Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Food and Cookery Column – Carol cooks Stir Fries

Hello and welcome wasn’t it fun last Wednesday at Sally’s Halloween party? I hope you all enjoyed our post on Onions and Garlic it certainly kept the vampires away and didn’t our Sally look absolutely amazing?

The week before Halloween I posted on how to make perfect Fried rice and it seemed from the comments to be a popular post…I also discovered that many of you love stir fries and dishes which can be made quickly and are just as easy to make for one as for 6 people. A boon when you are working or have writing deadlines to meet and know that you do need to eat but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen but want a tasty meal…

Most Thai meals are stir fried…Thais don’t have ovens like we do and many just cook on one ring or an open fire so one wok and away they go. They produce the most tasty food with lots of fresh herbs and or vegetables and they eat a pretty varied diet and healthy as little fat is used in stir fries…

For me when I was working I just used to freeze my meat in portions and get it out before work and in the time it took my rice to cook I had a tasty hot meal…

All of these recipes can be made using minced ( ground) chicken or pork, sliced or cubed chicken or pork, chicken livers or fish/prawns(shrimp).

Pork/ Chicken and Sweet Basil ( Horapa)

Ingredients: For 1 serving.

• 100 gm pork loin sliced finely or ground pork/chicken can be used.
• 2/3 birds eye chillies cut in small slices.
• 2/3 cloves garlic finely sliced.
• 2/3 long beans (snake beans) chopped in small pieces.
• 2 stems Thai Sweet Basil called Horapa in Thai
• 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce.
• Shake or 2 of Maggi ( seasoning sauce)
• 1/2 tsp black soy sauce.

Let’s Cook!

Put a tiny bit of oil in small frying pan.

Add chillies and garlic and cook for 1 minute then add your finely sliced pork loin-stirring until cooked about 2- 3 mins. Add the Green Beans and stir.

Add the Oyster Sauce, Maggi and Black Soy stir to combine.

Lastly add the Thai Sweet Basil cook for further 1/2 mins.

In the picture, I have served it with cauliflower rice which I love but I also serve with steamed rice it depends just how I feel…

Enjoy!

Krapow Moo is my favourite Thai dish and one which we often have for brunch…we are a two meal a day family. It can be made with Chicken mince but I prefer pork mince. For maximum heat, I always grind my chillies and garlic together in my pestle.

Ingredients: This serves 3/4.

• 200 gm Pork mince
• 4/6 snake beans cut into 1/4 inch slices. If you can’t get the beans pictured then ordinary green beans will be fine.
• 2-4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1-5 Thai chillies
• Krapow …A big bunch of Thai Holy basil leaves picked and as you can see from the photo I use quite a lot.
• 2 tbsp Oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp black soy.
• A splash of cooking oil…I use Coconut oil.
• Good shake of seasoning..not sure if you would get the one I use here but if not just a little pork/chicken seasoning salt.

To prepare

Peel the garlic and cut chillies finely at this point I put in a pestle and mortar as it brings out the flavour. If you don’t eat your food very hot like us then just cut chillies and garlic finely.

Add a splash of oil to a hot wok and add chillies and garlic cook stirring for 1 minute being careful the garlic doesn’t burn.

Add the minced pork( chicken) and stir until cooked 3-4 mins.

Add the beans and all the sauces and stir cooking for 1/2 minutes. Add a little hot water if the sauce is too strong.

Add the herbs and stir until just wilted …It is now ready to serve..Traditionally here it is served topped with a fried egg…

N.B. Holy Basil is available now in many Asian stores throughout the world. Pictured below it is one of the herbs which doesn’t store well or freeze so I just buy enough for my needs if I don’t have any to pick again it is a picky grower and soon goes to seed.

Please note I have put for example 1-5 chillies it all depends on how hot you like your food and the same with garlic I love lots of garlic and herbs BUT as I always say start with a little you can always add and most importantly TASTE AND TASTE again and again while you are cooking trust your palate…

Enjoy!

This Green Chicken is a lovely dish a really lovely stir fry with coriander, mint, spinach and green chillies and the result is awesome with some lovely flatbread and an Indian pickle it is really lovely…

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo of chicken pieces cut up fairly small.
• 4/5 cloves of garlic
• A piece of fresh ginger chopped finely
• A bunch of green onions chopped
• Handful of Coriander
• Handful of Mint
• 2 bunches of spinach
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper
• 2/3 green chillies

Let’s cook!

