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 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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Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

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Ingredients

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

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

How to Make Crispy Spring Rolls

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

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

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

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

My Other Crispy Spring Rolls Recipes

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

Recipe

Best Crispy Spring Rolls - Thai Style

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

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

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Description

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

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Ingredients

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

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

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

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Notes

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

What is moo deng?

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

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

Ingredients and Notes

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

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

How to Make Moo Deng

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

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

The Most Important Component: Nam Jim Seafood

There are really only 2 components to this dish, salmon and dressing, and the success of this dish relies entirely on the dressing (assuming your salmon is fresh). The dressing is in fact a sauce that's extremely important within Thai cuisine called nam jim seafood.

"Nam jim" means dipping sauce, and seafood, well, is seafood. It is the sauce that Thai people dip all kinds of seafood in. In fact, Thai people never do seafood without it, and sometimes we dip non-seafood in it as well (try it with crispy pork belly!)

I have shared a recipe for nam jim seafood before that was an all-purpose dipping sauce, but this recipe is slightly different as it was developed specifically to work in this application. You can, however, use this recipe as an all-purpose seafood sauce as well.

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.

• Salmon. You want to buy salmon that is safe for eating raw, so when shopping, ask your fishmonger if it's okay for sashimi. I buy mine (from Sungiven for folks in Vancouver) frozen and specifically labelled as "sashimi salmon." More on this below.
• Garlic, you'll need some for the sauce, and if you want, some for garnish. Yes! Garlic for garnish! At Jeh O they put thinly sliced raw garlic on top and I was surprised to find that it actually tastes great together with the salmon. Just make sure you slice it really thin otherwise it'll be overpowering.
• Chilies, I use red Thai chilies for this, and feel free to reduce or increase the amount depending on your heat preference.
• Cilantro, stems and leaves all together.
• Lime juice, fresh only for this recipe!
• Fish sauce, read more about choosing good fish sauce here.
• Palm sugar, or light brown sugar. Learn more about palm sugar here.
• Salt, this is to replace some of the fish sauce to reduce the overall amount of liquid so that the sauce isn't too runny.

Step-By-Step:

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. Blend all sauce ingredients until there are no more big chunks, but there are still some small bits. The amount in the recipe will likely be too small for a jug blender, so a bullet or immersion blender is great for this. Instructions for using a mortar and pestle is also provided in the recipe card.
2. Cut the salmon first so the pieces are about 2-inches wide, then slice them into ¼-inch thick strips.
3. Toss the salmon with the dressing.
4. plate and top with garlic slices, mint leaves, and lime slices for garnish, if desired. Eat it soon or it'll turn into ceviche!

Love seafood? You'd also love these!

Korean and Chinese Mung Bean Jelly Dishes

I first came upon the idea of homemade glass noodles not from a noodle recipe, but from a Korean mung bean jelly appetizer in Maangchi's cookbook. I was intrigued because these are cubes of jelly made from mung bean starch just like glass noodles.

Sometime later I walked by a Uyghur restaurant in my neighborhood, and they had a "mung bean jelly noodles salad" on their sandwich board. This intrigued me further and sent me researching, which is when I discovered a Chinese dish called liang fen. The process of making these noodles looked so cool yet so easy that I just HAD to try it.

The recipe I ended up landing on is different from the aforementioned dishes, particularly in regard to the starch-to-water ratio (which is really all there is to this recipe!). I used a higher starch ratio that I think yielded the perfect texture for the size of the noodles that I ended up with.

Ingredients for Homemade Glass Noodles

You need only two ingredients to make homemade glass noodles (mung bean jelly noodles), but you will need a couple of tools.

• Mung bean starch. I am using the classic Thai brand of mung bean starch, Pine Brand, who sponsored this post. If you cannot find it, Korean grocery stores also carry mung bean starch, it is called Cheongpomuk-garu. Well-stocked Southeast Asian markets and Chinese markets are also worth checking out.
• Water. That's it!

A couple of tools you'll need:

• Large hole grater. I loooove this Microplane extra coarse grater (pic below) which worked perfectly and yielded the perfect size noodle. This is also my go-to grater for everything else - cheese, zucchini, carrots, etc. - because I find it to be easier to handle than a box grater and takes up wayyyy less room!
  Note: They do sell liang fen graters online made specifically for this job, but they do have bigger holes and will create bigger noodles. I have not personally tried using it.
• A rectangular mold. You will need a heat resistant container that is no larger than 8x8 inches. A glass food storage container or a loaf pan is perfect.

Ingredients for the Glass Noodle Salad

Here are all the ingredients you'll need for the salad; for the amounts, see the recipe card below.

• Garlic
• Soy sauce, I used Japanese soy sauce for this one.
• Sugar
• Rice vinegar
• Toasted sesame oil
• Green onion, you can also add chopped cilantro, mint, or other fresh herbs.
• Chili crisp or chili oil. This really makes the dish. A Sichuan style chili crisp such as lao gan ma is great for this and is what I use.
• Roasted peanuts, chopped, or sub toasted sesame seeds (optional)
• English cucumber
• Carrot, feel free to sub other crunchy veg.

