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!

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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

Ingredients and Notes

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

• Raw peanuts, preferably skin-on. While you can make these with blanched peanuts, the skins do make them look better and the added fiber is a nice bonus. They also tend to taste better in my experience. Skin-on peanuts are available at most Asian grocery stores, and you'll probably see a few different types being sold—they're not all the same! My preferred peanuts are the smaller ones with the brightest red skins. Typically, they will also cost more than other types, but really not by much.
• Raw cashews. These are optional, but I find they really make the whole mix look and taste better! If raw cashews are not available at Asian stores, look for them at health food stores, and check the bulk section.
• Large cloves of garlic, we will be making garlic chips so we need large cloves for the most substantial chips.
• Makrut lime leaves. Frozen is okay for this, but be sure to dry them very well after they thaw as we will be frying them, and any water left on them will splatter aggressively in the oil.
• Lemongrass
• Small dried chilies, optional. While these are optional, they do make the mix look so much prettier so I like to add them even if I don't end up eating them. Once the chilies are fried they will be crispy and edible if they're not too spicy for you. I get the generic dried chilies from Chinese grocery stores which tend not to be very spicy, but if you want spicy, arbol chilies from Latin American stores will work.

Seasoning Mix (Tom Yum Flavour)

The classic version of these are simply tossed in salt, which you can absolutely do, but I prefer the more interesting "tom yum flavour" which I highly recommend you try!

• Salt. My recipe uses table salt, but you can use whatever salt you have, keeping in mind that larger grains such as Kosher salt measure differently, so check some online conversions to get the right amount.
• Sugar. The balance of sweet and salty is what makes these nuts incredibly addictive!
• True Lime brand lime juice powder. I specify the brand only because I have tried another brand (generic from a specialty food store) that was rather awful, and I have not seen any other brand here, though in Thailand Knorr also makes one. I love using lime juice powder as a way to add acidity and lime flavour when I don't want the liquid, and as a backup for when I'm out of fresh limes. I see True Lime sold in little packets at the supermarket, or you can also buy them on Amazon. I also use True Lime powder in my zingy and spicy Thai "Wing Zabb" recipe which I highly recommend!
• Chicken bouillon powder (optional). This is the secret to all your Asian aunties' delicious cooking! Chicken bouillon powder (most commonly Knorr brand) is a very commonly used ingredient in Asia, including Thailand. In our nut mix, it adds a the umami factor that other seasonings don't.
• Chili powder, optional, to taste. If you want the nuts to be spicy, add whatever kind of chili powder that you have on hand, though be careful with adding too much because a large amount of chili powder will dilute the other seasonings, so keep the amount no more than 1-2 teaspoons only.

How to Make Thai Chili Lime Peanuts

Here's a bird's eye view of the process. The full instructions are in the recipe card below, and if this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!

1. Thinly slice garlic as evenly as you can; I recommend using a mandolin for this if you have one.
2. Dry the makrut lime leaves if needed so they are 100% dry. Fold each leaf in half and pull out the centre rib.
3. Tear the halves in half again, so for each leaf you will get 4 pieces.
4. Thinly slice lemongrass on a diagonal; no need to be precise here as we will not eat the lemongrass

13. Pull the paper towel out from under the nuts.
14. While the nuts are still warm and oily, sprinkle the seasoning over the nuts evenly, then stir until they're all evenly coated.
15. Add the fried herbs and toss again to coat.
16. Wait until the nuts cool completely before eating. Enjoy!

Like this recipe? You'd also love these!

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!

What is Moo Ping หมูปิ้ง?

Moo means pork, and ping means to grill, so the name simple means "grilled pork." But there is much more to it than that. The pork is marinated in a slightly sweet mixture of umami sauces, herbs, and coconut milk. They're then skewered and grilled, and always served with sticky rice.

In Thailand, you can find these sold by street carts outdoors, or inside malls where there are also plenty of food stalls. Nowadays, many of these vendors do not make their own moo ping, and instead buy them from a large supplier. In my opinion, the quality of the average moo ping in Thailand has gotten worse since this started happening. Mass produced moo ping are made from finely chopped pork, they use evaporated milk instead of coconut milk, and they always taste too sweet. So this is definitely one recipe I now prefer to make myself, so I can make them like the good old days!

