Crispy spring rolls are a classic appetizer available at most Thai restaurants, but most of the time they're "satisfactory" at best. That is, until I came across this recipe. And for the first time I realized how good the humble spring roll can be. 

I first encountered these while working at a Thai restaurant where they would make upwards of 500 of these every week because they were so popular. One auntie would work an 8 hour shift making ONLY these awesome spring rolls. I hung around her and learned all the tricks that I'm going to share with you.

I made some modifications to make them even better. As tasty as these were, being a small restaurant they had to be cost conscious, which reflected in the bulk of the filling being mostly noodles and cabbage. When we make these at home, we can load them up with more of the tasty stuff like shiitake mushrooms, other veggies, and even some meat!

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!

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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

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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.

The post Best Crispy Spring Rolls I've Ever Had appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

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.

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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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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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Don't let the amount of vegetables in this popular street food throw you off. I didn't love vegetables as a kid and I would devour these every time. Garlic chives become so tender they almost melt in your mouth, and with the soft & chewy dough that is crispy on the outside...and the sweet & sour dipping sauce...oh man...these are a MUST try.

Then there are these fried ones, which I only discovered later in life and fell in love with them immediately. They are a thousand times easier, but deliver the same flavours that I love in the classic ones. Instead of stuffing, the chives are mixed right into the batter, so no fiddly wrapping required! And IMO they're just as delicious if not more because they are crispy! Oh yeah, and it happens to be gluten-free and vegan and all that good stuff 🙂

Still have some leftover garlic chives from this recipe? Then it's time to make an authentic pad thai, or my best pork dumplings (gyoza)!

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!

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Crispy Garlic Chive Dumplings (Guichai Tod)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 7 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: Serves 4-5

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A popular Thai street food, these garlic chive dumplings are chewy in the middle and crispy on the outside, and the chives just melt in your mouth. Easy to make, and can be done ahead of time as well!

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Ingredients

Dumplings

• 230 g (½ pound) garlic chives
• 2 tsp sugar
• ½ Tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda (optional)
• 2 tsp neutral oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely grated or minced (can also sub a ¼ tsp garlic powder)
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• 100g rice flour
• 100g tapioca starch
• 1 cup (240 ml) water

Dipping sauce

• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp vinegar
• 1 ½ Tbsp sweet soy sauce (I use ABC kecap manis)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2-3 teaspoon sambal oelek or pounded or minced Thai chilies to taste

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Instructions

1. Cut about 1.5 inch off the bottom of garlic chives and discard. Some garlic chives can harbour a lot of dirt at the bottom between the leaves, if this is the case, shake them in a bowl of cold water to remove the dirt before using.
2. After washing dry off the chives as best you can! If there is a lot of water left in the chives it will make the dough mushy. I shake off the water as much as possible, (use a salad spinner if you have it), then lay them on a tea towel, cover them with another, and roll them gently between the two towels. 
3. After washing and drying the chives (see important note) cut the chives into small pieces, a little shy of 1 cm, and place in a mixing bowl. Add salt, sugar, soy sauce, baking soda, white pepper, oil and garlic and mix until combined. Let sit for at least 20 minutes or until the chives look wilted, and liquid has been drawn out of them.
4. Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce by combining vinegar, water and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add all remaining ingredients are stir to combine. This sauce will keep in the fridge for weeks!
5. 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. 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 (think Greek yogurt consistency), then remove from heat and continue stirring to break up any lumps of flour. Be careful not to cook the batter too much or you will have a hard time incorporating the chives into it.
6. Off heat, stir the chives into the batter until well combined.
7. Grease a 7-inch round cake pan with oil (or use any heat proof container of your choice, but smaller containers will increase cooking time). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth off the top.
8. 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 you can cover the pan with foil. Steam the dumplings for 15-20 minutes over rapidly boiling water, or until fully cooked. Timing will change depending on the container you're using and how thick the batter is. If you have a thermometer, the internal temp of the centre of the batter should reach a minimum of 190°F.
9. Let the dumpling completely cool, or chill until ready to eat (it'll be easier to cut when cold). You can keep it at this stage for up to 1 week. When ready to eat, run a knife along the sides and flip it out. Use a sharp knife, grease it with oil, and cut the dumplings into bite-sized pieces. If there is a lot of dough sticking to the blade between cuts, wipe it off and re-oil the blade.
10. Fry the dumplings: 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 on both sides until well browned and crispy, making sure to not let them touch while in the pan or they will stick together. Drain excess oil on a paper towel-lined plate.
11. Serve while they're hot and crispy with the dipping sauce!

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I have finally developed the dish deserving of the name "Hot Thai Chicken"! This fried chicken recipe has been simmering in my mind for a long time, and when I finally tested it out, it absolutely blew me away. The perfect mix of sweet, tart, spicy, sticky, crispy and tender...this sweet chili lime sauce would be good even on fried tofu or fish. This one is a must-try!

How to Make Hot Thai Chicken

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

1. Place chicken in a bowl, add the egg, 2 tablespoon of the cornstarch, and salt. Stir until well mixed and let sit while you prepare the sauce.
2. Cut the dried chilies into chunks. If you want to lessen the heat, remove the seeds. Grind the chilies into a powder in a coffee/spice grinder.
3. In a small pot, add the Thai chili paste, ground chilies, vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce, garlic, fish sauce, and water. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Let simmer for 4-5 minutes until thickened, stirring frequently (it should look too thick right now as we will thin it out later).
4. Turn off the heat and immediately add the minced makrut lime leaves, grated lime zest and stir to mix; the heat of the sauce will help infuse the lime. Once mixed, stir in lime juice. Keep covered while you fry the chicken.

1. Whisk together all-purpose flour and ¼ cup of cornstarch in a large mixing bowl. Add the chicken all at once, then toss the chicken in the flour until all pieces are well coated, making sure that no pieces are stuck together. If you want a thicker crust, drizzle a little water over the chicken and toss one more time, and the water will help the chicken pick up a little more flour.
2. Heat about 2 inches of frying oil to 375°F (190°C) in a pot or a wok. Grab a piece of chicken and gently shake off loose flour, then place it gently into the hot oil. Fry in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot. After 2 ½ - 3 minutes, the chicken should be golden brown and crispy—remove and drain on paper towel. Repeat until all chicken is fried.
3. Pour the sauce into a large mixing bowl, add the chicken and with a large spoon, quickly toss the chicken until all the pieces are coated in the sauce. If you start to feel like there isn't enough sauce to coat all pieces thoroughly, scrape the sauce off the sides of the bowl and your spoon, and this will stretch the sauce a bit further.
4. Serve immediately, on its own or with jasmine rice or sticky rice. Enjoy it, I know you will!

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Hot Thai Chicken! Fried Chicken in Sweet Chili Lime Sauce

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 12 reviews

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

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Ingredients

Fried Chicken

• 4 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, cut each thigh into 6-7 pieces
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp + ¼ cup cornstarch
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• Oil for frying

Sweet Chili Lime Sauce 

• 2 Tbsp Thai chili paste (nam prik pao, store bought or make your own)
• 4 large Thai dried chilies (see note)
• 1 ½ Tbsp vinegar
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 3 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, finely grated or minced
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 ½ Tbsp lime juice
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, center rib removed, finely julienned then minced into small pieces (see video for technique)
• Zest of ½ a lime (if you don't have kaffir lime leaves, use zest of 1 whole lime)

Note: You can substitute any other kind of dried red chilies, keeping in mind that the smaller they are, the hotter they tend to be. If you don't want to make it spicy, you can also use 2 teaspoon paprika powder instead. 

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Instructions

Place chicken in a bowl, add the egg, 2 tablespoon of the cornstarch, and salt. Stir until well mixed and let sit while you prepare the sauce.

Cut the dried chilies into chunks. If you want to lessen the heat, remove the seeds by sticking something thin (tip of your scissors or a chopstick) into the cavity of the chilies to loosen the seeds. Grind the chilies into a powder in a coffee/spice grinder or a mortar and pestle.

In a small pot, add all sauce ingredients EXCEPT lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, and lime zest. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Let simmer for 4-5 minutes until thickened, stirring frequently (it should look too thick right now as we will thin it out later).

Turn off the heat and add the kaffir lime leaves, lime zest and stir to mix; the heat of the sauce will help infuse the lime. Once mixed, stir in lime juice. Keep covered while you fry the chicken.

Heat about 2 inches of frying oil to 375°F (190°C).

While the oil is heating, whisk together all-purpose flour and ¼ cup of cornstarch in a large mixing bowl. Add the chicken all at once, then toss the chicken in the flour until all pieces are well coated, making sure that no pieces are stuck together. If you want a thicker crust, drizzle a little water over the chicken and toss one more time, and the water will help the chicken pick up a little more flour.

To fry: using tongs, grab a piece of chicken and gently shake off loose flour, then place it gently into the hot oil. Fry in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot. After 2 ½ - 3 minutes, the chicken should be golden brown and crispy—remove and drain on paper towel. Repeat until all chicken is fried.

Pour the sauce into a large mixing bowl, add the chicken and with a large spoon, quickly toss the chicken until all the pieces are coated in the sauce. If you start to feel like there isn't enough sauce to coat all pieces thoroughly, scrape the sauce off the sides of the bowl and your spoon, and this will stretch the sauce a bit further.

Serve immediately, on its own or with jasmine rice! Enjoy it, I know you will!

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Many people go to Thailand, fall in love with the amazing street food, and then come home craving those flavours. While many Thai street food dishes are not easy to replicate at home as they require unusual tools, hard-to-find ingredients, or special skills, so many others absolutely doable!

All you need are the right instructions, and that's what I'm here for. Enjoy!

1. Thai Fried Chicken - Hat Yai Style

In Thailand, fried chicken is street food, not something you order in a restaurant. The best ones comes from unassuming carts. My goal for this recipe is to prove to you that Thai fried chicken is the best in the world, no exaggeration 😉. Specifically, Hat Yai style fried chicken; Hat Yai being my hometown in southern Thailand.

I’ve had fried chicken from all over the world, and I still haven't experienced one better than ours. Read on, then try the recipe (it's really quite easy) and see if you agree!

2. Authentic Thai Drunken Noodles - Pad Kee Mao

Pad kee mao ผัดขี้เมา or drunken noodles is stir fried noodles with holy basil and lots of chilies. It's a cult-favourite Thai street food. The combination of chewy fresh rice noodles, the epic savoury sauce, and the fragrance of holy basil ... there is nothing quite like it and it never gets old.

3. Easy Hainanese Chicken Rice - Khao Mun Gai

Khao mun gai is a serious contender for a last meat for me. This street food is ubiquitous in Thailand, and you can find it at just about any food court in any mall.

For this at-home recipe, I use chicken pieces instead of whole chickens that street food vendors use, so cooking time is greatly reduced without compromising the flavour at all. After discovering this weeknight-friendly method, I have not gone back to the whole-chicken method yet!

4. Easier & Healthier Pad Thai with Glass Noodles

Classic pad thai with rice noodles is not an easy dish - definitely not something that I would recommend beginners start with. First timers often end up with mushy, clumpy, broken, or undercooked noodles. But here's a variation of pad thai that uses a noodle that is easier to work with and healthier: glass noodles. It's a different texture, but I promise the taste is just like the classic pad thai!