How to Make Fresh Glass Noodles

1. Pour about ⅔ of the water into a medium pot and bring to almost a simmer over high heat. Meanwhile, stir the mung bean starch together with the rest of the water.
2. Once the water steams and bubbles start to form (but it is not simmering) reduce the heat to medium high, then give the starch slurry a stir and pour it into the pot while stirring.
3. Keep stirring CONSTANTLY until the thickens into a white paste.
4. Once it turns white, keep stirring until the paste turns translucent. Once it is no longer changing and everything looks evenly translucent, remove from heat.

5. Pour into the prepared mold and let cool to room temp, then chill for at least 3 hours and ideally overnight where it will solidify and firm up.
6. Pop the chilled jelly out onto a clean work surface.
7. Use a grater to grate the jelly, creating noodles, by applying even pressure as you pull the grater towards you.
8. There're your noodles! These are ready to use now, but for a more elastic texture and clarity I recommend blanching them.

9. Blanch the noodles in boiling water.
10. Once the noodles turn translucent (about 10 seconds) they are done.
11. Drain and cool them by running them under cold tap water. They are now ready to use!
12. Combine the ingredients for the salad dressing together, pour over plated noodles and place the veggies on the side. Mix it up before you eat!

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 and important notes about them. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

• Pork shoulder or pork loin. I prefer using pork shoulder because it's more flavourful and juicy, but I try to choose pieces that are on the leaner side as you don't really want too many big pieces of fat on it. Pork shoulder can be a bit tricky to work with because of its irregularity, so pork loin or tenderloin can be used instead though be very careful not to overcook these as they are lean and can become dry. Be sure to slice the pork against the grain for max tenderness.
• Soy sauce
• Oil
• Cornstarch. Cornstarch is added to the marinade, and when blanched, the starch will form a very thin layer of gel around the pork which helps keep the juices inside. This technique is called velveting.
• Garlic
• Thai chilies. You can add as many as you want here to customize the spice level.
• Palm sugar. Palm sugar will yield a dressing with more complex flavour. If you don't have it, substitute light brown sugar. Read more about palm sugar.
• Lime juice. Only fresh lime juice for this, no bottled!
• Fish sauce. It's important to use good quality fish sauce as it is a main ingredient. Read about how to choose good fish sauce.
• Cilantro
• Shredded cabbage. You can also do a mix of cabbage and shredded carrots, broccoli stems, kohlrabi, basically anything you'd eat in a slaw.
• Fresh mint leaves.
• Some crunchy fresh veg of your choice (optional). This is extra, but we typically serve moo manao with some raw Chinese broccoli, and you can use the leaves as a wrap and munch on the stems. But really, this could be any fresh veggies you like. Peeled broccoli stems, cucumber, carrots, kohlrabi, celery, or even serve this with some lettuce leaves if you want to wrap it.

How to Make Spicy Garlic Lime Pork "Moo Manao"

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. Combine pork with soy sauce, water and oil and mix well. Then add the cornstarch and mix well.
2. Marinade for at least 20 minutes and up to overnight.
3. For the dressing, in a mortar and pestle, pound garlic and chilies into a paste.
4. Add the palm sugar and pound until mostly dissolved. Then add fish sauce and lime juice and stir to mix. Stir in chopped cilantro.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Prepare a big bowl of warm water on the side for rinsing the pork. Place the pork in a wire skimmer (no fine mesh) or a spider then blanch pork in the boiling water for 15-30 seconds, stirring the pork a bit to spread them apart.
2. Remove the pork as soon as it's done—the pork overcooks very quickly in boiling water! Dunk the skimmer into the bowl of warm water and shake it around to remove any bits of velveting and drain well.
3. Line the serving plate with shredded cabbage and any side veggies.
4. Place the pork on top of the cabbage in one layer, then spoon the dressing evenly over the pork. Top with mint leaves and enjoy!

Recipe Card

Thai Spicy Garlic Lime Pork "Moo Manao"

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 3 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 2 appetizer servings

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Description

One of Thailand's best-kept secrets: moo manao. Tender juicy sliced pork with a spicy, garlicky lime dressing. It's a classic drinking food, but it's great any time, served with rice as a meal or on its own as an appetizer!

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Ingredients

• 200g pork loin or pork shoulder, very thinly sliced against the grain (see note)
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp water
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1-2 Thai chilies, to taste
• 1 ½ Tbsp palm sugar
• 3 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 4-5 springs cilantro
• ~ 2 cups shredded cabbage
• Some crunchy fresh veg of your choice (see note)
• A few sprigs of mint

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

1. Marinate the pork: Combine pork with soy sauce, water and oil and mix well. Add cornstarch and mix well, and let marinade for at least 20 minutes.
2. Make the dressing: In a mortar and pestle, pound garlic and chilies into a paste. Add palm sugar and pound until mostly dissolved. Add fish sauce and lime juice and stir to mix. Stir in chopped cilantro.
3. Prepare the plate & veg: Line the serving plate with shredded cabbage. For your side veggies, if using Chinese broccoli, separate the stems and leaves, then peel the outer skin of the stems. Soak the veg in ice cold water to keep them crisp and cold until ready to serve. If using broccoli stem, peel the skin off first. 
4. Cook the pork: Bring plenty of water to a full boil. Prepare a big bowl of warm water on the side. Place the pork in a wire mesh skimmer or a spider (see video) then blanch pork in the boiling water for 15-30 seconds, stirring the pork a bit to spread them apart. Remove the pork immediately as soon as it's done—the pork overcooks very quickly in boiling water! If using lean pork such as loin, remove it as soon as the outside looks done; you want the inside to still be medium to prevent it from being dry. Dunk the pork into the bowl of warm water to rinse off any bits of velveting and drain well.
5. Plate: Place the pork on top of the cabbage in one layer, then spoon the dressing evenly over the pork. Top with mint leaves and serve with a side of veggies.
6. Enjoy!