Ingredients

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

• Bamboo skewers, soak these for at least an hour before grilling, and up to overnight, to prevent them from burning on the grill. Though if you forget, you can use my other trick of placing a strip of foil down on the grill and making sure the exposed skewers rest on the foil to insulate them.
• Pork collar butt roast, or pork shoulder. You want to use a fatty cut for this for maximum juiciness.
• Garlic
• Cilantro roots or chopped cilantro stems
• Oyster sauce
• Soy sauce
• Black soy sauce to add a dark colour. You can sub Chinese dark soy, but you have to reduce the amount of regular soy sauce as Chinese dark soy is much saltier than Thai soy sauce.
• Palm sugar, or light brown sugar.
• Neutral flavoured oil
• Coconut milk
• Water, this is added to create a brine to make the pork juicier.
• White and black peppercorns, though you can use one or the other if you only have one.
• Corn starch
• Sticky rice for serving

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!

How to Make Thai BBQ Pork Skewers

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. For the marinade: Pound garlic, cilantro roots, peppercorns in a mortar until fine. Add palm sugar and pound until dissolved.
2. Add all remaining marinade ingredients, except cornstarch, and stir to mix.
3. If you see any silver skin on the pork, remove it, then cut pork into thin, bit-sized pieces. If you start with a roast, first cut the roast into long "cylinders" along the grain, about 1.5" wide by 1" tall.
4. Then slice each cylinder into 5 mm (¼ inch) thick pieces against the grain. See the video tutorial for a demo. Slicing thinly against the grain ensure that the muscle fibers are shortest, producing the most tender pork.

5. Pour the marinade over the pork and mix well. Let marinate overnight (8 hours) or at least 3 hours if you're in a rush.
6. After marinating, sprinkle cornstarch over the marinated pork and mix well.
7. Skewer the pork by simply poking through the middle of the piece, then lay them flat on a tray so that the pork pieces are laying flat, shingled on top of each other. Pack them tightly and neatly on top of each other and it'll help shape the skewers. If you have time, let the pork sit in the fridge on the skewers for another hour or longer to set the shape of the skewers, and the pork will not flop around as much when you grill.
8. Grill over medium to medium high heat, 1.5 - 2 minutes per side. I like to place a folded strip of foil on the grill under the exposed skewers; this prevents the skewers from burning, especially important if you did not soak the skewers. Serve with sticky rice!

Recipe Card

BBQ Pork Skewers หมูปิ้ง (moo ping)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 6 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Marinating time: 3 hours minimum
• Cook Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 4 hours
• Yield: Makes about 24 skewers

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Description

Moo ping are grilled pork skewers that are the ultimate poster child of Thai street food. You can find these anywhere served along with sticky rice. They're quite easy to make at home, and it's even better than on the street!

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Ingredients

• About 24 bamboo skewers, soaked for at least an hour
• 1 ½ lb pork collar butt roast
• 5 cloves garlic
• 3 cilantro roots or 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro stems
• 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp black soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp (35 g) palm sugar
• 1 Tbsp neutral flavoured oil
• ¼ cup coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp water
• ¼ tsp white peppercorns
• ¼ tsp black peppercorns
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch

For serving: Sticky Rice

Ingredients & Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

1. For the marinade: Pound garlic, cilantro roots, peppercorns in a mortar until fine. Add palm sugar and pound until dissolved. Add all remaining marinade ingredients, except cornstarch, and stir to mix.
2. Cut pork into thin, bit-sized pieces against the grain, about 5 mm thick (a little less than ¼ inch). If you see any silver skin on the pork, remove it. If needed, see blog post above for a visual for how to cut the pork.
3. Pour the marinade over the pork and mix well. Let marinate overnight (8 hours) or at least 3 hours if you're in a rush.
4. After marinating, sprinkle cornstarch over the marinated pork and mix well.
5. Skewer the pork, about 4-5 pieces per skewer, by poking the skewer right through the middle of the piece. Then lay the skewers down on a tray so the pork pieces are laying flat, shingled on top of each other. Pack them neatly and tightly on top of each other and it'll help shape the skewers. If you have time, let the pork sit in the fridge on the skewers for at least an hour before grilling to set the shape of the skewers and the pork pieces won't flop around as much.
6. Grill over medium to medium high heat, 1.5 - 2 minutes per side. Place a folded piece of foil under the exposed skewers to prevent them from burning.
7. Serve with sticky rice.

