Pad Ka-Prao (ผัดกะเพรา)

By on May 8, 2012 in She Deglutenizes, She Fries, She Thais


While Pad Thai or Tom Kha Gai, in my opinion, deserve a somewhat extensive tutorial, there really isn’t much to say about Pad Ka-Prao (RTGS: phat ka-phrao). It’s a dish that doesn’t require many ingredients or demand the kind of skill that takes years to develop. And if this dish could talk, the only thing it would beg of you is that you use the ingredient without which it cannot be what it is: holy basil (Bai Ka-Prao ใบกะเพรา).[1]
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Slow Cooker Beef Curry Noodles

By on April 29, 2012 in She Braises, She Deglutenizes, She Simmers, She Thais

 

The fact that I’ve been happily making this beef curry noodle dish the same way for years would lead one to think that it would have been one of the first recipes to be published here. I’m sorry I’d hidden this from you for three years, but it’s only because I was afraid you cool kids would make fun of me. First of all, it’s made in a slow cooker, not a much more sophisticated pressure cooker or a Thomas Keller-approved sous vide machine. Then we also have the issue of namelessness: this dish doesn’t have a name. Even Holly Golightly’s cat has a name. This thing? Nope. Not even “Noodles.”

The truth is that this dish started out as a failure. Initially, it was supposed to be a streamlined version of Khao Soi (northern Thai curry noodles), but failed to deliver (too many ingredients short). Then, in an attempt to save the cook’s face, it was quickly re-purposed as a streamlined version of Kuai Tiao Kaeng (aka Kuai Tiao Khaek), but, still being too many ingredients short, that didn’t go so well either despite the addition of soft- or medium-boiled eggs to increase the visual resemblance. [In case you’re wondering about the ingredient issue, I guess I should tell you also that this dish was born in an era of students’ poverty. My first slow cooker was purchased from a garage sale in a very dingy residential area. I went there, paid $2 for it, grabbed the thing, and ran like heck.] Continue Reading →

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Hydrated Lemon Basil Seeds in Thai Desserts (เมล็ดแมงลัก)

By on April 24, 2012 in She Rants and Muses, She Stocks a Thai Pantry, She Uncooks, She Veges

 

After having lent its irreplaceable fragrance to many pots of Kaeng Liang, last year’s crop of lemon basil (maeng lak) left me with these. If I was in a more philosophical mood, I would have written something boring about my plan to plant another crop this year with these seeds and how that reminds me of how the death of something must take place in order to make a rebirth possible and all that. But since I’m not in a philosophical mood, I’m going to be writing something boring about how the Thai people use lemon basil seeds instead.

And what makes it boring is the fact that there really isn’t much to talk about when it comes to the culinary use of lemon basil seeds. In fact, overwhelmed by the dearth of material, I’ll resort to writing in bullet points which, interestingly, is the same method I use when overwhelmed by the wealth of material. You want to read on, though. You’re already on the second paragraph; might as well stick around and see how much more boring this can get. Continue Reading →

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