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Notes

1. I like to use pork butt (collar butt) because it has more flavour and fat, but it's kind of a hard piece to work with because it's such an irregular shape. You can also use pork loin, which is leaner and easier to work with, but I would suggest buying a loin roast, not chops, so you can easily slice the pork against the grain. And if using loin, be EXTRA careful not to overcook the pork because it is very lean and will be bone dry if overcooked. Aim to cook it to medium doneness if using loin. 
2. We typically serve moo manao with some raw Chinese broccoli, and you can use the leaves as a wrap and munch on the stems. But really, this could be any fresh veggies you like. I use peeled broccoli stems, but you can do cucumber, carrots, kohlrabi, celery, or even serve this with some lettuce leaves if you want to wrap it.

*This is an old video and I spelled the dish as larb back then. I (and you) know better now 😉.

What Are Thai Fish Sauce Wings?

Fish sauce wings are called ปีกไก่ทอดน้ำปลา peek gai tod nam pla in Thai, which literally means "wings fried with fish sauce." They're served in many restaurants across Thailand, especially ones popular with the drinking crowds because it's such a great dish to pair with a cold beer.

In Thailand they are typically deep fried, but for this recipe I've also provided a method that uses shallow frying only, and also an alternative air-fried method (not as crispy, but works).

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Ingredients and Notes

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

• Chicken wing flats. Thai fish sauce wings use only flats, as I explain more below. This is, as the name suggests, the flat part of the wings. They're sometimes called wingettes. For the drums, you can save them for another recipe such as my turmeric chicken soup, tom yum chicken, or these zingy spicy KFC wings!
• Fish sauce. Since it is the only seasoning, it's important to use good fish sauce. Read more about how to choose good fish sauce here.
• Rice flour. Though you CAN make this recipe without any flour, I find the flour helps create a crisper crust. You can also substitute cornstarch instead, but I do prefer the light, crisp texture of rice flour. **Be sure to buy regular rice flour (red bag) not glutinous rice flour (green bag).
• Ground white or black pepper. This is optional 🙂
• Optional: Sweet chili sauce for serving. In Thailand these are typically served without any dipping sauce (the beverage is the sauce!), and they don't need it. However, I understand the desire to dip! So if you want, Thai sweet chili sauce would be the perfect pairing, and you can buy it or use my easy homemade Thai sweet chili sauce recipe here.

How to Make Crispy Thai Fish Sauce Wings

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

1. Place wings in a dish just big enough to hold them, or a ziptop bag, and add the fish sauce. Toss the wings to coat, and marinate for 20-30 mins, turning them half way though.
2. Pat the wings dry, and if you want you can pepper them at this point too. Then dust the rice flour over them so they are thoroughly coated.
3. Flip the wings and dust the rice flour over the other side.
4. Put the wings into the sieve and shake off excess flour.

5. Add oil into a 12-inch skillet it is about ¼ inch thick. One hot, lay the wings thick-skin side down and let them fry for about 4 minutes until they have a deep golden brown colour.
6. Flip the wings to fry the other side for another 2 minutes or so until they are cooked through.
7. When shallow frying, oil tends to jump more than when deep frying, so it's good to have a mesh guard!
8. Drain on paper towel and enjoy! They don't need a sauce, but if you want, they are great dipped in Thai sweet chili sauce.

How to Deep-Fry and Air-Fry Fish Sauce Wings

I love to shallow fry these wings because I get the crispiness of frying without having to deal with a lot of oil, though all the flipping can be a bit fiddly if you need to make multiple batches. You can deep fry and air fry these, with pros and cons below:

Deep Frying

How: Bring about 1 inch of oil to 375°F (190°C) over medium high heat. Fry the wings for 4-5 minutes until browned and crispy.

Pros: Fasting cooking time and not at all fiddly - you drop them in and let them go. This is the best option if you're making a large amount of wings. You can also use drumettes with this method.

Cons: Uses a lot of oil.

Air Frying

How: Place the wings in the basket, thicker-skin side up, and spray or brush the wings with oil. Air fry at 400°F (200°C) for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. I don't find it necessary to flip them as you want to maximize the crispness of the top side.

Pros: Convenient, we all love air fryers for a reason! It also allows you to use drumettes.

Cons: The result is fine, but the skin is not as crispy, so if you want maximum crispiness, stick with oil-frying. It also takes much longer per batch, so not ideal if you need to make multiple batches.