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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.

What is Nam Prik Pao?

Nam prik pao น้ำพริกเผา is an extremely versatile ingredient and a staple in any Thai kitchen. It is a paste made primarily from dried chilies, shallots, garlic, and dried shrimp, all of which are ground into a paste, then seasoned and cooked in oil until thick and shiny. Though it is a savoury ingredient, nam prik pao is quite sweet.

The flavour profile of nam prik pao is quite unique, with robustness coming from toasted dried chilies and garlic and shallots that cook down until jammy. When it is added to a dish, it is usually an important part of the dish's identity, and you really can't substitute it with another ingredient.

In Thai cuisine, nam prik pao is used in many different ways, most commonly in soups, stir fries, and salads. More on different ways to use it below.

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.

• Dried mild chilies. Nam prik pao is not supposed to be very spicy, so stick with large mild chilies such as guajillo or puya peppers. In Thailand, we use dried spur chilies. If you want to make it spicy, however, that's totally fine, in which case feel free to add spicy dried chilies to the paste in addition to the mild.
• Dried shrimp. These add loads of umami to the paste. You can find dried shrimp at any Asian grocery stores in the fridge, and I would choose medium size ones for this recipe.
• Garlic, peel but leave the cloves whole
• Shallots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• Tamarind paste, also labelled as "tamarind concentrate". Make sure it is a product of Thailand which should come as a brown liquid. Indian "tamarind concentrates," which are a sticky, black paste, are much more concentrated and the same amount cannot be used for this recipe. You can also make your own tamarind paste from pulp.
• Salt
• Fish sauce
• Palm sugar, finely chopped, packed. If palm sugar is not available, you can substitute light brown sugar.
• Shrimp paste, optional. Fermented shrimp paste or gapi adds extra umami that's different from the dried shrimp, but it can be omitted.
• Neutral flavoured oil. Quite a lot of oil is added to the paste in order to achieve a luscious, spreadable consistency. In commercial versions of this paste, more oil is used to the point where there is always a thick layer of oil that it on top of the paste, but at home you just need to add enough for the right consistency.

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!

How to Make Thai Chili Paste/Chili Jam - Nam Prik Pao

Here's the bird's eye view of the process, the full instructions are in the recipe card below. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

1. Toast the dried chilies in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until they are charred in some spots and smell smoky. Remove from the pan and set aside. (See alternate broiler method for toasting chilies below)
2. In the same pan, add garlic and shallots and toast over high heat, stirring constantly, until they are charred. Remove from the pan. (See alternate broiler method below)
3. In a coffee grinder, grind dried chilies into a powder.
4. Add dried shrimp and grind until fine.

5. In a food processor or a blender, add all ingredients except the oil.
6. Grind into a fine paste, adding more oil as needed for the paste to grind effectively. Scrape the sides down occasionally.
7. Transfer the chili paste into a pot or a wok along with any remaining oil. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly to cook the herbs and thicken the paste to a spread consistency. If you are making a large batch, it will take more time to cook.
8. Once the paste is dark and thick, with the oil sizzling out of the paste, it is ready to be used or stored.

How to use Thai chili paste

Nam prik pao can be used in just about anything - soups, stir fries, salads, or even as a spread! The most famous use for nam prik pao is probably our tom yum goong soup.

In stir fries, simply add it in addition to your other seasonings, but remember that it is quite sweet. See my cashew chicken recipe as an example for how to use it in stir fries. We also love it in fried rice, such as in this 3-chili Thai basil fried rice.

I also love adding Thai chili paste to salads, like in this wing bean salad to make a richer dressing. And for a non-traditional use, you can spread it on toast or crostini as a snack, or use it instead of mayo for your burgers. When I was a kid, my mom used to make tuna sandwiches using nam prik pao as a spread on the bread!

Should you make or buy Thai chili paste?

The truth is that most Thai people buy nam prik pao, and it's a very common ingredient in any supermarket in Thailand. But overseas, it can be hard to find, so if you cannot find it, your only option is to make it yourself because there really isn't a good substitute. Thankfully, making it isn't hard at all!

If you're lucky enough to have it available, or if you're willing to buy online, my recommended brand that is available overseas is Maepranom. Pantai brand is a little sweet for my taste but it is totally fine to use; it seems to be the most commonly available exported brand, and indeed it is the only one that I can get here in Vancouver.