5. Authentic Thai Pork Satay & Peanut Sauce

Thai satays can be found all over the streets of Thailand, and they're almost always made from pork. The peanut sauce in this recipe is so good you can put it on anything you like, however, few people know that in Thailand, this peanut sauce is only used on satays, and we do NOT put peanut butter in it (or in anything else for that matter!)

If you don't eat pork, I also have a recipe for beef satay, and for a weeknight friendly version, try my no-skewer chicken satay.

6. Authentic Thai Pad See Ew

Pad thai may have all the fame, but Thai food lovers know that pad see ew is where real noodle bliss is at. This pad see ew recipe is tried and true, and I promise it'll rival anything you've had at Thai restaurants! It's a quick and simple dish, but you need to know some tricks to achieve perfectly seasoned, not-broken rice noodles with that smokey wok char.

7. Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

The ultimate love child of street food and comfort food. If you like pho, this is very close to it but with Thai flavours! Well balanced flavours with lots of textures going on...topped with crispy garlic...this ain't your mama's chicken noodle soup! Haha, that is definitely true for my mama, although my GRANDmama would make something like this often. This is probably the easiest noodle soup you could make at home, especially once you've mastered the art of Thai style chicken stock.

8: Tom Yum Noodle Soup

When you go to Thailand, sitting at a noodle shop on the street somewhere, please order yourself a tom yum noodle soup if they have it. This is not the famous "tom yum soup" that you might know…the one with lemongrass, galangal, and shrimp. Nope, this is something else that's equally delicious.

9. Holy Basil Chicken Stir-Fry - Pad Gaprao (Pad Kra Pao)

This popular Thai dish has many English spellings: Pad Kra Pao, Pad Ka Prao, Pad Ka Pow, Pad Krapow...etc. No matter how you spell it, they all point to this same delicious, rustic, spicy stir-fry featuring the aroma of holy basil. For a truly classic way to serve this dish, pour it over rice and top with a fried egg!

If you want to make pad gaprao using different kinds of protein, check out my formula for turning anything into pad gaprao!

10. Sukiyaki Stir Fry - Suki Hang

Sukiyaki is obviously a Japanese dish, but this particular recipe is very much unique to Thai cuisine. Here's the story. Sukiyaki is a Japanese hot pot, and Thai people took the inspiration and started making our own sukiyaki hot pot served with a spicy, flavourful red sauce that's more suited to the Thai palate.

Over the years, people realized that the sauce for the hot pot would also make a great stir fry, and suki hang or "dry suki" was born!

11. Khao Soi: Thai Curry Noodle Soup

Regional Thai food isn't very well known, but khao soi, egg noodles in aromatic curry broth, is an exception. Because Northern Thailand is such a popular tourist destination, this Northern Thai curry noodle soup has become popular amongst foreigners.

Some might even say if you visit the North of Thailand and didn't eat khao soi, you didn't really make it there! It's a truly unique dish, and with this recipe you can recreate the experience of Northern Thailand at home.

12. Chinese BBQ Pork Rice - Kao Moo Dang

This dish is the epitome of "Thai street food". If you wanted kao moo dang you can walk into any food court and you're guaranteed to find a vendor. At the basic level it's just Chinese BBQ pork (char siu) on rice, but what makes this dish unique to Thailand is the savoury-sweet gravy studded with roasted sesame seeds.

13. Thai Banana Pancakes (Banana Roti)

Thai roti is one of THE most popular snacks/desserts amongst visitors to Thailand! You can see roti carts at many tourist attractions around the country, and nowadays, vendors offer so many different filling options like bananas, chocolate sauce, nutella, apples, etc. which, by the way, were not available when I was a kid. If you go to non-touristy parts of Thailand you may still see some old-school roti vendors that still don't offer many fancy fillings.

With this recipe, you can recreate this popular snack at home. It does require some technique, so I highly recommend you watching the video tutorial to ensure success!

14. Thai Coconut Pancakes - Kanom Krok

These famous little Thai coconut pancakes are one of the most popular street foods in Thailand. So much so that even Trader Joe's now sells frozen kanom krok, and Thai people all over the US are going crazy over them!!

They're so incredibly tasty that I seek them out every single time I go to Thailand...it's an absolute must-have for me. You do need to get a special pan for it, but it's not expensice, and the treat will be well worth it, I promise!

15. Thai Iced Tea

Thailand has one famous (non-alcoholic) drink, and this is it: Thai iced tea. The orange coloured sweet concoction is so good it feels like it should be dessert. A lot of times I find restaurants make it too sweet, so I actually prefer making my own so I can make it exactly how I want it. If you love Thai tea and you're a coffee drinker, you're also going to love this easy Thai iced coffee!

The post 15 Thai Street Food Recipes You Can Make At Home appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

I LOVE me some crispy pork belly, I mean, who doesn’t? But if you’ve ever tried to make the Chinese style crispy pork belly with the bubbly skin, you know it’s not a quick and easy thing. Even with my recipe, which is one of the simplest out there, it's a 2-day process.

So THIS recipe, is much simpler. It's a Thai style fried pork belly that is unbelievably good, and it's only going to take you 30 minutes. I made this for a Thai friend, and after one bite and he said, "You need to sell this!" It was THAT good!

What is Thai Style Crispy Pork Belly?

Most people are familiar with the Cantonese style crispy pork belly or siu yuk, where the crispy part is the skin. The whole piece of pork is meticulously prepped and roasted; and when done well you get puffy, bubbly crispy skin.

This Thai style is called moo saam chun tod nam pla, which means "fish sauce fried pork belly." People do it in many different ways in Thailand, but the secret to deliciousness here is the fish sauce which goes incredibly well with pork.

It's coated lightly with flour, and even though it has no skin, there is a light crispness from the flour that gets double fried. It is 100x easier and faster than the crispy skin one, and though not as impressive looking, is no less delicious. In fact, some would even prefer this one!

In Thailand this would be considered a gub glam or "drinking food." Something munchy that goes very well with a cold drink, such as a beer! You might also find it sold by street vendors with sticky rice, and it makes a great breakfast for folks to grab on their way to work.

Ingredients

Here are all the ingredients you'll need with important notes. As you can see you don't need much at all! For amounts, see the full recipe card below.

• Pork belly. We don't need the skin for this recipe, so if your pork has skin, buy a little extra to account for the lost weight of the skin that will be removed. Look for center cut pork belly which has a more even layer of meat throughout. I try to look for pieces with more meat and less fat, but that's up to your preference.
• Fish sauce. The main seasoning for this and the reason why it is SO good! Here's my post all about fish sauce and how to choose a good one.
• Sugar. A little to balance the saltiness, and it will also help with the browning.
• Ground white pepper. Black pepper is also fine.
• Cornstarch. For the crisp coating.
• All-purpose flour. If you need this to be gluten free you can use all cornstarch, but the flour does help with the browning as well.

How to Make Crispy Pork Belly

Here's a bird's eye view of the process, for the full instructions see the recipe card below. I also recommend watching the video tutorial before you start in order to ensure success!

1. Pat the pork dry and remove the skin from the pork belly (if any).
2. Cut the pork into 1-inch wide strips, then cut each strip into ¾ inch thick pieces.
3. Add the fish sauce, sugar and pepper to the pork pieces and massage for a minute or so until there is no more liquid pooling in the bowl.
4. Combine the cornstarch and flour and sprinkle over the pork.

1. Toss until all the pieces are evenly coated in the flour. Carefully check that none of the pieces are sticking together! Let it sit while you heat up the oil.
2. Heat 1 inch of frying oil to 350°F (175°C) and fry half of the pork for 2 minutes then remove from the oil - the pork will not be done at this point. Allow to cool on a tray while you fry the second batch.
3. Once the pork is no hotter than lukewarm, bring the oil temp up to 385°F (196°C) and fry the pork again for about 90 seconds or until the pork is well browned.
4. Remove and drain on a paper towel; repeat with the second batch. Allow to cool slightly before eating because the fatty part is VERY HOT!

Tips for Success

There are a couple of things that are important to your success:

• Don't fry the pork immediately after dredging. The flour needs at least 5 minutes to absorb the moisture on the pork which will help it adhere. If you fry as soon as you dredge, a lot of the flour will fall off the pork as soon as it hits the oil. Your pork won't have as nice of a crust, and you'll have a ton of flour in your frying oil. I recommend dredging before you heat the oil, or immediately after the oil starts heating, so the pork can sit while you wait for the oil.
• Let the pork cool before the second fry. If you don't let the pork cool enough, the pork will overcook during the second fry. The cooler the pork, the larger the window you have for the second fry before the pork overcooks. Room temp is ideal, but lukewarm is fine.
• Don't make the pieces too big or too small. If you cut the pork too big, you won't have as high of a crust to meat ratio. If you make the pork too small you'll overcook it in the time that it takes the crust to crisp. I found that 1 inch x ¾ inch (and whatever height of each pork piece) is ideal.

Advance Prep Tips

This is a crowd pleaser and something I encourage you to make for a party! It's also very easy to make in advance, and there are a number of things you can do:

• Marinate the pork up to 1 day in advance.
• Do the first frying a few hours before serving, and let the pork sit at room temp. Fry them the second time right before serving.
• If you don't want to have the oil sitting around, do both rounds of frying, let them sit at room temp, then when ready to serve reheat them for a few minutes in the air-fryer. This re-crisps them back up nicely too.

FAQ

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30-Min Crispy Pork Belly Thai-Style

No more tedious hours of prep, this crispy pork belly needs just 30 minutes, and the result is freakishly good. Double fried for a crisp crust, and fish sauce adds umami magic. As my friend said after one bite, "you need to sell this."

Course Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Pailin Chongchitnant

Ingredients

• 1 lb pork belly, skinless see note 1
• 1 ½ tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour see note 2
• 2 tablespoon cornstarch
• Frying oil as needed
• Nam Jim Jeaw optional dipping sauce

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Pat the pork belly dry as much as possible with a paper towel, then remove the skin with a sharp knife, leaving as much of the fat on it as possible (unless you want to remove some of the fat).
  1 lb pork belly, skinless
• Cut the pork into 1-inch wide strips, and then cut each strip into pieces about ¾-inch thick. (The pork will shrink after frying so the final pieces will be smaller).
• Place the pork into a large mixing bowl and add the fish sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Use your hand to massage the pork and mix all the seasonings. Keep massaging for a minute or so until you no longer feel the grains of sugar, and there is no more fish sauce pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
  1 ½ tablespoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• In a small bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and the cornstarch and mix well. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pork and mix well, making sure none of the pieces are sticking together. You want a light and even coating on all the pieces. Let it sit for 5 mins or so while you heat up the oil.
  2 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoon cornstarch
• Add at least 1 inch of frying oil to a wok or a medium pot and heat it to 350°F (175°C) for the first fry.
• First Fry: Add half of the pork, placing it in the hot oil one piece at a time to ensure they are not sticking together. Fry for 2 minutes (time this). Maintain the heat of the oil between 300-350°F during the frying; on my electric stove I keep it on medium high, but it will vary from stove to stove.
• Remove the pork promptly and place on a plate to cool until it’s no more than lukewarm before frying them a second time. Repeat with the second batch, being sure to bring the oil temp back up to 350°F before frying.
• Second Fry: Once the pork is cool, bring the oil temp up to 385°F(196°C) over high heat. Add the pork all at once and fry for 70-90 seconds, or until the exterior is a deep golden brown. You can fry them for a maximum of 2 minutes; beyond this the pork will become too dry. Remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Be sure to bring the temp back up to 385°F before frying the second batch.
• Allow the pork to cool for a few minutes before digging in as the fatty part of the pork is VERY hot out of the fryer!!