Advance Prep and Reheating Tips

You can marinate the wings one day in advance, and then then cook them before serving. If serving a party, you can also cook them in advance and then reheat close to serving time; they reheat very well!

To reheat: You can air fry them at 350°F(175°C) or bake them at 400°C (200°C) for about 8 minutes. You can also shallow fry or deep fry them again in a skillet, the way you did the first time.

Only Flats for Fish Sauce Wings!

The most interesting thing about many Thai wings recipes, this one included, is that they're almost always made ONLY with wing flats. No drumettes. Go to any Thai restaurant in Thailand, order fried wings appetizer, and you'll see for yourself.

For this recipe, using flats also allow us to get wonderfully crispy skin with shallow frying, no deep frying required! If you want to use drumettes, you'll need to deep fry them if you want them crispy, or air fry them if you don't need the crisp.

Personally think flats are the better part of the wings anyway, but I have to wonder...where do all the drumettes go?

One theory I have is that the drumettes all go to Thai KFC which makes these incredible spicy wings that use drumettes only, see my KFC Wingz Zabb recipe here. The drumettes are also often used in soups, such as this turmeric chicken soup, because they make for a super rich broth, and the meat is easier to remove with a spoon than the flats.

Recipe Card

Crispy Thai Fish Sauce Wings

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

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 6 mins
• Total Time: 36 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings

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Description

Salty, umami, crispy Thai wings are incredibly simple yet amazingly delicious. These are super popular appetizers in Thailand that can be easily made at home!

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Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) chicken wing flats (also known as wingettes)
• 1 ½ Tbsp (22.5 ml) fish sauce
• ½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground white or black pepper (optional)
• ¼ - ⅓ cup (30-40g) regular rice flour
• Optional: Sweet chili sauce for dipping, store bought or homemade

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Instructions

TIP: If shallow frying, I recommend using a mesh splatter guard. I find that shallow frying wings creates more aggressive splattering than deep frying.

1. In a dish just large enough to hold all the chicken wings in one layer, or in a zip-top bag, toss the chicken wings with the fish sauce well. Let the wings marinade for 20-30 minutes, flipping or stirring them half way through.
2. Remove the wings from the marinade and pat them dry with paper towel. If using, sprinkle ground pepper all over the wings and press it onto the skin.
3. Lay the wings in one layer on a plate and sift rice flour evenly over them, then flip the wings and sift the flour over the other side. Transfer the wings into the sieve and shake off any excess flour; you want the wings to be entirely coated with a thin layer of flour. (If making a lot you can just put the wings in a large mixing bowl and toss with rice flour, but for one batch I find this method is easy and uses less flour.)
4. At this point you can deep fry the wings, or shallow fry them as I did in the video. 
5.  To shallow fry, fill a 12-inch skillet with just a thin layer of oil, about ¼ inch deep. Once the oil is hot, place the wings, thick skin side down, and fly without moving them for about 4 minutes over medium heat until the skin has a deep golden brown colour.
6. Once the skin has developed a deep brown colour, flip and fry the other side just until the chicken in cooked, 2-3 more minutes. Don't worry about trying to get this side crispy, you don't want to fry for too long and overcook the chicken. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel.
7. To deep fry, heat the oil to 375°F and fry for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
8. To air-fry (not as crispy): Place the wings in the basket, thicker-skin side up, and spray or brush the wings with oil. Air fry at 400°F (200°C) for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. I don't find it necessary to flip them as you want to maximize the crispness of the top side.
9. Serve while still hot with a cold beverage! If you want, you can also serve with sweet chili sauce. 

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What is Kanom Gui Chai?

There are two types of kanom guichai ขนมกุ๊ยช่าย in Thailand. The classic version is the stuffed version, which is much harder because you have to make a dough and wrap the garlic chives inside. These are the ones I grew up eating, but after watching my grandmothers (both of them!) painstakingly make the dough (which is not easy) and wrap each dumpling (even more not-easy)...I had zero desire to go through the same ordeal, lol.

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Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients and important notes about them. Amounts and full instructions are in the recipe card below!

Dipping sauce

• Sugar
• Water
• White vinegar, or rice vinegar
• Sweet soy sauce, I use ABC kecap manis or Thai Healthy Boy Brand sweet soy sauce. You can also substitute dark brown sugar.
• Soy sauce
• Sambal oelek or minced Thai chilies. Can be omitted if you want to make this not spicy

How to Make Crispy Garlic Chives Dumplings

Here's a bird's eye view of the process. If this is your first time I recommend watching the video tutorial, especially so you can see the texture of the dough. Full instructions are in the recipe card below!

1. Place the chives in a mixing bowl, and add salt, sugar, soy sauce, baking soda, oil, white pepper and garlic, and mix until combined. Let sit for at least 20 minutes until the chives are wilted.
2. Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce by combining all ingredients and stirring until sugar is dissolved. This sauce will keep in the fridge for weeks!
3. Make the batter: Combine water, rice flour and tapioca starch in a pot and stir until there are no more lumps. Turn the heat on LOW and stir the mixture constantly with a spatula.
4. As the flour starts to cook and congeal into lumps, pull the pot off heat occasionally to smush any flour lumps against the sides to break them up. Continue stirring CONSTANTLY just until the mixture is thick enough that the chives can be evenly suspended in the batter (it can be thinner than in the pic). Remove from heat and continue stirring to break up any lumps of flour to make sure the consistency of the batter is even throughout.

