The entire class, Thai & non-Thai, was very driven today as we walked through 5 of the best known and probably most served - at least in Thailand - recipes. It was a long but rewarding day as we can now cook these at home, with reasonable confidence.'Pad Gra-Prow Kai' is my all time favorite, and it is best served with rice, adding a runny egg on top. The flavor is unique and I guarantee it will titillate any taste bud. 'Stir Holy Basil with Chicken' is the description, and it really is as simple as those few words. Holy Basil is different from Sweet Basil or 'horapa' which is the basil we normaly use in, say, western cuisine. The stir frying technique is predominately Chinese ie a hot wok, very little oil and quick turnaround to get the best flavors out in the shortest cooking time. The only thing to watch is leaving the Holy Basil last, off the heat. Never let them wilt as they should be hardly cooked to retain fragrance in the balance. Along with the 'Tom Yum Koong', the other classic, we all polished off a large plate of steamy rice.
PAD GRA PROW KAI : Stir Fried Chicken with Holy Basil
TOM YUM KOONG : Spicy Prawn Soup
PAD THAI : Thai Style Fried Noodles
HOR MOK PLA : Steamed Curried Fish
KA NOM PIEK POON BAI TOUY : Steamed Pandan Flour with Coconut
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TCK,
ReplyDeleteI think you are incorrect in saying that horapa is the Basil used in Western cooking. Horapa is Thai Sweet which is different from European Basil. It has a kind of absynth flavour.
http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/ingredients/basil.html
ReplyDeleteThanks I stand corrected ... I need to read up.
ReplyDeleteThis looks delicious! Do you have the recipe online?
ReplyDelete