Video

Notes

1. The weight given is for skinless pork belly. So if the pork you buy has skin, buy at least 1.2 lb/550g (add 20%) to allow for the weight of the skin. Also, choose pork belly with an even amount of meat throughout the piece (center cut).
2. To make this gluten free, sub the all-purpose flour with the same amount of cornstarch. 

The post 30-Minute Crispy Pork Belly appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

This post is sponsored by Pine Brand Glass Noodles.

Why These Are 100x Better Than Takeout

• Actually flavourful filling. Too many takeout spring rolls are filled with bland noodles and measly shreds of carrots and cabbage. Not these. The filling is packed with tons of veggies and are so perfectly seasoned I sometimes just eat the filling straight up. This is a vegan filling that super tasty, but if you eat meat also check out these classic pork spring rolls and green curry spring rolls as well!
• Dipping sauce not necessary. Most takeout spring rolls are nothing without the sauce. Not these. The sweet-tart sweet chili sauce recipe adds a nice contrast, but these are so flavourful that you can do without.
• Secret ingredient: Taro root! Taro and deep fried foods are a match made in heaven. It adds a unique aroma and a slight creaminess that makes these feel substantial even without any meat.
• Umami and texture. Two types of mushrooms add umami and lots of texture to keep things interesting.

Ingredients for Veggie Spring Rolls + Important Notes

• Glass noodles. The best quality glass noodles are made from 100% mung bean starch, such as Pine Brand (our sponsor!). The noodles have a nicer chewy texture, and are more resistant to overcooking and tearing than ones made with a mixture of starches. Here are some of my other glass noodles recipes.
• Dried shiitake mushrooms. Use dried, not fresh, as they have more umami and are chewier. Not to mention the soaking water is very flavourful and is used as part of the recipe.
• Dried black fungus mushrooms. Also known as wood ear or cloud ear mushrooms, they provide a lovely crunchy texture. You can get them julienned or whole at most Asian grocery stores, but they can be omitted if not available. Also try using them in this ginger chicken stir-fry recipe!
• Taro root. Taro is a root vegetable that cooks up creamy similar to russet potato, but with a unique flavour and aroma that work in both savoury and sweet dishes. If you can, choose the larger taro root, which are creamier, rather than the small hairy ones. Asian stores often sell them pre-cut into chunks. Make sure you wear gloves when peeling taro btw as they can irritate your skin. If you've got taro leftover, use it in this Filipino sour soup recipe (sinigang) or Thai black sticky rice pudding.
• Neutral oil for cooking the filling
• Garlic
• White or black pepper
• Julienned cabbage
• Julienned carrots
• Soy sauce
• Sugar
• Salt
• Cilantro stems
• Green onions
• 8-inch spring roll wrappers for standard size, or 6-inch wrappers for mini spring rolls
• All-purpose flour or an egg for sealing the wrapper
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Sweet chili sauce, for dipping, store bought or homemade (it's very easy to make!)

How to Make Vegetable Spring Rolls

Check out detailed recipes in the recipe card below, but here's a bird's eye view of what you'll need to do.

1. Saute garlic and pepper in oil until golden and aromatic.
2. Add carrots, cabbage and taro.
3. Add rehydrated shiitake mushroom and cook until veggies are done.
4. Add the glass noodles, cilantro stems and seasonings.

5. Stir fry the filling until the noodles are fully cooked. Let cool to lukewarm.
6. Wrap the spring rolls using a little more than ¼ cup of filling per an 8-inch wrapper (see the video tutorial for a demo on how to wrap spring rolls).
7. Use a flour slurry or a beaten egg as the glue to seal the wrapper.
8. Ready to fry or freeze!

9. Fry spring rolls at 350°F (175°C) for about 5 mins, or 7-8 minutes if frying from frozen.
10. They should be a deep golden brown and the bubbles should only be coming out the ends, not from the surface of the spring rolls
11. Drain on paper towel or a rack and let cool for a few minutes before cutting and eating.
12. Cut them on a diagonal for a pro look!

Storing Leftovers

You can freeze uncooked spring rolls in a freezer bag for a few months, and fry them directly from frozen whenever you're ready to eat for fresh-like-new crispiness. They will take just a few minutes longer to fry.

If you have leftover cooked spring rolls, just keep them in the fridge and they will last up to a week. To reheat, you can bake them in a 350°F (180°F) oven for 8-10 minutes until the outside is crispy and the inside is heated through. They can also be reheated in toaster ovens and the air fryer.

Frequently Asked Questions About Spring Rolls

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Ultimate Crispy Veggie Spring Rolls

These vegan spring rolls are made special with the addition of taro. They're so flavourful no sauce is required, but to take it to the next level serve with Thai sweet chili sauce! 

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12 large spring rolls

Author Pailin Chongchitnant

Ingredients

• 0.5 oz (about 4 medium pc) dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated see note
• 0.25 oz dried black fungus mushrooms rehydrated, see note
• 1.4 oz dry glass noodles (1 small pack)
• 2 tablespoon neutral oil
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• ½-1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper see note
• 5.3 oz (2 cups) finely julienned taro root
• 5.3 oz (1¾ cups) finely julienned cabbage
• 4.3 oz (1 cup) packed julienned carrots
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• 8-10 cilantro stems finely chopped
• 2 green onions chopped
• 12-14 pieces large 8-inch spring roll wrappers or 24 pieces 6-inch ones.
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or 1 egg for sealing the wrapper
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Sweet Chili Sauce for dipping, store bought or homemade

Notes: 

• You can soak the shiitake and black fungus together in hot off-the-boil water for about 15 minutes. If you have at least 2 hours you can soak them in room temp water. Wash mushrooms before soaking.
• If you’re serving kids 1 teaspoon of pepper might be a bit much so I'd use only ½ tsp.

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Remove mushrooms from the soaking water squeezing out excess water from the shiitake mushrooms (and do not throw away the soaking water). 
• Soak glass noodles in the mushroom water, adding more tap water as needed to submerge the noodles. Soak for 7-10 minutes until softened.
• While the noodles soak, remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms and finely chop the caps. Finely dice the black fungus; if you find any hard parts (that's the root end) cut around them and discard. Place the mushrooms in a large bowl together with the taro, cabbage and carrots. 
• Once noodles are done, drain the water but do not throw it away (yes, we're STILL going to use this!). Don't toss the noodles so that the strands remain in alignment for easy cutting. Use scissors to cut the noodles into 2-inch pieces.
• In a wok or a large non-stick saute pan, add the oil, garlic, pepper and saute for about 2 minutes over medium heat or until the garlic starts to turn golden.
• Turn the heat up to medium high and add the mushrooms, taro, cabbage, carrot and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce; cook for 3-4 minutes until the taro is done. You can tell that the taro is getting close to done when some of the pieces start to break; you can then taste to see if they're cooked through.
• Add the glass noodles, cilantro stems, the remaining soy sauce, sugar, and about ¼ cup of the mushroom soaking water. Toss until the noodles are fully cooked, adding a splash more of the mushroom water if needed.
• Toss in the green onions and remove from heat. Taste the filling and add the salt if it needs it. (I find it usually does need the extra salt, but it’s always good to taste first).
• Transfer the filling into a large, shallow bowl and spread it out so it can cool quickly. 
• While the filling is cooling, peel the wrappers apart so it will be easier when you wrap. (Spring roll wrappers tend to stick together a bit right out of the package.)
• For the spring roll wrapper glue, you can use a beaten egg, or for a vegan glue, mix the all-purpose flour with an equal amount of water so you have a thick but spreadable paste.
• To wrap, follow the instructions in the video. Use a little more than ¼ cup of filling per roll if using a large (8-inch) wrapper. At this point you can freeze the spring rolls and fry them directly from frozen.
• Heat 2-3 inches of oil in a wok or a pot to 350 F. Add the spring rolls, a few at a time so as to not crowd the pot. Fry on medium heat for about 5-6 minutes until golden brown and crispy. You can tell that the surface are crispy when the bubbles are only coming out of the ends, not the surface (more on this in the video). If they are frozen they may take 7-8 minutes.
• You can also bake them: Brush them generously with oil all over and bake (better if you have a rack) at 425°F (convection if you have it) for about 25 minutes or until they’re golden and crispy. If you don’t have a rack, flip them over half way through so they brown evenly. If after 25 minutes you still want them to be more brown, you can put them under the broiler for a minute or so per side; watch them carefully!  (They will be lighter in colour than the deep fried ones but will still be crispy.)
• For air-frying: I have not done this personally, but other sources say to brush them with oil and air fry them for 7-8 minutes at 350°F. 

Video

Also check out...

The post Ultimate Veggie Spring Rolls appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

What Exactly Are KFC Wingz Zabb?

Fast food chains in Thailand regularly come up with menu items that are locally unique, using ingredients and flavours that Thai people love. Most of these are one-offs and don't last, (RIP McDonald's green papaya salad), but once in a while an item really strikes a chord with the people, and it becomes part of the permanent menu.

That's the story of Wingz Zabb. They were first introduced in 2004, and 20 years later...here they still are. Because they're SO GOOD. KFC Thailand has introduced other chicken wing menu items, including their version of fish sauce wings, but they did not stick.

The magic is in the spicy, zingy seasoning powder that coats the wings. They’re SO loved, in fact, that many people have tried to decode the recipe, and now you can buy bags of copycat "Wingz Zabb powder" in grocery stores in Thailand! Even Lays Thailand has made Wingz Zabb flavour chips that I am very sad I missed.

I've been wanting to make these myself for a long time, but I was waiting for one more trip to Thailand so I could refresh my memory of the original flavour before I attempted my version. That trip just happened, I ate them again, and here's the recipe. I'm confident in saying that it is even better than the original. But YOU try it and let me know what you think!

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!

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!

Can these wings be done in an air fryer?

Air fryers are essentially a convection oven, so they will not give you that thick, KFC-craggy crust that we want for these. So the short answer is no. But if you want to air fry the wings and toss them in the seasoning powder anyway, you can do that of course, just know that it won't be the same!

BUT if you're going to air fry the wings, do not dredge them in the flour because the flour will not "fry" and will remain floury. You'll have to air fry the wings naked, and this is why they'll end up being very different.