5. Off heat, add the garlic chives into the batter until well combined.
6. Grease a 7-inch round cake pan with oil (or use any heatproof container). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth off the top.
7. Preheat a steamer with boiling water. If you're not using a bamboo steamer lid, wrap a towel around the lid of the steamer to prevent water from dripping onto the surface of the dumplings. Alternatively cover the dumplings with foil. Steam the dumplings for 15 - 20 minutes if using a 7-inch round pan, but this can be longer if you're using a smaller container (and therefore the batter is thicker). If you have an instant-read thermometer, the internal temperature of the middle should reach 190°F.
8. Let the dumpling cool completely then you can keep them in the fridge for up to a week until ready to eat.

9. When ready to eat, use an oiled knife to cut the dumplings into bite-sized cubes. If there is a lot of dough sticking to the blade between cuts, wipe it off and re-oil the blade.
10. To fry: In a non-stick pan, add just enough oil so it comes up just below half the height of the dumplings. Heat until hot and fry them until well browned and crispy, making sure to not let them touch while in the pan or they will stick together.
11. Flip and fry them on the other side until well browned.
12. Drain excess oil on a paper towel-lined plate and serve while they're hot and crispy with the dipping sauce!

Advance Prep Tips

These are the perfect make-ahead appetizers. You can steam the batter and keep it in the fridge. When ready to eat, cut and fry them up (or you can cut them in advance so all you need to do is fry!). The dipping sauce will also last you a long time in the fridge as well.

Can these be made in the air fryer?

The raw batter has to be steamed in a steamer, but you might wonder if the frying part can be done in an air fryer. I have tried this, and while it "works" it's really not as good because the dumplings came out not nearly as well browned and quite a bit drier.

But were they "fine"? They were fine. And if you're really not in the mood to pan-fry things and are willing to compromise on deliciousness, then here's what you do:

1. Toss the cut dumplings in a generous amount of oil.
2. Place them in an air fryer basket without letting them touch, then air fry at 400°F (200°F) for 4-5 minutes or until well heated through and slightly browned on the exterior. Don't try to cook them longer to get them more browned because they will dry out too much.

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Ingredients & Notes

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

• Pork loin, cut into 2-cm thick chops. Pork loin is common in Thailand but you can also use pork shoulder for a fattier cut, or pork tenderloin for something more tender. If you're using other kinds of meats, see my chicken satay recipe and my beef satay recipe. (see note)
• Coconut milk, for basting
• Bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 2-3 hours. If you forget to do this, it's not a big deal, just make sure you place a strip of folded foil under the skewer handles to protect them from heat (see video tutorial), and make sure the tip is not exposed.
• White bread, for serving, yes! You might be surprised but in Thailand it is very common for satay to come with toasted white bread. You dip the bread in the peanut sauce and eat alongside the satay, and if there's any sauce left after the satays are gone, use the bread to sop up the rest!

Satay Marinade

• Coriander seeds, toasted
• Cumin seeds, toasted
• White peppercorns
• Lemongrass, finely chopped
• Galangal, minced (optional)
• Chopped fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground clove
• Brown sugar, or white sugar
• Salt
• White vinegar
• Coconut milk

Real Thai Peanut Sauce

• Red curry paste, store bought is just fine. I recommend Maeploy, Aroy-D or Namjai. See this post for my review of different Thai curry pastes. You can also try using panang curry paste or massaman curry paste for a sauce with aroma of dry spices.
• Coconut milk, see my post for how to choose the best coconut milk.
• Roasted peanuts. I highly recommend buying raw peanuts and roasting them yourself for the best flavour. You can roast them in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size, and stirring halfway in between. Check them early and often to prevent burning.
• Toasted white sesame seeds, this is optional for added aroma, you can also substitute more peanuts.
• Fish sauce
• Finely chopped palm sugar, learn more about palm sugar here.
• Tamarind paste, store bought in a tub or homemade using this recipe. If buying, make sure it is tamarind from Thailand, which may be labeled as "concentrate". Learn more about tamarind here.

Quick Cucumber Pickle (Ajaad)

Ajaad is a quick pickle that is served alongside satay as a palate cleanser to cut the richness of the satay. If you're feeling lazy you can also serve Western cucumber pickle or gherkins instead.

• Cucumber
• Shallots
• Slices of Thai chilies, jalapenos, serranos, or fresno chilies, any kind of peppers will work here, and you can choose spicy or mild ones.
• White vinegar
• Granulated sugar
• Salt

How to Make Thai Satay & Peanut Sauce

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. The full recipe is in the recipe card below.

1. Cut the pork chops in half along the length of the fatty rind.
2. Then slice each piece along the short side into ¼-inch thick pieces.
3. Grind coriander, cumin seeds, and white peppercorns in a mortar and pestle until very fine, then add galangal, lemongrass and fresh turmeric (if using); pound until fine.
4. Add turmeric powder (if using), cinnamon, clove, brown sugar, salt, vinegar, coconut milk, and water; stir to mix well.

