, you can add a splash of water at this point.
6. Stir in red peppers, if using, and turn off the heat.
7. Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce and/or sugar as needed.
8. Garnish with julienned kaffir lime leaves and more red peppers as desired.
9. Serve with jasmine rice, enjoy!

Recipe Card

Panang Curry Beef แพนงเนื้อ

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 18 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Yield: 2-3 servings

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Ingredients

• 300g beef, very thinly sliced against the grain (see notes about tender beef above)
• 1½ tsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp oil
• ¾ cup + ½ cup coconut milk
• 1 recipe homemade or semi-homemade panang curry paste (recipe follows)
• 10 kaffir lime leaves, 7 roughly torn, 3 finely julienned
• ~1 teaspoon fish sauce, to taste
• 1½ Tbsp palm sugar, finely chopped, packed (if using granulated sugar, use 1 tablespoon to start then taste and adjust)
• A handful mild red pepper, thinly julienned for garnish, optional
• Jasmine rice for serving

Semi-Homemade Panang Curry Paste

• 3-4 tablespoon red curry paste (see notes)
• ¾ tsp toasted cumin seeds
• 1 ½ tsp toasted coriander seeds
• 2 Tbsp roasted peanuts, unsalted (if allergic, sub another type of nuts or seeds)
• 1 tsp fermented shrimp paste (optional, only if the red curry paste doesn’t already have it)

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Instructions

For the semi-homemade panang curry paste:

1. Grind the cumin and coriander seeds until very fine using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder.
2. Add roasted peanuts and grind until fine.
3. Mix the red curry paste and shrimp paste into the ground spice mixture.

For the Curry

1. Add 1½ teaspoon fish sauce and oil to beef and massage it in with your hands, separating the pieces of beef that are stuck together as you mix.
2. In a saute pan or a wok over medium high heat, reduce ¾ cup coconut milk until thickened and creamy.
3. Stir in curry paste and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook the paste for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until coconut oil separates away from the paste. If the paste sticks to the pan, you can deglaze with a bit of the remaining coconut milk.
4. Add palm sugar and torn kaffir lime leaves and cook for a minute or so until the sugar is dissolved.
5. Add beef and quickly toss it with the curry paste, separating the pieces of beef as much as you can. Once the beef is about 50% cooked, add the remaining coconut milk and stir for 30 more seconds or just until the beef is fully cooked. If it looks too dry, you can add a splash of water at this point.
6. Stir in red peppers, if using, and turn off the heat.
7. Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce and/or sugar as needed.
8. Garnish with julienned kaffir lime leaves and more red peppers as desired.
9. Serve with jasmine rice, enjoy!

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Notes

You can use any curry paste brand that you like. In this video I used Maesri brand. Watch this video for my tips on choosing a curry paste.

What is moo deng?

Moo means pork, and deng means bouncy, and it refers to a kind of pork bouncy pork meatballs that we put in various dishes, typically noodle soups, including the viral tom yum instant noodles, pictured below. Sometimes, the pork is formed into patties instead of balls.

Some non-Thai news outlets have been incorrectly reporting that moo deng means "bouncing pig," which I suppose is correct on paper, but not in practice. It's a classic case of "lost in translation" because in Thai, moo means both pork and pig (the same way that "chicken" refers to both the animal and the meat). But moo deng is a food!

Ingredients and Notes

Here are ingredients you'll need for moo deng and some important notes about them. It's super simple! For amounts, see the full recipe card below

• White peppercorns
• Garlic
• Ground pork, preferably not lean for the best texture.
• Soy sauce, use Thai soy sauce for the authentic flavour, but without it, other kinds of soy sauce is also fine.
• Fish sauce. See this post on choosing good quality fish sauce.
• Sugar
• A small ice cube, optional.
• Food processor. Ideally, you'll also need a food processor for the right texture and to get that bounciness, though a small one is fine. If you don't have one, you can still make it and it'll be tasty, but the texture will be more coarse and it won't be bouncy.

How to Make Moo Deng

Here's a bird's eye view of how to make moo deng. Like any other meatballs, you can make these ahead of time and freeze!

1. Pound the garlic and pepper into a paste (not shown). Add the pork, the garlic paste, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and a small ice cube into a food processor.
2. Process the pork into a smooth-ish paste - the smoother it is the bouncier the meatballs will be. Without a food processor just knead all ingredients well together well with your hand.
3. Roll them into little balls with gloved hands. Without gloves, wetting your hands will prevent the pork from sticking to your hands.
4. Cook them in boiling water for about 2 minutes or until cooked through. Fish them out, and they're now ready to be added to any noodle soup or any dish you want, or you can freeze them for another day.