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Spicy & Zingy Thai Wings (KFC Wingz Zabb)

Thai KFC has the best wings tossed in a magical, spicy, zingy seasoning powder. Many have tried to decode the recipe and now you can buy bags of copycat "Wingz Zabb seasoning powder" in stores! Here's my homemade version that I think is even better, and feel free to sprinkle it on anything else you can think of!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 3 servings

Author Pailin Chongchitnant

Equipment

• Coffee grinder OR...
• mortar and pestle
• Instant-read thermometer optional, but very useful for monitoring oil temp and checking chicken doneness

Ingredients

Magical Zabb Seasoning Powder

• 1 ½ tablespoon uncooked jasmine rice
• 2 makrut lime leaves optional but highly recommended
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoon paprika (see note 1)
• 2 ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or another spicy chili powder (see note 1)
• 1 teaspoon lime juice powder I use True Lime brand (see note 2)
• 1 ½ teaspoon table salt or another equally fine grain salt

Fried Wings

• 1 ½ lb chicken drumettes
• 2 tablespoon fish sauce
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 2 tablespoon water
• Frying oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Trim any flappy bits of skin off the drumettes then place them in a mixing bowl. Add fish sauce and mix well. Let sit while you make the Zabb Powder, or about 20 minutes, stirring them halfway through.
  1 ½ lb chicken drumettes, 2 tablespoon fish sauce

For the Zabb Powder

• In a small skillet, add the jasmine rice and the makrut lime leaves (if using) and toast them over medium high heat, stirring constantly. After a few minutes, the lime leaves will looks dry and curled up; at this point remove only the leaves from the pan so they don't burn. Keep toasting the rice until the grains are dark brown and remove from the pan immediately. The whole process should take about 5 minutes, and it will get a bit smokey, so make sure you have good ventilation.
  1 ½ tablespoon uncooked jasmine rice, 2 makrut lime leaves
• Grind the toasted rice and lime leaves in a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle into a fine powder - you want this very fine because any chunky pieces will not stick to the wings.
• Add the cayenne, paprika, lime powder, sugar, and salt into the toasted rice and grind for 5 more seconds or so, until everything is a fine powder. Remember to let the dust settle before opening the lid, and don't put your nose right on top of it!
  2 ½ teaspoon paprika, 2 ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon lime juice powder, 1 ½ teaspoon table salt, 1 tablespoon sugar

Fry the wings

• Whisk together the AP flour and cornstarch until well combined, then add to the marinated wings. Toss to coat, making sure the wings are not sticking together.
  ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup cornstarch
• Drizzle the 2 tablespoon of water over the wings and toss again; the added water will allow some of the flour to clump up, creating a craggy texture on the wings which will add crunch and help the seasoning adhere.
  2 tablespoon water
• In a wok or a medium sized pot, heat about 2 inches of frying oil to 375°F (190 °C). Add the wings to the hot oil without crowding the pot (this amount should take 2 batches) and lower the heat to about medium. As you fry, you should aim to maintain the temp so it’s sitting between 325°F-350°F. Fry for about 6-8 minutes depending on the size of the wings.

  Note: Internal temperature should register at least 165°F, but for wings I like to go for at least 175°F to make sure any blood left in the veins (common in wings) are cooked off. Note that wings are SAFE to eat at 165°F, but the blood can still appear red at this temp and freak some people out.
  Frying oil
• Remove the first batch of wings from the oil and place into a large mixing bowl. Turn the heat down to the lowest for now, and sprinkle about half of the Zabb powder evenly over the wings then use a spoon to toss to coat. If there are big blank spots, spoon some powder directly over them, but you don't need to be perfect at this point as we still have a second batch coming.
• Bring the oil temp comes back to 375°F, fry the second batch, then add them to the first batch of wings. Sprinkle MOST the remaining zabb powder on them, keeping about a tablespoon behind. Toss well, trying to get all areas covered, and if you see any blank spots spoon the powder that you held back directly over them.
• Allow to cool for a few minutes before eating so you don’t burn yourself! And make sure you have a nice cold drink to go with them cuz the flavours are INTENSE!
• *If you find the flavour of the wings too strong, you can try increasing the amount of toasted rice powder to 2 tablespoon which will mellow out the flavours. Alternatively try reducing the amount of lime powder slightly and make them a little less acidic.

Video

Notes

1. I use a 50/50 ratio of cayenne (spicy) to paprika (mild), but you can change this ratio depending on how spicy your cayenne is and how hot you want the wings to be. BUT keep the total amount for both to 5 teaspoons so you don't affect the concentration of other seasonings. You can also change the cayenne to other kinds of spicy chili powder.
2. True Lime is the only brand of lime powder I've seen, and it's available online and also in supermarkets. If you have other brands it'll probably work, but for reference, ½ teaspoon of True Lime is equivalent to 1 tablespoon of lime juice.

The post Zingy & Spicy Thai Wings Recipe (KFC Wingz Zabb!) appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

Deep fried ice cream is a wonderful oxymoronic recipe. A hot, crispy, chewy crust surrounding the creamy cold treat is just delightful. The method in this fried ice cream recipe is the way Thai people do it, which happens to be the easiest and most genius way I've ever seen.

I discovered this technique when I worked as a server at a Thai restaurant where it was a very popular dessert, and when I saw how they made it I was shocked how easy it was!

Ingredients

There are only 2 ingredients for the fried ice cream itself is very simple, so to help jazz it up I've also included a delicious pineapple caramel sauce that goes very well with it.

• Ice cream, any flavour will work, you can also mix ingredients in such as cookie bits to make it more interesting.
• Soft, white sandwich bread, square shaped and not too thick. Asian bakeries usually sell the perfect bread for this.

Pineapple Coconut Caramel Sauce

• Canned pineapple
• Palm sugar or granulated sugar
• Coconut milk
• Butter
• A dash of cinnamon for serving (optional)

Other Toppings/Sauce Suggestions:

Honestly, the fried ice cream is great as is, maybe with a little whipped cream on top. But you can turn it into an ice cream sundae with some of these ideas:

• Nutella or chocolate sauce, crushed nuts & sautéed bananas
• Chunky strawberry sauce or another fruit sauce
• Condensed milk with Ovaltine or Milo powder for an Asian style sundae!

How to Make Fried Ice Cream

Here are the steps, but if it's your first time I highly suggest watching the video tutorial for the technique as it is much easier to understand once you see it visually.

1. Scoop out ice cream into balls and place on a plate; freeze for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
2. Trim crust off of the bread, making sure you trim off enough that there aren’t any denser part of bread left on (see video). Roll the bread out with a rolling pin to flatten slightly. You may need to roll out the edges more to get them to flatten.
3. Have a 12-inch sheet of plastic wrap ready on the counter. Place a piece of bread on the plastic and then put the ice cream on the bread. Use your hand to bring the corners of the bread up around the ice cream.
4. Place the other piece of bread on top, matching corners of the top piece with “valleys” of the bottom piece. Press bread around the ice cream, making sure there are no uncovered areas (it won’t stay wrapped at this point, don’t worry).
5. Wrap the whole thing in the plastic wrap tightly, bringing corners of the plastic up and twisting the wrap to secure bread onto ice cream. You want this tight! Freeze for at least 6 hours.

To fry the ice cream:

1. Add enough frying oil to a small pot so that it will keep the ice cream ball submerged. Heat the oil to 375°F (190°C). If you're not using a deep fryer, I recommend using a thermometer because it's crucial that the oil is hot enough. Oil that's too cold will result in oil bread, and if it takes too long to brown and the ice cream will melt.
2. Fry the wrapped ice cream until golden brown, this should take about 30 seconds, and no more than 40 seconds. Serve immediately with sauce of your choice.

To make the pineapple caramel sauce:

1. Heat palm sugar over medium heat in a small pot until melted and caramelized into a dark amber colour, stirring frequently to even out the colour.
2. Add the coconut milk (it will bubble aggressively) and pineapple juice. Keep cooking until the sugar dissolves and sauce has reduced into a thin caramel sauce consistency. 
3. Add the pineapple pieces and cook for 2-3 more minutes in the sauce, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted. Let cool before serving.

How Does Deep Fried Ice Cream Work?

How can ice cream be deep fried without melting? There are many ways to do deep fried ice cream, but the principles are all the same. You wrap or coat a scoop of ice cream in a crust of some sort, then you freeze the whole thing until it is as cold as it can possibly be. You then fry the ice cream in high heat for a very short time so the crust will brown and crisp before the ice cream has a chance to melt. Et voila!

So there are 3 keys to the success of deep fried ice cream:

1. The crust has to be something that browns very quickly.
2. The oil has to be hot enough to quickly brown the crust.
3. The ice cream has to be very cold.

If you got these 3 things, you will be able to have cold and creamy ice cream surrounded by a crispy, browned crust!

Other Methods of Deep Frying Ice Cream

A quick search through the internet will reveal a few other ways to make deep fried ice cream. Many people will do the egg-breadcrumb or egg-cornflakes crust, and I've also seen a recipe that use pound cake as the crust.

This bread method, however, is the easiest of them all, and it's easy enough that you can get kids to participate in as well. (But don't let them do the frying unattended!!)

*Extra Goodies for Patreon Members: In this episode's bonus content I share a quick recipe that turns the leftover bread crusts from this recipe into yummy little sweet treats! Also, I'll share an idea for another snack my mom used to make using plain sandwich bread. Click here to find out more about becoming a Patreon member!

Can I use different flavor of ice cream?

Yes, all flavours of ice cream will work for this, and you can even change it up by folding in ingredients such as cookie bits, chopped chocolate, or sprinkles right into the ice cream before you freeze the scoop.

Can I make this recipe in advance?

Obviously you need to fry the ice cream right before serving, but you can wrap the ice cream in the bread in advance and have them ready to go in the freezer, in a freezer bag, for up to 3 months.

Tips for Perfect Fried Ice Cream

• Use bread that is square shaped, not one with a rounded top, because it will make wrapping much easier.
• Trim off enough of the crust so that the denser part close to the crust is removed. You want to end up with bread that has the same density throughout.
• Sticky with bread that is soft and fluffy and not too thick (even whole wheat is fine), usually ones from Asian bakeries will be perfect for this.
• When scooping the ice cream, try your best to keep it round.

What to do with the leftover frying oil

You might feel uneasy with the amount of oil needed to fry the ice cream, BUT you can reused it all! Each scoop of ice cream only takes 30 seconds to fry, with no debris left in the oil, so your oil will end up in great, almost-new condition.

Once you're done frying, let it cool, then keep it in an airtight container in a cool dark place and reuse for cooking or frying anything else.

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!

Fried Ice Cream Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 5 min
• freezing time: 6 hours
• Cook Time: 5 min
• Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
• Yield: 1 serving

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Description

The easiest recipe for fried ice cream you will find. It takes 2 ingredients, but the result is indulgent and satisfying. Try serving it with the pineapple caramel sauce to jazz it up!

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Ingredients

• 1 scoop of ice cream (see note)
• 2 pieces of soft, thin sandwich bread, square shaped (see note)
• Lots of frying oil

Toppings/Sauce Suggestions:

• Pineapple coconut caramel sauce with cinnamon sprinkles (recipe follows)
• Nutella or chocolate sauce, crushed nuts & sautéed bananas
• Chunky strawberry sauce or another fruit sauce
• Condensed milk with Ovaltine or Milo powder

Pineapple Coconut Caramel Sauce

(In the video I only made half this amount)

• 1 cup canned pineapple pieces (see note)
• 4 Tbsp pineapple juice (from can)
• ½  cup palm sugar
• ½  cup coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp butter
• A dash of cinnamon for serving

Ingredients & Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

1. Scoop out ice cream into balls and place on a plate; freeze for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
2. Tip: If you want to fold other ingredients into the ice cream, such as chopped chocolate or cookie bits, scoop ice cream into a pre-frozen ceramic bowl, then quickly stir in mix-in ingredient and reshape into a ball. Freeze for at least 30 minutes or until firm.
3. Trim crust off of the bread, making sure you trim off enough that there aren’t any denser part of bread left on (see video). Roll bread out with a rolling pin to flatten slightly. You may need to roll out the edges more to get them to flatten.
4. To wrap ice cream: Have a 12-inch sheet of plastic wrap ready on a work surface. Place the firmed ice cream on top of a piece of bread and bring the edges up around ice cream.
5. Place the other piece of bread on top, matching corners of the top piece with “valleys” of the bottom piece. Press bread around the ice cream, making sure there are no uncovered areas (it won’t stay wrapped at this point, don’t worry).
6. Wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap tightly, bringing corners up and twisting the wrap to secure bread onto ice cream. You want this tight! Freeze for at least 6 hours. Note: You may be able to get away with less time, but I have never tried frying ice cream that has been frozen for less than 6 hours, so I don’t know what the true “minimum” is. This will also depend on how cold your freezer is.
7. While ice cream freezes, prep sauce and toppings.