5. Pour the satay marinade over the meat, massage with your hands, making sure that no pieces of meat are stuck together. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours and up to overnight. (If you're in a rush, a 20 minute marinade will also be fine).
6. Meanwhile, make the peanut sauce by grinding the peanuts and sesame seeds (if using) into a fine meal in a food processor (do not let it become peanut butter).
7. Reduce ¼ cup of the coconut milk by about half, until it is quite thick.
8. A curry paste to the coconut milk and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes until it is very thick.

5. Stir in the rest of the coconut milk, ground peanuts and sesame seeds, fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind paste.
6. Simmer for a few more minutes until it has thickened into a dip consistency, stirring frequently to prevent the bottom from scorching. You might even see red oil floating on top, that is a good sign. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
   *If you want to make the cucumber pickle, make the pickling liquid now by combining all ingredients and cook just until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool.
7. Skewer the meat onto bamboo skewers, about 3 pieces to each skewer, and lay them flat on a tray and brush the top side of the skewers with coconut milk.
8. Place the skewers on the grill, coconut-nut-milk-side-down, and brush the top side with coconut milk. Placing aluminum foil under the skewer handles will prevent the skewers from burning.

13. Flip the skewers and grill the other side just until done. These are small and thin skewers and should only take a couple of minutes to grill, so watch them carefully and do not overcook them!
14. If making ajaad, place the cucumber, shallots, and chilies into a small serving bowl and pour the cooled vinegar mixture over it.

Recipe Card

Pork Satay and Authentic Thai Peanut Sauce

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

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Marinating time: 20 mins minimum
• Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 55 mins
• Yield: 4-6 Servings
• Cuisine: Thai

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Description

99% of satays in Thailand are made from pork, and this easy recipe will get you the real taste of Thai street food in your own home! The peanut sauce is made with freshly ground peanuts, no peanut butter (not a thing in Thailand) and the flavour will blow you away!

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Ingredients

• 1 lb (454 g) pork loin, cut into 2-cm thick chops, chicken, or beef (see note)
• ¼ cup (60 ml) coconut milk for basting
• Small 6-inch bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 2-3 hours
• 4 slices white bread, optional for serving

Satay Marinade

• 1 ½ tsp coriander seeds, toasted
• ½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted
• ¼ tsp white peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp lemongrass, from the bottom half, finely chopped
• 1 tsp minced galangal (optional)
• 1 tsp chopped fresh turmeric or ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp ground clove
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ Tbsp white vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• ⅓ cup coconut milk
• ¼ cup water

Peanut Sauce

• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) Thai red curry paste, store bought or homemade (see note 1)
• 1¼ cup (300 ml) coconut milk
• ½ cup (70 g) roasted peanuts
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) toasted white sesame seeds (or substitute 2 tablespoon more peanuts)
• 1-2 teaspoon (5-10 ml) fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) finely chopped palm sugar
• 2-3 tablespoon (30-45 ml) tamarind paste, store bought or homemade (see note 2)

Quick Cucumber Pickle (Ajaad)

• ½ cup quartered and sliced cucumber
• 1 Tbsp thinly sliced shallots
• 8-10 slices of spur chilies, jalapenos, serranos, or fresno chilies,
• ½ cup white vinegar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• a pinch of salt

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

Cut the pork chops in half along the length of the fatty rind. Then slice each piece, along the short side, into ¼-inch thick pieces so you end up with small rectangles. (If this is confusing, see video for a visual.) 

For the satay marinade:

Grind coriander, cumin seeds, and white peppercorns in a mortar and pestle until very fine, then add galangal, lemongrass and fresh turmeric (if using); pound until fine. Add turmeric powder (if using), cinnamon, clove, brown sugar, salt, vinegar, coconut milk, and water; stir to mix well.

Pour the marinade over the meat, massage with your hands, making sure that no pieces of meat are stuck together. Cover and marinate for at least 20 minutes, longer is better, and up to overnight. If marinating for longer than 1 hour, refrigerate.

For the peanut sauce:

In a food processor, grind the peanuts into a fine meal. If using sesame seeds, grind them into a fine meal using a spice/coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle, being careful not to over grind them into sesame butter.

In a small pot over medium heat, reduce ¼ cup of the coconut milk by about half. Add curry paste and cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes until it is very thick. If it thickens too quickly, add a splash of coconut milk to help loosen it up.

Stir in the rest of the coconut milk, ground peanuts, ground sesame seeds (if using), fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind juice. Simmer for a few more minutes until it has thickened into a dip consistency, stirring frequently to prevent the bottom from scorching.

Taste and adjust seasoning with more sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind juice as needed.

For the Quick Cucumber Pickle (Ajaad):

In a small pot, combine vinegar, sugar and salt; bring to a boil and cook just until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool completely.

Place the cucumber, shallots, and chilies into a small serving bowl and pour the cooled vinegar mixture over it. Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.

To Grill:

(Note: You do not have to grill these; I sometimes just sear the skewers on a skillet on both sides to get a nice browning on the meat.)

Preheat the grill to medium.