Storage

You can keep Thai chili paste in a sealed jar in the fridge and it'll last several months. You can also freeze it indefinitely.

Other Useful Tips

• You can also use this sauce as a marinade! Marinade chicken thighs for the oven, or slices of meat on skewers for the grill ... anything!
• Still season your meat separately. If you're making a stir fry with meat, such as chicken, pork, or beef, I'd still add a little bit of soy sauce or fish sauce to the meat separately so that the seasoning is in the meat, not just in the sauce! I demo how to do this in the video.

Questions about Thai Sauces?

Got questions about any of the sauces I used? Check these out and all your questions will be answered!

Ingredients and Notes

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

• Mango juice. Get the best mango juice you can as the flavour of the cocktail relies heavily on the quality of the juice. It's hard to find pure mango juice, so a blend is fine, as long as it still tastes distinctly of mango. You can also blend mango pieces and make your own juice, more on that below.
• Vodka. I tested this cocktail with various alcohol, including gin, rum, even mezcal! They all actually tasted great, but I decided to stick with the neutral tasting vodka to preserve the flavour profile of mango sticky rice. Other alcohols altered the flavour of the drink too much, but you can certainly experiment.
• Coconut milk. Since this isn't going to be cooked, and it's one of two main flavours of the drink, a good quality coconut milk is important. I use Aroy D brand in UHT paper carton (not can). You can also read my article all about coconut milk to find out how to choose the best one.
• Pandan leaf. Pandan is to Thai dessert what vanilla is to Western desserts. It has a lovely floral aroma that goes very well with coconut milk. Look for it wherever you buy your Thai groceries, and you can use fresh or frozen leaves. If you can't find it, it is fine to omit. If you have pandan extract, you can add it a drop at a time until a scent comes through, but don't overdo it as it can taste chemically when overdone.
• Uncooked white rice. This is optional, but it will help make your cocktail smoother due to the "rice washing" technique (more details below). You can use any kind of white rice since we just need the starch, but I used Thai glutinous rice (sticky rice) because it is the starchiest, and it keeps with the mango-sticky-rice theme :).
• Ice cubes.

How to Make Mango Sticky Rice Cocktail

Here's a bird's eye view of the process. The full instructions are in the recipe card below. Please excuse the low quality images as these are screenshots taken from the live cooking class which I encourage you to watch!

1. Grind the pandan leaves with a splash of the vodka until the leaves are bruised and broken down slightly. You can also use a cocktail muddler.
2. Add the remaining vodka and stir or swirl to mix.
3. Strain the vodka out, discarding the pandan leaves.
4. In a shaker, combine the mango juice, pandan vodka, coconut milk, rice and ice cubes and shake until fully chilled. Pour into a serving glass through a strainer. You can serve the cocktail with ice in a rocks glass, or without ice in a martini glass.

Like this recipe? You'd also love these!

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.

1. If using beef short ribs with bones, separate the bones from the meat but keep the bones.
2. Optional step: In the pot you'll use the make the curry, sear the beef in oil until browned on 2 sides. You'll need to do this in batches. Once done, pour out any excess oil and put the beef back into the pot along with the bones.
3. Add ½ cup of the coconut milk, 1 tablespoon of the curry paste, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, and top it up with just enough water to submerge. Simmer for 2 - 2.5 hours until fork tender. While you wait you can move on and make the curry sauce.
4. Once the beef is done, remove it from the cooking liquid. Discard the bones but keep the cooking liquid.

5. Bring ¾ cup of coconut milk to a boil then add the curry paste and stir to dissolve the paste.
6. Keep stirring over medium heat until the coconut oil starts sizzling out of the paste.
7. Add some of the remaining coconut milk and stir to dissolve the paste, then add the rest.
8. Add the cooked beef into the curry sauce.

9. Add the potatoes, onions, sugar, tamarind, fish sauce, and then top it up with just enough of the beef cooking liquid to keep everything submerged. (The remaining liquid you did not use you can use as a base for a tasty beef soup!)
10. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
11. Add the peanuts, if using.
12. Enjoy your super tender beef with jasmine rice!