To make the pineapple caramel sauce:

1. Heat palm sugar over medium heat in a small pot or a saute pan until melted, stirring frequently. Once melted, keep heating and stirring until it caramelizes into a dark amber colour.
2. Add coconut milk (it will bubble aggressively) and pineapple juice. Keep cooking until the sugar dissolves and sauce has reduced into a thin caramel sauce consistency. 
3. Add the pineapple pieces and cook for 2-3 more minutes in the sauce, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.
5. Let cool before serving. It will thicken a bit more once cooled.

To fry the ice cream:

1. Add enough oil to a small pot so that it will keep the whole ice cream ball submerged.
2. Heat the oil to 375°F. It is important that you are sure the oil is hot enough. If the oil is too cold the bread won't brown fast enough and the ice cream might melt. Too-cold oil would also result in an oily crust. I recommend using a deep fry thermometer.
3. Fry the ice cream just until golden brown, this should take about 30 seconds only, and no more than 40 seconds.
4. Serve immediately with sauce of your choice.

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Notes

• Any flavour ice cream will work for this. Also, you can mix in other ingredients to create more interesting flavour combinations, for example: red bean paste in matcha ice cream, cookie pieces in vanilla ice cream, or cheese cake pieces in strawberry ice cream.
• Choose bread that is not too thick (see thickness in video) and make sure it is a square shape. I find bread from Asian bakeries work best for this as they tend to be square shaped and has the right thickness. Avoid bread with a "mushroom top" shape, as the irregular shape will make it harder to wrap.

The post The Best Fried Ice Cream appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

Jump to video!

While you might think of fried wontons as something you get at a Chinese restaurant, they're actually quite popular in Thailand. The flavour of Thai wontons are slightly different from Chinese ones, and the dipping sauce that we use is also different - spicier, more sour, as one would expect!

Ingredients

Here are ingredients you'll need to make fried wontons:

• Garlic
• White peppercorns
• Cilantro roots or cilantro stems
• Ground pork, preferably not lean
• Soy sauce
• Oyster sauce
• Cornstarch
• Sugar
• Green onion, finely chopped
• Toasted sesame oil, optional
• Wonton skins, store bought
• Sweet chili sauce for serving, store bought or homemade
• Sriracha for serving

How to Make Fried Wontons

Here's a brief overview of the steps for making fried wontons, but be sure to watch the full video tutorial to ensure success, and follow the detailed recipe card below when ready to cook!

1. Pound the garlic, peppercorns and cilantro stems or roots into a paste.
2. Combine the herb paste with the pork, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch, sugar, and sesame oil.
3. Once mixed well, stir in the green onions.
4. Wrap the wontons, following the steps shown in the video.
5. Heat frying oil to 325 °F (160 °C) and deep fry the wontons for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
6. The wontons should be golden brown, keeping in mind they will darken every so slightly once they come out. The bubbling of the oil should start to subside, which tells you they're crispy. Fish them out using tongs or a spider strainer.
7. Let the wontons cool slightly, and in the mean time mix up the Thai-style dipping sauce by stirring the sweet chili sauce and the sriracha together, or you can try another sweet and sour sauce, such as plum sauce.
8. Enjoy warm or recently room temp.

Dipping Sauce for Fried Wontons

You can simply use Thai sweet chili dipping sauce to dip by itself, which you can make or buy, but I recommend stepping it up a notch by combining it with sriracha hot sauce. It'll be spicier, more tart, less sweet, and better at cutting the grease of these deep fried snacks.

You might already have both sauces in the fridge, which makes it easy, but if not, they're easy to buy or you can also make them using my recipes:

See Also: Thai Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce Recipe and Thai-Style Sriracha Recipe

Fried Wonton Wrapping Tips

1. If you've seen the 5 Ways to Wrap Wontons Video, I do not recommend "The Ruffled Purse" for frying because that leaves the filling exposed to the oil, and if using "The Pyramid" do not make them fat and chubby like the one I showed in the video, keep the filling to 1 tsp! 
2. Do not overstuff (no more than 1 teaspoon of filling per piece) as the wrappers only take 30 seconds to 1 minute to fry, so there won’t be time to cook a big ball of filling.
3. When you fold wontons, get out as much air as possible before sealing them otherwise you will get big bubbles when you fry them! (See video for an example)

Changing up the filling

There are many fried wonton recipes, but if you look them up in the context of Thai cuisine, they're most likely going to be pork.You can also do a combination of pork and shrimp, which is quite common in Thailand as well. If you want to use chicken instead, just make sure you use ground chicken with some fat mixed in so you get a moist filling (or grind your own using thigh meat).  Beef and other red meat fillings are not usually done in Thailand, and if you want to make something similar to the original, don't go with beef as beef has a strong flavour. This is not to say that it won't be good, but it will be significantly different from the classic version.

Tips for making wontons in advance

Fried wontons are perfect party food, but nobody wants to be wrapping wontons day of the party! Well the good news is you can wrap them the day before, and even upto 2 days as long as your pork was fresh. Wrap them well in the fridge, and comes time to serve you simply need to fry them, which takes a mere minute!

Can you freeze wontons?

Yes, frozen wontons cook up perfectly. The only thing to keep in mind is when wonton wrappers are frozen, especially thin ones like the one I like to use, they become super brittle and the edges will break off very easily. So be careful how you store them in the freezer. Place them carefully in a container, maybe add some bunched up paper towel in it to provide some cushioning. And don't toss the box around once they're frozen!

Frequently Asked Questions

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

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Fried Wontons Recipe - เกี๊ยวทอด

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

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Yield: About 40 pieces

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Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ tsp white peppercorns
• 2-3 cilantro root or 6-8 cilantro stems, chopped
• 250 g regular ground pork
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 small green onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp sesame oil, optional
• Wonton wrappers, you'll need about 40, so 1 pack is plenty

Dipping Sauce

You can simply dip them in the Thai sweet chili sauce (store bought or use this recipe here), but for something a little tangier, spicier, and less sweet, try this combo!

• 3 Tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce
• 2-3 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce (see note)

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Instructions

1. Using a mortar and pestle, grind garlic, peppercorns and cilantro stems or roots into a fine paste.
2. If your mortar is big enough to mix everything in, you can continue the recipe in the mortar, otherwise transfer the herb paste into a mixing bowl.
3. Add the pork, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch, sugar, and sesame oil (if using) and mix thoroughly.
4. Once mixed well, stir in the green onions.
5. Wrap the wontons, following the video instructions above, or try other shapes as shown in my 5 Ways to Wrap Wontons video. I do not recommend "The Ruffled Purse" for frying because that leaves the filling exposed to the oil, and if using the "pyramid" do not make them fat and chubby like the one I showed in the video, keep the filling to 1 tsp! Wonton wrapping tips: Do not overstuff (no more than 1 teaspoon of filling per piece) as these only take 1 minute to fry, so there won’t be time to cook a big ball of filling. Make sure you get out as much air as possible before sealing the wontons otherwise you will get big bubbles when you fry them! (See video for an example)
6. Heat about 1.5-2 inch of frying oil in a pot, heat the oil to 325 °F.
7. While you wait for oil to heat, mix up the dipping sauce by stirring the two sauces together. Taste and adjust the flavour by adding more of either sauces—more sweet chili sauce for a sweeter sauce, and more sriracha for something spicier and tangier.
8. Fry the wontons for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the wrappers are golden and the bubbling starts to subside (a sign that the wrappers are crispy.) Keep the heat low, if your oil temp is too high the wonton wrappers will burn before the filling cooks.
9. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

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Notes

1. Different brands of sriracha vary in terms of spiciness and tanginess, so start with 2 tablespoon and go from there. If you find the dipping sauce too strong, you can also thin is out with a little water.

The post Crispy Fried Wonton Recipe with Sweet Chili Sauce เกี๊ยวทอด appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

These pork meatballs are so tasty, easy and kid-friendly. For the adults, I recommend some sweet chili sauce to take it up a notch. They make the perfect party appetizers and can be prepped ahead of time. They can also accommodate a few modifications as discussed in the FAQs below.

Be sure to watch the full video tutorial before you start to ensure success, as I often include additional tips you might find useful.

A favourite of Thai children everywhere

This dish in Thai is called "moo tod woonsen" which means "glass noodles fried pork". It's a popular dish for kids in Thailand, and is often served in school cafeterias because it's a satisfying item that's not spicy. (And also...what kid doesn't love meatballs?!)

A plain version without glass noodles also exists, but I prefer these because of the added texture and crispiness - and also because these are more cost effective!

Why add noodles to meatballs?

If adding noodles to meatballs is an unfamiliar concept to you, let me convince you as to why it's a great idea. Glass noodles do a few things in meatballs:

1) They lighten the meat mixture. So you can actually snack on a bunch of these without feeling instantly full. 

2) When fried, the noodles on the exterior become crispy. No need to mess with panko or any other breading.

3) They add a fun texture, especially when you first bite the meatballs! You can feel them pull and tear, no wonder kids love them!

4) It's a great way to reduce cost! The noodles help extend the meat without introducing any new flavours.

5) They reduce the number of calories per meatball...not that this would make them "low calorie" by any stretch of the imagination!

But why glass noodles?

If you're thinking about substituting other noodles, hold up. There's a reason - many reasons actually - we only use glass noodles for mixing with meat instead of rice or wheat/egg noodles. 

1. Glass noodles have a completely neutral flavour.

So they will not impart any flavour of their ow,n and are only there to serve the purposes above. If it weren't for the texture, you wouldn't even know they were there.

2. They cook perfectly inside the meatballs.

This is probably the most important reason: glass noodles can simply be added raw (but rehydrated), and they will cook perfectly as the meatballs cook. They also do not overcook easily, making them essentially foolproof. Adding rice or wheat noodles would not be nearly this straightforward.

3. They keep the "meaty chew".

You might think this is similar to adding breadcrumbs to meatloaf or meatballs, but it's actually quite different. When you add breadcrumbs, they "merge" into the meat and cause the mixture to become softer and have a finer texture. Glass noodles on the other hand remain separated from the meat, and so the meat retains its satisfying meaty chew.

4. They are extremely resilient.

You would have to work really hard to break glass noodles, even when rehydrated. So you can mix it in and knead as much as your heart desires, and they will still remain intact.  

Ingredients You'll Need

Here are all the ingredients you'll need. See the FAQ for some substitutions information.

Step-By-Step:

Here's a bird's eye view of the process, but be sure to check out the full video tutorial in the recipe card below to ensure success!

Pro Tip: Prepping Noodle Meatballs in Advance

These make great party appetizers! And there are many ways you can prep these ahead of time:

- The meat mixture can be made 1 day in advance and kept in the fridge. You can also form it into balls ahead of time and keep them all on one layer so they don't get squished.

- Cook them up a few days in advance. Though the crispy texture is best when freshly fried, if you're short on time on serving day you can quickly reheat cooked meatballs in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 5-8 minutes - depending on their size and how cold they were to begin with.