Skewer the meat onto bamboo skewers, about 3 pieces to each skewer, and lay them flat on a tray. Brush the top  side of the skewers with coconut milk, then place on the grill, coconut-nut-milk-side-down.

Brush the other side with coconut milk and grill for a minute or so just until it is halfway cooked.

Flip the skewers and grill the other side just until done. These are small and thin skewers and should only take a couple of minutes to grill, so watch them carefully and do not overcook them!

When ready to serve:

Finish the ajaad by pouring the cooled vinegar mixture over the vegetables. Place bread on the grill to toast (you can also just toast the bread in the toaster) and cut each piece of toast into 9 squares. Serve the grilled satay skewers on a platter alongside peanut sauce, ajaad, and toast.

Note: The toast is typically dipped into the peanut sauce, and the ajaad can be eaten in between bites as a palate cleanser or together with the satay.

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Notes

1. If using store bought curry paste, I recommend Maeploy, Aroy-D or Namjai brands. If using Maesri in little tins, increase the amount to 4 tablespoons.
2. If buying tamarind paste, make sure it is a product of Thailand or Vietnam, NOT INDIA. It should be a runny, brown paste. It is often labelled as "tamarind concentrate".

Ingredients

Here are all the ingredients you'll need, with a few important notes on some of them. For amounts, see the full recipe card below!

Magical Wingz Zabb Seasoning Powder

• Uncooked jasmine rice. This is for making toasted rice powder, an MVP ingredient in many Thai dishes. Other kinds of white rice will also work, but jasmine is the most aromatic.
• Makrut lime leaves, aka kaffir lime leaves. These are technically optional and I don't think KFC uses them, but it is highly recommended as I think it's one of the reasons why I think mine are better!
• Sugar
• Cayenne pepper, or another spicy chili powder. I use cayenne because it's already powdery fine, which is what we need so the seasoning powder adheres well. Always taste your cayenne pepper first to see how spicy it is though, because heat level varies significantly between brands. This will help you judge how much you should be adding.
• Paprika. You could do all cayenne for super hot wings, but because my cayenne is very hot I cut it with some paprika to make it milder, while keeping the colour and flavour. The ratio between cayenne and paprika is up to you, but keep the total volume of the combination of chili powders the same. (Do not use smoked paprika.)
• Lime juice powder (crystalized lime juice) If you've never used lime juice powder before, it is life changing. I have it on hand as a backup, or when I am just too lazy to deal with a fresh lime. It is especially useful for when you want the lime flavour and acidity, but not the liquid - such as in a seasoning powder! I wouldn't use it in drinks, but in dishes with enough competing flavours, the difference is hardly noticeable. In Canada I have only seen one brand, True Lime, but other brands will probably work. You can buy lime juice powder on Amazon or on iHerb.
  If you can't find lime juice powder, you can substitute the lemon version "True Lemon" instead, or you can try using citric acid, which is also sour but won't have any lime flavour. Note that I have not personally tried citric acid myself so you may need to taste and adjust the amounts.
• Table salt, or another equally fine salt so that it will measure the same.

For the Wings

• Chicken wing drumettes. I'm usually a flats person, but for this, because the seasoning powder is so intense, it's better to use drumettes which are meatier. For your leftover flats, use them in this amazing Fish Sauce Wings recipe!
• Fish sauce.
• All-purpose flour
• Cornstarch. Cutting the flour with a bit of cornstarch reduces gluten and creates a lighter, crunchier crust.
• Water. A drizzle of water gets added to the wings after dredging, and this causes some for the flour to clump up and creates that craggy crust which helps the seasoning adhere and adds crunch!

How to Make Wingz Zabb

Here's a bird's eye view of the process, but if it's your first time, I highly recommend you watch the video tutorial to ensure success!

1. Marinade the wings in fish sauce and let them sit while you make the seasoning powder.
2. Toast the jasmine rice and the makrut lime leaves over medium high heat; and once the lime leaves are dry and curled up, remove them from the pan.
3. Continue toasting the rice until the grains are dark brown.
4. Grind the rice and the lime leaves in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle until fine.

5. Add the salt, sugar, lime juice powder, paprika and cayenne pepper into the tosted rice powder.
6. Blitz for a few more seconds until very fine. There's your zabb powder, ready to be used on wings or anything else you want!
7. Whisk together the flour and cornstarch and add to the wings; toss to coat.
8. Drizzle about 2 tablespoon of water over the dredged wings and toss again. The water will cause some of the flour to clump, creating a craggy crust.

9. Heat the oil to 375°F (190°C) and add half of the wings, then reduce the heat to medium and keep frying for 6-8 minutes until done. Maintain oil temp between 325°F-350°F during frying.
10. Place the wings in a mixing bowl and immediately sprinkle about half of the zabb powder over them. Toss to get them mostly coated, but they don't need to be perfect right now.
11. Fry the second batch of wings and put them int othe same mixing bowl. Sprinkle MOST of the zabb powder over the new set of wings, reserving about 1 tablespoon, then toss everything together well.
12. The wings should be completely coated - if there are any blank spots, spoon the reserved powder directly over them. The colour of the wings will darken as the seasoning sinks into the wings. Allow to cool for a few minutes and dig in with a nice cold drink!