Add a tbsp of ghee or oil to a pan while it is heating crush the chillies and the ginger in a pestle and mortar and add to the oil cook for about a minute stirring as we don’t want to burn the garlic add the onions and allow to sweat but not colour too much about 3-4 minutes.

Add the chicken and pepper, stir and lower the heat until the chicken is golden in colour.

Clean and wilt the spinach the spinach for 1-2 mins and set aside.

Once the chicken is golden add the spinach and cook for a further 10-15 mins add the coriander and mint in the last 3 mins stir to combine. Check and add salt if required.

Enjoy!

This lovely spicy chicken liver dish is very easy and quick to make…In Thai it translates to Pad Ped Kuang Nai Gai Tua Fuk Yaao … try saying that after a few glasses of wine.

Be sparing with the curry paste if you don’t like it too hot…We have it so tears run, even hubby, who doesn’t love hot like we do but loves chicken livers eats it anyway…

Ingredients:

• 350 gm Chicken Livers
• 4 or 5 long green beans.
• 1 tsp Red curry paste….. depending on the red curry paste you use you may need to add more…I use a locally made one which literally blows your head off …so only use a tsp and it is still hot!
• 1-2 tbsp Fish Sauce.
• 6/8 Lime leaves very finely sliced.
• 4 tbsp Coconut Milk.
• Small amount of coconut oil.
• Cheek of fresh lime ( optional)

N.B You can use oil of your choice I just always cook with Coconut oil.

Let’s Cook

Clean and cut up chicken livers…I do bite size pieces.

Cut up long beans into half-inch long pieces.

Finely shred lime leaves…..I roll them and shred finely with a sharp knife….This took me a little while to perfect this and I still struggle to cut it as finely as Thais do…

Heat the pan over fairly high heat, add a small amount of oil, add chilli paste and 1 tbsp

Fish sauce stir until paste is liquid, add finely sliced lime leaves and chicken livers , stir until just cooked.

Add green beans and coconut milk and cook gently for 2/3 mins.

Taste and add more fish sauce if required…I generally add about another half tbsp and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

It is now ready to serve…this is quite a dry dish so can be served with a small bowl of miso soup with chopped spring onions if liked.

Enjoy!

Asparagus is very plentiful here and one of my favourite stir fries are with prawns, lemongrass and lime leaves.

A very quick and easy stir fry to do, once you get all your ingredients together.

Ingredients:

• 250 gm asparagus cut in half…asparagus is very thin here but if you are using thicker asparagus then either shave the asparagus or cut into 3-inch pieces.
• A small piece of ginger peeled and grated.
• 1 stalk of lemongrass bashed and very finely chopped.
• 4 lime leaves very thinly sliced
• 3-4 tbsp of fish sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or light muscovado sugar
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 10 raw king prawns either peeled or leave the tails on.
• 1 shallot thinly sliced
• 1-2 Thai birds eye chillies finely sliced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 4 spring onions cut into 2-inch pieces

Let’s Cook!

Mix together the ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves, fish sauce and sugar and put to one side.

Meanwhile, heat the wok on high and when it’s really hot add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add in the king prawns and stir-fry for one to two minutes, until the prawns have gone pink with slightly golden edges. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Add the onion to the wok and stir-fry for two minutes. Add the chilli, garlic and spring onion and stir-fry for a further four minutes until the onions have softened.

Add the asparagus and stir-fry for a further minute.

Finally, add the prawns, pour over the sauce which was prepared earlier, and cook until the sauce becomes sticky (around three minutes).

Serve immediately with Thai steamed rice and enjoy!

I hope you have enjoyed reading these Thai stir fries they are all quick and easy and as I stated you can use chicken or pork, sliced or ground.

You can serve with Jasmine steamed rice or fried rice or cauliflower rice plus a side of freshly washed herbs , sliced cucumber, springs onions and sliced white cabbage…

Thank you for reading and if you have any questions about ingredients or anything then please ask in comments xxx

©Carol Taylor 2-18

The other posts in the Food and Cookery Column can be found in this directory: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/carol-taylors-food-and-cookery-column-2018/

About Carol Taylor

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetables ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use have to improve our health and wellbeing.

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology:  https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://blondieaka.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

My thanks to Carol as always for the time and effort that goes into these posts.

Thank you for dropping in today and Carol would be delighted to answer any of your questions and we always enjoy your feedback. Thanks Sally