- For long term storage, you can freeze cooked meatballs for a few months and reheat them in a 350°F (175°C) oven. This will probably take 12-15 minutes, but I have not tried it myself (yet).

Frequently Asked Questions

Like this recipe? You'd also love these!

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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Crispy Meatballs with Glass Noodles & Sweet Chili Sauce

Noodles IN meatballs! If you haven't tried it, get ready to be blown away. Glass noodles give texture, lightness, and a crispiness on the exterior (no need to mess with breading!). They're so delicious and kid-friendly, but adults can add some sweet chili sauce to take it up a notch!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 16 meatballs

Calories 100kcal

Author Pailin Chongchitnant

Ingredients

• 1.4 oz dry glass noodles
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon white peppercorns
• 6-8 cilantro stems or 3 cilantro roots, chopped
• 1 lb ground pork (see note 1)
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 egg large or medium (see note 2)
• 3 tablespoon cornstarch (see note 3)
• 1-2 green onions chopped
• Frying oil as needed
• Thai sweet chili sauce for serving
• cucumber slices for serving (optional)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Soak glass noodles in room temp water until pliable - about 7-10 minutes, though this may take longer if the brand's noodles are thicker.
  1.4 oz dry glass noodles
• Meanwhile, pound the garlic, peppercorns and cilantro stems into a fine paste in a mortar and pestle.
  5 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon white peppercorns, 6-8 cilantro stems
• Put the ground pork in a mixing bowl and add the herb paste. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, egg and cornstarch. Knead with your hands for a few minutes until thoroughly mixed and the mixture becomes thicker than when it started. Once ready, the mixture will seem soft but should be able to hold its shape; if not, you can add a bit more cornstarch.
  1 lb ground pork, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 egg, 3 tablespoon cornstarch
• Drain the glass noodles and place them on a towel to absorb excess water. Use scissors to cut the glass noodles into 2-inch pieces.
• Add the glass noodles and chopped green onions into the mixture and mix just until the noodles are well distributed.
  1-2 green onions
• Form the meatballs into roughly 1.5 inch balls; tucking in any long pieces of noodles that protrude out. If you see any green onions sitting on the surface you can push them inside so they will not burn or fall off during frying - though this is not a big deal if you don’t have the patience! If you want, you can dip your hands in water and the meatballs will not stick to your hands and will be smoother, but I prefer them to stick to you a bit as they get a more interesting rough surface.
• Heat about 1.5 inch of frying oil in a pot or wok to about 325°F. Add the meat balls one at a time; you can even crowd them a bit here as they will not get oil-soaked even if the temperature drops a lot. Let them fry for about 20 seconds to firm up and gently stir to make sure they’re not sticking. Fry them for about 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the internal temp is 160°F (71°C) - or you can cut one open to check doneness. Remove from the oil and drain on a rack or paper towel.
  Frying oil
• Allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before serving. They’re great on their own, but better with sweet chili sauce and a side of fresh cucumber.
  Thai sweet chili sauce, cucumber slices

Video

Notes

1. Ground chicken or turkey can be substituted, but  make sure it is made from dark meat with enough fat in it, otherwise it would be too lean and dry. Ground beef can also be used.
2. Extra large eggs might make the meat mixture too wet, which means you might have to add a little more cornstarch to keep the mixture firm enough to form into balls.
3. You can substitute equal amounts of potato starch or tapioca starch. To sub all-purpose flour, use 1 ½  tablespoon to start and add more only if the pork is too soft to form into balls. 

Nutrition

Calories: 100kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 115mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 24IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Crispy Meatballs with Glass Noodles & Sweet Chili Sauce appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

When I think about Thai street food, these fried bananas, gluay kaeg กล้วยแขก in Thai, are among the first foods to come to mind. Firm, slightly sweet bananas are coated in a super crunchy sesame coconut batter, it's the perfect snack that stands on that delicious line between salty and sweet. Every year I go back to Thailand, and every year I make sure I get myself some fried bananas. They're THAT good.

To be clear, these are not like the tempura-style fried bananas with ice cream that you find in many American Thai restaurants - those aren't a Thai thing. This recipe is for the real deal Thai bananas you find on the streets of Thailand, and they are more of a snack than dessert. Oh and this recipe is naturally gluten free :).

While you've got the frying oil out, also try this easy Thai-style fried ice cream!

Thai Fried Bananas Recipe

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Thai Fried Bananas (gluay kaeg)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 7 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Yield: 24 pieces

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Description

Authentic street style Thai fried bananas. Chewy bananas in a gluten-free crunchy coconut sesame batter are a classic Thai snack. Use sweet plantains if you can't find Thai bananas, and enjoy them while they're fresh! 

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Ingredients

• 2 sweet plantains or 6 namwa bananas (see note)
• ⅓ cup shredded coconut, dried, fresh, or frozen (see note)
• ¾ cup rice flour
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ Tbsp white sesame seeds, toasted
• ⅓ cup of water
• oil for frying

Kitchen Tools & Ingredients I Use

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Instructions

1.  In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine rice flour, sugar, toasted sesame seeds, salt, baking powder and shredded coconut. Add water and stir until well combined.
2. If using plantains, peel and cut them crosswise into 3 equal sections, then slice each section horizontally into 4 pieces. If using namwa bananas, peel and cut lengthwise into ¼-inch thick pieces.
3. Add about 1½ inches of oil to a pot and heat to about 325℉ (160℃). Dip the bananas into the batter and fry for about 5 minutes, until they are a deep brown colour. Maintain the frying temperature below 350℉ (175℃). When done, let drain on paper towel or a rack. Note: Based on your first batch, you can decide if you want a thicker or thinner coating by adding more flour or water. 
4. Let bananas cool for several minutes before serving and the coating will crisp up once cooled.
5. Serve as soon as they are cool and crisp.

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Notes

• Choose plantains whose skins have turned at least 60% black so they will be sweet (the more black on the skin, the sweeter the plantain). If using namwa bananas, choose ones that are almost ripe—mostly yellow with a hint of green. In Thailand, we also fry taro and sweet potato in this batter, which make for delicious savoury snacks!
• If using dried shredded coconut, make sure it is unsweetened, and mix with 2 tablespoon (30ml) of hot water for 10-15 minutes to rehydrate before using.

The post Thai Fried Bananas (gluay kaeg) appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

What is Thai Fried Chicken?

While this particular style of fried chicken originated from Hat Yai, it's now made all over Thailand because it's that good, (and therefore I'm simply calling them Thai fried chicken going forward). It's so popular that Lays Thailand now makes "Hat Yai Fried Chicken" flavour potato chips!

Thai fried chicken has a few unique features:

1. The marinade/brine - a unique combination of Thai ingredients give them a distinct flavour; and in my version, the added water acts as a brine, which flavours the meat all throughout, so the meat and the crust are flavourful.
2. The crust - unlike American style fried chicken, these do not have a thick, chunky, craggly crust. It's a thin and crispy crust that enhances, but doesn't overpower, the meat's wonderful flavour.
3. The fried shallots - these sweet, crispy flakes of fried shallots compliment the chicken, sweetens the sticky rice, and takes the dish to the next level. You can make uber tasty Thai fried chicken without the shallots, but you cannot call it Hat Yai fried chicken without them.

Ingredients

Here are all the ingredients you'll need for Thai fried chicken. As you can see, it's really all quite basic, but the result will surprise you.

Note: Some people add spices like cumin and coriander seeds to their Hat Yai fried chicken marinade, but the version that I grew up with doesn't have any spices, which I prefer (biased, I know). I also find this simpler version to be a better "everyday" fried chicken that can go with any side dish, Thai or not.

• Bone-in skin-on chicken - I only use thighs, drumsticks and wings. You can use breasts if you like them, but many chicken vendors in Thailand only sell dark meat because breasts can easily become dry. If buying wings, get whole rather than split wings for the more authentic Thai look.
• Garlic
• Cilantro stems or roots
• White or black peppercorns
• Sugar 
• Soy sauce - This is one recipe where I strongly recommend getting Thai Healthy Boy Brand soy sauce; either the mushroom flavoured or the regular one. But if you can't find it, other kinds of light or regular soy sauce will work.
• Fish sauce
• Water
• Rice flour
• Crispy fried shallots - homemade or store bought. If using store bought the shallots can be a little stale, so please see my trick for refreshing and improving them in the recipe card. If making your own, check out this in-depth guide to making fried shallots to ensure success!
• Sticky rice for serving - this is optional but recommended for the Thai experience. Here are 7 different ways to cook sticky rice.

How to Make Thai Fried Chicken (Hat Yai Style)

Here's a bird's eye view of the process, but please watch the full video tutorial to ensure success before you start!

Prepping the Chicken Marinade

1. Pound peppercorns, garlic and cilantro stems until fine.
2. Add sugar and swirl with the pestle to dissolve the sugar and grind the herbs further.
3. Add soy sauce and fish sauce.
4. Add the water and mix.

5. For drumsticks, make two incision into the thickest part of the meat, one on each side of the leg.
6. For thighs, make two incisions on either side of the bone.
7. Pour the marinade onto the chicken and mix well.
8. Allow to marinate for at least 4 hours, (preferably overnight), flipping halfway though. Bring the chicken out at least 30 minutes before frying.

Frying the Chicken

9. Add rice flour to the chicken (still in the marinade) until you have a thin batter that thoroughly but lightly coats the chicken.
10. In a wok or a large heavy-bottomed pot heat about 2 inches of oil to 375°F (190°C) and add as many pieces of chicken as will fit without crowding.
11. Let the temperature drop to about 300°F ( 150°C) and adjust the heat to maintain it there. Flip the chicken regularly until well browned, and remove them when the internal temperature reaches 175°F (79°C) for dark meat and wings, and 155°F (68°C) for breast.
12. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before eating!

To Make the Crispy Fried Shallots

Making homemade fried shallots isn't hard, but you can absolutely use store bought to save time if you'd prefer. But if buying, make sure you use my trick below for refreshing them and they will be 10x better than right out of the bag!

Note: Making fried shallots can be a bit tricky, so below is just an overview of the process - but be sure to watch the video tutorial for details to ensure success, or check out this post for an in-depth discussion on fried shallots!

1. Salt the shallots lightly and toss to mix. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow the salt to draw out the water.
2. Spread the shallots out onto paper towel, and press another piece on top to dry them.
3. Fry on low heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown and the bubbling has mostly subsided.
4. Scoop them out and drain on paper towel.

Recipe Tips

Here are a few tips for success!

• If using store-bought fried shallots, they are usually a bit stale as they were fried long ago. Refresh them by baking them in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 5 minutes. They will be crispier and ever so slightly darker, and 10x more delicious!
• If making your own fried shallots, fry them in the same oil that you use to fry the chicken, so the chicken picks up some shallot flavour in the oil.
• Pull the chicken from the fridge at least 30 minutes and up to 90 minutes from the fridge before frying. If they go into the oil fridge-cold they will take a very long time to cook and you'll risk overcooking the exterior.
• Choose smaller chicken. Factory-farmed chicken these days can be massive, and in N. America they're much bigger than Thai chickens! If possible, choose smaller chicken and you'll be rewarded with a higher crust-to-meat ratio, and it'll take less time to fry. If the thighs are very big, consider trimming some meat off the sides and frying these off as snacks.

Best Sides for Thai Fried Chicken

You can eat Thai fried chicken with anything you normally love with fried chicken, but for the authentic Thai experience, the following are the classic side dishes.