Advance Prep Tips and Storage

Since massaman beef takes a few hours, there are lots of different ways to spread out the work to make serving day much easier! Here are a few other things you can do to spread out the work:

• Braise the beef up to a few days ahead, then make the curry sauce and finish the curry on serving day. You can also cut up the onions and potatoes ahead of time so they're ready to go.
• You can finish the whole curry ahead of time and simply reheat when ready to eat, and in fact it'll taste even better that way! However, be careful not to reheat for too long as the potatoes may over cook during the reheat.
• If making your own curry paste, it can be made any time in advance and frozen until ready to use. You can add it to the pot directly from frozen.

Storage: Massaman curry will last in the fridge for one week. It's a great dish for meal prep!

Watch The 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!

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!

1. In a mortar and pestle, pound the lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaves, and Thai chilies until fine.
2. Stir in all remaining tom yum paste ingredients.
3. Make fried eggs, if you wish. For Thai style fried eggs use plenty of oil and add the egg while the oil is very hot so you get browned crispy edges. You can fry eggs in the same wok you'll use to cook the rice, but if making many fried eggs it's best to use a skillet so you can fry multiple eggs at once.
4. In a wok, add enough oil to coat the bottom and sear the shrimp until they're halfway cooked. Flip and sear the other side until fully cooked. Remove from the wok.

5. In the same wok over high heat, add more oil if needed, then add onion and saute until translucent. Add Chinese broccoli and toss briefly until the leaves are wilted slightly and turn bright green.
6. Add the rice and toss briefly to mix with the veggies, then pour the sauce over and toss until all grains are coated evenly in the sauce and the rice is dry.
7. Add the tomato and cooked shrimp, toss briefly just to mix, then turn off the heat and stir in green onions and/or cilantro.
8. Plate the fried rice, sprinkle with more green onion and/or cilantro if desired, and top with fried egg.

Recipe Card

Thai Tom Yum Fried Rice

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 2

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Description

The beloved flavours of Thai tom yum soup infused into this satisfying fried rice and topped with a fried egg!

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Ingredients

Tom Yum Paste

• 3 slices galangal, chopped
• 3 inches lemongrass, thinly sliced (use bottom half of the stalk only)
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, center rib removed, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp Thai chili paste, store-bought or make your own
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• Thai chilies, to taste
• 2 Tbsp lime juice

The Fried Rice

• 2 eggs 
• 10 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ¼ cup diced onion
• 2 stalks Chinese broccoli, stems thinly sliced, leaves roughly chopped
• 300 g cooked rice (1¾ cup) (see note)
• 1 tomato, seeds removed, bite-sized pieces
• 1 green onion, chopped
• A few sprigs chopped cilantro

Note: This fried rice has quite a lot of liquid in the sauce, so it's very important that your rice is quite dry to begin with, otherwise you might have mushy fried rice. Day-old, refrigerated rice works well (as long as it wasn't too soft), but if you're making rice specifically for this dish, follow the tips in my Pineapple Fried Rice video (@4:00)

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

To make the tom yum paste: In a mortar and pestle, pound together lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and Thai chilies until fine. Stir in all remaining tom yum paste ingredients. Alternatively, you can add all ingredient into a blender and blend until smooth.

To make Thai-style fried egg: Add about 1 cm of vegetable oil into a wok or a small frying pan. Heat the oil over medium high heat until very hot but not smoking. Crack the egg into the oil, then lower the heat to medium. If the oil is hot enough, the egg white should bubble excitedly right away. Let the egg fry for about 1:30 minutes or until the edges are browned. If you don't like your yolk runny, turn the heat down to medium low after adding the egg so the yolk has time to set without the white burning. If the egg sticks to the bottom of the pan, let it fry for a minute until the bottom of the yolk firms up before gently nudging it off with a thin spatula. Reserve the oil for another use. 

To make the fried rice: In a wok or a large sauté pan, add just enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom (you can use the oil from frying the egg) and heat over medium high heat until hot. Add the shrimp and sear until browned on one side; flip and brown the other side until done. Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, add a little more oil if needed, then add onion and saute until translucent. Add Chinese broccoli and toss briefly until the leaves turn bright green. Add the rice and toss until most lumps are broken up. Pour the sauce over rice and toss until all grains are coated evenly in the sauce and the rice is dry. Add the tomato and cooked shrimp, toss briefly just to heat them up. Remove from heat and stir in green onions.

Plate the fried rice, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, and top with fried egg. Enjoy!

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