Leftover Wingz Zabb are milder...but how?

I was first very surprised to learn that my day-old reheated wings tasted much milder than fresh ones. Still very good, but the initial hit of flavour is wayyyyy less aggressive.

This is because with fresh wings, all the seasoning powder is sitting on the surface, so when you take that bite, your tongue is hit with all the flavours at once.

But as the wings sit, the seasoning will slowly sink into the wings, and the flavour will be distributed across the meat. (The wings are basically marinating.)

So, I recommend eating these fresh if possible. Leftovers are still good, but aside from the loss of crunch, they will also taste a bit milder.

How to Reheat Leftovers

Now that you have the right expectations, here's how to reheat the wings. Bake them in a 325°F (160°C) oven for 8-10 minutes. I keep the temp low because there is sugar in the seasoning, and temp that's too high will burn the sugar. You can also reheat them in the airfryer, and I would keep the heat even lower at 300°F (150°C).

Advance Prep Tips

If you want to serve these at a party, it is wise to do as much advance prep as possible. Here are the things you can do:

• Make the zabb powder a day in advance and keep it in a tightly sealed jar. The powder will technically last a long time since they're just dry ingredients, but the flavours of toasted rice and makrut lime leaves will fade over time so you don't want to do it too far ahead.
• Fry the wings up to 4 hours before serving. Leave them to sit at room temp and do not toss them in the seasoning yet. Leave the oil in the pot on the stove. When ready to eat, heat the oil to 350°F and re-fry the wings for 4-5 minutes per batch, and then toss them in the seasoning as per the recipe.
  Note: In terms of safety, the wings do not need to reach an internal temp of 165°F again for the second fry, but they should reach at least 135°F so they're hot enough for serving.
  The double frying will have an added benefit of making the wings extra crunchy, so you can also do this anyway if you have time. When double frying though be sure to let the wings cool completely before the second fry so that you don't overcook them.

What Else Can You Use the Zabb Powder For?

Once you've made the zabb powder and experience how good it is, you'll surely wonder...what else can I put this on?

Anything deep fried is the obvious answer. Potato wedges, fries, calamari, popcorn, and roasted nuts come to mind. Whatever it is needs to be a little bit oily on the surface, otherwise the powder will not stick; so oil your nuts before roasting them and butter your popcorn before tossing them in the seasoning.

I would also try tossing roasted vegetables in these. Brussel sprouts I'm sure would benefit, as will the humble roasted carrots.

MARINATED CHICKEN

The chicken can be marinated up to one day in advance; but if you're in a rush, just let them sit while you make the peanut sauce. A minimum of 20 minutes is ideal.

• coriander seeds, preferably toasted, but if you're lazy it's fine not to.
• cumin seeds, also preferably toasted.
• white peppercorns
• brown sugar
• salt
• ground turmeric
• ground cinnamon
• tamarind paste, store-bought or homemade
• coconut milk
• boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs. I suggest seeing the video tutorial for a demo for how I cut chicken so it's clear, but for breasts, cut into long ½-inch thick strips diagonally against the grain. For thighs, trim off the fat and any dangly bits, then cut in half lengthwise.
• Jasmine rice and/or white toast, for serving, and optional. If you want to serve these as an appy, eating it with white toast is actually a classic in Thailand! But to make this a meal you can serve with rice.

• roasted peanuts, unsalted. I always buy raw peanuts and roast them myself because the flavour is just superior to pre-roasted peanuts. I also buy skin-on peanuts because they, too, taste better despite a lot of work to skin them after. Roast them in a 350°F oven for about 15-20 minutes (timing depends on the size) until they're lightly browned.
• coconut milk
• Red curry paste, see this post for my review of store-bought brands. You can also make your own red curry paste and freeze!
• tamarind paste, store-bought or homemade
• Palm sugar
• fish sauce

1. Pound the coriander, cumin and white peppercorns into a powder.
2. Add all remaining marinade ingredients and mix well. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
3. Cut the chicken breast against the grain, diagonally, into ½-inch thick strips. Once you get to the flat part of the chicken, you can make it wider to even out the size. For chicken thighs, trim off excess fat and any dangly bits and cut horizontally in half. (See video for a visual of how to do this.)
4. Mix well with the marinade and let sit for at least 20 minutes and up to one day. Meanwhile make the peanut sauce.

5. Grind the peanuts until mealy in a food processor or mortar and pestle. Do not turn them into peanut butter!
6. Cook ⅓ cup of the coconut milk with the red curry paste until thick, and the coconut oil starts to separate out from the paste.
7. Add the remaining coconut milk, the peanuts, tamarind and palm sugar and cook for about 5 minutes until it's thick.
8. Taste the sauce and add fish sauce as needed. If you want to serve with pickles, make the pickling liquid now; instructions are in the recipe card, but you simply have to dissolve the sugar and salt in the vinegar and let it cool!

9. Grill the chicken breast for a few minutes per side with the lid open. If using chicken thighs, you may close the lid as they tend to take longer. You can also pan sear the chicken on a nonstick skillet instead.
10. If serving with the instant pickle, pour the pickling liquid over the cucumber shortly before serving so the cucumber remains crisp.