Thai Sticky Rice

Sticky rice is an absolute must-have whenever Thai people eat fried chicken. While we eat jasmine rice with most meals, the heft and chewiness of sticky rice can better hold up to big pieces of meat than the lighter and fluffier jasmine rice.

It's theoretically optional, but you will never find a fried chicken vendor in Thailand, Hat Yai or otherwise, that doesn't also sell sticky rice. Here are 7 different ways to cook Thai sticky rice!

Green Papaya Salad

Thai cuisine is all about balance, and to balance the salt and fat in fried meats, we turn to green papaya salad or som tum. This is THE salad Thai people eat with any kind of grilled and fried meats.

If green papaya isn't available, replace the green papaya with a coleslaw mix of cabbage and carrots. Or try a similar recipe, like this Thai corn and cucumber salad, that uses a similar dressing and technique.

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. You can also watch it on my YouTube channel!

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Thai Fried Chicken - Hat Yai Style

Hat Yai fried chicken started out in southern Thailand, but has become beloved all over the country. With a light and crisp crust, flavourful marinade, and crispy fried shallots, these are easily the best fried chicken in the world.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Marinating time 4 hours hours

Servings 3 servings

Author Pailin Chongchitnant

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lb bone-in, skin-on chicken (see note 1)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 8 cilantro stems chopped
• ¾ teaspoon white peppercorns or black
• 2 ½ teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoon Thai soy sauce (see note 2)
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup rice flour
• Oil for frying (see note 3)
• Fried shallots store bought or recipe below (see note 4)
• Sticky rice for serving (optional)
• Sweet chili sauce for dipping (optional, see note 5)

Fried shallots

• 3 heads shallots or however much you want
• a pinch salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To prep the chicken:

• For drumsticks, score the thickest part of the meat on either side of the chicken, about 1 cm deep, to help the marinade penetrate and to help it cook faster. 

  For thighs, trim off any hanging excess skin, then flip the chicken so the meat side is up, then make a 1 cm incision on either side of the bone (this is the thickest part of the meat).
  1 ½ lb bone-in, skin-on chicken

For the marinade:

• Pound white peppercorns until fine, then add garlic and cilantro stems and pound into a fine paste. Add sugar and swirl the pestle around to help further grind the herbs.
  5 cloves garlic, 8 cilantro stems, ¾ teaspoon white peppercorns, 2 ½ teaspoon sugar
• Add fish sauce, soy sauce, and water and stir to mix; then pour into a large zip-top bag or a mixing bowl. Add the chicken, mix well, and let marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Flip the chicken half way through.
  2 tablespoon Thai soy sauce, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, ½ cup water

For the fried shallots:

• Slice shallots evenly, crosswise, into 2mm thick pieces and place them in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and give it all a toss to mix, then let it sit for about 10 mins. The salt will draw out moisture from the shallots during this time. 
  3 heads shallots, a pinch salt
• Spread the shallots out on a paper-towel-lined plate and press another piece of paper towel on top to dry off the drawn out moisture. This helps the shallots crisp up faster, and the salt also seasons them.
• Add about 2 inches of frying oil in a wok or a large pot (this will also be for your chicken), then add one test piece of shallot into the oil. Turn the heat on high and keep an eye on it.

  Once the test shallot has a constant stream of bubbles coming out, turn the heat down to low and add the remaining shallots, stirring them frequently as they fry, (about 5-8 minutes). Meanwhile prepare a large plate or baking sheet lined with double layer of paper towel. and scoop them out with a wire skimmer once they are golden and the bubbles have mostly subsided . 
• Once the shallots are golden, scoop them out with a mesh skimmer and drain them on the paper towel. They will darken more after the leave the oil, so take them out a little early. Use this same oil to fry the chicken.

To fry the chicken:

• Heat 2 inches of oil in a wok or a large pot to 375°F (190°C) on medium heat. Meanwhile, if the chicken is in a bag, transfer them into a large mixing bowl and add about ¾ cup of the rice flour and mix until there are no more lumps (your hands are best for this, but tongs are fine too). Add more rice flour as needed to get a thin batter that thinly, but thoroughly, coats the chicken. If the batter has become too thick, add a little water at a time to thin out. 
  Oil for frying, 1 cup rice flour
• Once the oil is ready, add half of the chicken (or all of it if you've got the pan space) and allow the oil temp to drop to about 300°F/150°C - and from this point on, adjust the heat to maintain the temperature at 300°F/150°C. 
• Fry the chicken, flipping them every 1-2 minutes until dark meat reaches 175°F/79°C internal temp, and breast (if using) reaches 155°F/68°C. The chicken should have a deep brown colour. Drums and thighs should take 10-12 minutes, and whole wings about 6-8 minutes; but timing will vary depending on the size of the chicken and how cold they were to start. 
• Let the chicken cool for 5-10 minutes before eating so as to not burn yourself with incredible juiciness! Serve with sticky rice and fried shallots. I like to put the shallots on the sticky rice, but if not serving sticky rice you can just eat it along with the chicken.

Video

Notes

1. I prefer drumsticks, thighs and wings only, but you can also do breasts if you like them. 
2. Non-Thai soy sauce is okay to use too, but for the true taste of Thai fried chicken, Thai soy sauce is recommended. 
3. Canola oil, peanut oil or any neutral-flavoured vegetable oil will work. 
4. I recommend refreshing store bought shallots by spreading them out onto a baking sheet and baking them in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 4-5 minutes. This makes them crispier!
5. In Thailand people often serve sweet chili sauce with fried chicken so the sweet-and-sour flavour can balance the fat and salt. You can buy it or use my easy sweet chili sauce recipe. This chicken is so good I don't think it needs any sauce, but if you already have some, give it a try!

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The post Thai Fried Chicken Recipe - Hat Yai Style appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

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Ingredients

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

For rice balls

• Thai sticky rice, uncooked
• Jasmine rice, uncooked
• Coconut milk
• Green curry paste (50g)
• Fish sauce
• Sugar
• Ground chicken, turkey or pork
• Green bell peppers, very small diced
• Red bell peppers, very small diced
• Kaffir lime leaves, very finely chopped
• Thai basil

For Breading:

• Egg
• All-purpose flour
• Water
• Fish sauce
• Panko

How to Make Green Curry Rice Balls ข้าวแกงทอด

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. Cook rice and sticky rice together using the ratio of 1 part rice to 1 part of water, so 1 cup of water for the amount given in this recipe.   
2. Meanwhile, make the curry: in a blender, blend ½ cup coconut milk with Thai basil until smooth.
3. In a small pot, add ¼ cup of coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add curry paste and saute until the paste is thick. Add fish sauce, sugar and ground chicken, and stir to break up the chicken as well as you can—big chunks of chicken will make it hard to form balls.
4. Once the chicken is cooked, add the blended coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
5. When the rice is done and while it is still hot, add the hot curry and bell peppers over the rice and stir until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Pack the rice as tightly as you can and let cool to room temperature.
6. Once cooled, use a disher or a spoon to portion out rice and form it tightly into a ball. Tip: The smaller you make the balls, the harder it becomes to shape them unless you have tiny hands! On the flip side, the larger they are, the more oil you’ll need and the lower the ratio of crunchy crust to rice. I like them to be about 1½ - 2 tablespoon per ball.
7. Make the batter by placing flour into a small bowl and make a well in the center. Add water, beaten egg and fish sauce and stir until there are no more lumps.
8. If it’s thick and gloopy, add a little more water until the batter pours smoothly. Add panko to another bowl.
9. Dip the rice balls into the batter, shake off excess a couple of times, then toss in the panko, pressing the panko gently onto the rice balls, until completely coated. Place on a plate. You can make the balls up to this point and refrigerate until ready to fry. You can also freeze them and thaw before frying.
10. Fry in 350°F (175°C) oil for about 2 minutes or until golden brown. Serve, you don’t need any dipping sauce these are already so flavourful!
11. To reheat: preheat the oven to 375°F and bake for 7 mins or until hot inside (timing depends on how big the rice balls are).

Green Curry Rice Balls ข้าวแกงทอด

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• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Yield: Makes about 24 rice balls

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Ingredients

For rice balls

• ¼ cup Thai sticky rice, uncooked
• ¾ cup jasmine rice, uncooked
• ¾ cup coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp Green curry paste (50g)
• 2 tsp Fish sauce
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 160g Ground chicken, turkey or pork
• 2 Tbsp green bell peppers, very small diced
• 2 Tbsp red bell peppers, very small diced
• 4 Kaffir lime leaves, very finely chopped
• ½ cup Thai basil

For Breading:

• 1 egg
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• About ⅓ cup water (may need a to add a little more)
• ½ tsp fish sauce
• 2 cups panko

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Instructions

Cook rice and sticky rice together using the ratio of 1 part rice to 1 part of water, so 1 cup of water for the amount given in this recipe.   

Meanwhile, make the curry: in a blender, blend ½ cup coconut milk with Thai basil until smooth.

In a small pot, add ¼ cup of coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add curry paste and saute until the paste is thick. Add fish sauce, sugar and ground chicken, and stir to break up the chicken as well as you can—big chunks of chicken will make it hard to form balls. Once the chicken is cooked, add the blended coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

When the rice is done and while it is still hot, add the hot curry and bell peppers over the rice and stir until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Pack the rice as tightly as you can and let cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, use a disher or a spoon to portion out rice and form it tightly into a ball. Tip: The smaller you make the balls, the harder it becomes to shape them unless you have tiny hands! On the flip side, the larger they are, the more oil you’ll need and the lower the ratio of crunchy crust to rice. I like them to be about 1½ - 2 tablespoon per ball.

Make the batter by placing flour into a small bowl and make a well in the center. Add water, beaten egg and fish sauce and stir until there are no more lumps. If it’s thick and gloopy, add a little more water until the batter pours smoothly. Add panko to another bowl. Dip the rice balls into the batter, shake off excess a couple of times, then toss in the panko, pressing the panko gently onto the rice balls, until completely coated. Place on a plate. You can make the balls up to this point and refrigerate until ready to fry. You can also freeze them and thaw before frying.

Fry in 350°F (175°C) oil for about 2 minutes or until golden brown. Serve, you don’t need any dipping sauce these are already so flavourful!

To reheat: preheat the oven to 375°F and bake for 7 mins or until hot inside (timing depends on how big the rice balls are).

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Making your own rice crackers isn't as hard as you might think! There are many types of rice crackers, but the basic idea is the same regardless of what kind you make: Start with cooked rice, then you shape it, dry it, and puff it in high heat. In this video I show you 2 examples of this process, one that is thin and crispy like "rice crackers," and the other one thicker and puffier more like "rice cakes."

Their neutral flavour means you can then use it for whatever dip you like, it's a great gluten-free option to go with your favourite dips.

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!

Rice Crackers & Rice Cakes

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

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Yield: ¾ cup uncooked jasmine rice (makes 1 tray, size as seen in the video)

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Ingredients

For Rice Crackers:
¾ cup uncooked jasmine rice (makes 1 tray, size as seen in the video)

For Rice Cakes:
Cooked sticky rice, as much as you want

For Black Rice Crackers:
¼ cup black sticky rice, uncooked
½ cup jasmine rice, uncooked

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Instructions

For Rice Crackers:

Cook the rice: Cook the jasmine rice with 1 ½ cup water (about 50% more water than when making plain rice). After the rice has been cooked, make sure it is quite soft and sticks to each other easily. If not, you can add a bit more water and cook it a bit longer.

Shape the rice: Let the rice cool until warm (do not refrigerate or the rice will lost its stickiness). Plop the rice onto a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap, you'll need 2 sheets of plastic wrap to make sure the entire surface is covered. With a rolling pin, roll the rice out into a rectangular shape into a thin sheet. The exact thickness is up to you but I like mine no more than 2 mm thick. Using a WET bench scraper (or a thin ruler) or cookie cutters, mark the desired shapes of the rice crackers.

Dry the rice: Let the rice dry for about 2-3 hours to let them firm up a bit, then flip them onto a rack so they will dry faster, then let them dry completely. You can check whether they have dried completely by trying to bend the rice crackers—they should not bend at all. You can dry the rice by placing the tray in front of a fan or leaving it out in a strong sun (not recommended if there are critters in the neighbourhood that might want to feast on the rice!). It would take at least 1 whole day to dry completely. In a rush, you can also bake it in a 200°F oven for several hours, but I don't recommend this method as it is very power intensive to have the oven on for many hours. You can store the dry rice crackers in an air-tight container indefinitely.

Puff the rice: When ready to serve, fry the rice crackers in a 400°F (200°C) oil until they puff and bloom open (this takes seconds!). Alternately, you can broil them under a very hot, pre-heated broiler, also for a few seconds, but this only works if you make very thin rice crackers like mine in the video, and watch them carefully cuz they burn quickly!

For Rice Cakes:  

With wet fingers, press a small ball of sticky rice into a ring mold or whatever cookie cutter shape you like. Make the rice as thin as you can without creating big holes in the rice cakes. Let dry completely then fry them as per instructions above. (These will take less time to dry than the rice crackers.) Note: I have not tried to broil these, so let me know how it goes if you try it!

For Black Rice Crackers

Boil black sticky rice in plenty of water for about 20 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked and is no longer crunchy. Drain.

Mix the jasmine rice with the drained black sticky rice and cook it in a rice cooker (or pot) with 1 cup of water. Follow the "shape", "dry", and "puff" instructions above.

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Great things happen when you combine two of the most popular Thai dishes into one! Green curry spring rolls are exactly what it sounds like: crispy spring rolls filled with that familiar flavour of Thai green curry we all love. It's a great two-bite party appetizer that's unique, and you can also wrap them in advance and fry then whenever you're ready to serve. In this video I also show you how to make mini spring rolls using just the regular sized wrapper!

Reheating tips: These also reheat very well so you can fry them all at once, and if they've cooled down half way through your party, simply stick them in a 375°F oven for 5 mins until they're nice and crispy again.

More Spring Rolls Goodness

You can't go wrong with the original, so be sure to check out my classic Thai spring rolls recipe that I am sure will be better than what you can get at your local Thai place ;). Or if you've got vegetarian or vegan friends, try my vegetable spring rolls recipe that uses a special ingredient for the perfect texture.

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!

Green Curry Spring Rolls

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• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Yield: 20-24 mini spring rolls

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Ingredients

• 1½ - 2 tablespoon green curry paste (this depends on how spicy you want it)
• A big handful Thai basil leaves
• ¾ cup coconut milk
• 250g ground chicken or turkey
• ¼ cup sweet corn kernels, cooked
• ⅓ cup red bell pepper, small diced
• ½ cup carrot strings or small dice
• A dash of fish sauce, as needed
• 2 tsp palm sugar, chopped
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, centre stem removed and finely julienned
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoon water
• 3-4 tablespoon bread crumbs (you may not need this, this is just in case the filling ends up too wet)
• 12 sheets spring roll wrappers (8-inch square)
• 1 egg (for egg wash)
• Thai sweet chili dipping sauce (homemade recipe here)

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Instructions

1. Julienne about 10 basil leaves and add to a mortar and pestle, chop the rest and save it for later. Add the curry paste and pound until the leaves are blended into the paste.
2. In a pot or wok, reduce coconut milk by about half. Add the curry paste and sugar, then cook, stirring constantly, until aromatic and thick. Add the ground chicken or turkey and break up the pieces so there are no more chunks. Keep cooking to dry out the mixture, until there is no liquid pooling at the bottom of the pan.
3. Once dry, add all vegetables and kaffir lime leaves, then cook for about 1-2 minutes or just until the vegetables are softened slightly. Taste and add fish sauce as needed.
4. Pour the cornstarch slurry over the mixture (don't pour into one spot) and stir to mix immediately. You will notice that the mixture will start to hold together better.
5. Turn off the heat and at this point if it still looks wet, stir in breadcrumbs to help absorb the liquid. You do not want any pooling liquid or it will make the wrapper soggy. Spread filling out onto a plate to let it cool to room temp before wrapping.
6. Once filling is cooled, stir in the remaining chopped Thai basil.
7. To wrap: If making mini spring rolls, cut 8-inch spring roll wrappers into 4 equal squares. See video at 5:20 for how to wrap. Use about 1 tablespoon of filling per piece.
8. To fry: Heat frying oil in a pot to 350°F and fry until golden, about 4-5 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving with sweet chili dipping sauce.
9. To reheat, bake in a 375°F oven for 5 minutes or until hot and crispy. Green curry spring rolls

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The classic Laab salad turned into munchy meatballs!

Crispy Laab Meatballs ลาบทอด (Laab Tod)

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

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Yield: Makes about 20 meatballs

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Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp Thai sticky rice or jasmine rice, uncooked
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, torn into chunks, stem removed
• 1 lb ground pork (preferably not lean)
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour 
• 1 Tbsp minced galangal
• 3 Tbsp minced lemongrass
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro (with stems)
• ¼ cup chopped sawtooth coriander (or use more cilantro)
• ¼ cup small diced shallots
• ½ tsp Chili flakes, to taste
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 3 Tbsp lime juice
• Canola oil for frying
• Mint and butter lettuce for serving

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Instructions

In a dry pan, toast sticky rice and kaffir lime leaves over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the rice is a deep golden brown and the lime leaves are crisp. Let cool slightly and grind both the rice and the lime leaves in a mortar and pestle until fine.

Combine pork, flour, toasted rice powder, shallots, lemongrass, galangal, cilantro, sawtooth coriander, lime juice, fish sauce and chili flakes; mix well. If you want to taste the mix for seasoning, you can cook up a small amount in the microwave or on a frying pan.

Form loosely into 1.5-inch balls and fry in 350°F oil until browned.

Serve on its own or make a wrap with a piece of lettuce and mint. Enjoy!

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In this video, I declared that I can't think of another dish that I prefer to this dish, which is a bold statement. And after thinking about it some more, I still stand by that. It is one of my and my brother Eddie's all-time-favourite dishes. The fish is fluffed up and fried until golden and crispy. The savoury crunch is contrasted by the fresh tart green mango salad—it's truly a match made in heaven and there are no other dishes quite like it.

Traditionally this dish uses Thai charcoal-grilled catfish (pla duk yang), which is widely available on the streets of Thailand. But considering what we're doing to it, it really doesn't matter much which kind of fish you use, and indeed Thai people routinely use various other types of fish when the catfish isn't available. In this video I go with tilapia which is a versatile, inexpensive white fish I usually have in my freezer. This method also works with shrimp, FYI!

SAFETY NOTE: After watching the frying of the fish, you may feel intimidated to try it, and I felt the same way the first time I made it! Let me assure you though that AS LONG AS you take the precautions I mention, you will be fine.

So: LEAVE PLENTY OF ROOM for the oil to bubble up so it won't overflow and catch fire (that would be bad!!). My rule of thumb is: don't fill the oil any more than ⅓ of the depth of the pot/wok, and the oil only needs to be about 1-inch deep so you don't need a lot!

For maximum fluffiness, I mentioned that the oil should be about 400F (like my second round of frying in the video) but if you feel a little scared by the aggressive oil bubbling, you can drop the fish at 375F and it won't be as aggressive (like my first round in the video), and either of them will be delicious.

While we're on this subject, not to make it scarier than it is, but it's ALWAYS a good idea to keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen!

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

This one one recipe that I REALLY don't recommend you making without seeing the video first. Watch the video to see what the fish should look like when it's ready to fry AND how it should behave when dropped in the oil. Also note how much the oil puffs up when the fish is added so PLEASE leave plenty of room to prevent oil overflow!!

Crispy Fluffy Fish w/ Green Mango Salad (yum pladuk foo)

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

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: Serves 4

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Description

One of my all time favourite dishes that is truly unique. Crispy fluffy fried fish served with a green mango salad. It has all the flavours and textures that are iconic to Thai cuisine. A must try at least once in your life!

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Ingredients

Mango Salad

• Thai chilies, to taste
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped palm sugar
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• ½ shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 heaping tablespoon dried shrimp, chopped, or sub bonito flakes
• 1 sour green mango, julienned (see note)
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Fish

• 250 g (9 oz) white fish meat of any kind (something inexpensive such as tilapia or cod is perfect)
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp roasted peanuts
• Oil for frying

Note: When choosing mango, "sour" is more important than "green". So as long as the mango is very sour, it might be softer or yellower (like mine in the video) you'll be fine.  

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Instructions

Cut the fish into chunks, season with soy sauce, then steam for 5 minutes until the meat is fully cooked. If you don't want to steam the fish, you can cook the fish however you like, as long as you don't create a browned crispy crust on the fish (poach, bake, even microwave! we just want cooked fish). When done, let the fish cool off so you can handle it more easily.

While the fish is cooking and cooling, make the mango salad: In a mortar, pound Thai chilies until there are no more big chunks (chili skin is fine), then add the palm sugar and mash until it's a muddy paste. Add fish sauce and lime juice and swirl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in the dried shrimp, shallots, and mango. Let sit while you fry the fish.

Once the fish is cool enough to handle, transfer it into a muslin-lined bowl. Wrap the cloth around the fish, twist it to secure the fish in the cloth, and squeeze the fish as hard as you can to get rid of as much liquid as possible (this is why you want to let the fish cool, if it's too warm, you won't want to squeeze hard!). It is very important that the fish is DRY.

Transfer the fish to a mortar and pestle, then pound it until it's fluffy and there are no more chunks.

To fry the fish: Heat about 1 - 1.5 inch of oil in a wok or a deep pot over high heat to about 400°F. Do not fill the wok or pot anymore than ⅓ full to be sure we have leave plenty of room for the oil to puff up without overflowing! Tip: It will be easier for you to fold the fish if you use a wider pot or wok for this, so you can get to it more easily and you can fry more fish at a time. For the amount provided in this recipe, you can make 2 batches of fried fish in a pot that is about 9 inches in diameter.

Once the oil reaches temperature, sprinkle about half the fish into the oil, and the oil will bubble aggressively. Use a skimmer to push the edges in to clean up the edges of the fish, then let the fish fry until golden. I like to occasionally push the fish down so the top is submerged, which will help the fish brown more evenly.

Once the fish is golden brown, you can fold the fish over into a half circle like I did, but this is not necessary. Once the bubbling of the fish starts to slow down, and the fish is golden all over, lift it from the oil with a slotted skimmer and shake the fish several times to remove the oil that is lodged inside the fish. Place on paper towel to drain.

Wait for the oil to come back to temperature before frying the remaining fish.

Place the fish on a serving plate and sprinkle with roasted peanuts. Stir chopped cilantro into the mango salad, then serve the mango salad beside the fish. Serve with jasmine rice. Enjoy!

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