To Cook
Stir-fry the red curry paste in heated oil over low heat for 2 mins. Slowly add 200ml coconut milk, stir-fry over medium heat for further 2 mins or until oil appears. Add fish sauce and sugar.
Mix the remaining coconut milk and water, slowly add into the curry mixture. Bring to the boil over high heat for further 1-2 mins, then add the fish till cooked.
Add kaffir lime leaves and red chilli for 1 min before removing from heat.
Stir-Fry
Indonesian Stir-Fry Seafood Noodle (Bakmi Goreng)
To Cook
Place noodles in a deep bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for 2-3 mins until separated. Drain and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp oil, pour in eggs to make an omelette. When cooked, slice and set aside.
In a bowl, mix together chilli sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil.
Heat remaining oil. Add garlic, stir-fry until fragrant. Add prawns and squid. Cook for 2 mins, or until prawns turn pink and squid curled up.
Add the bowl of mixed sauces, and then the mushrooms, cook for 2 mins.
Add the noodles and toss to coat the noodles in the sauce, ensuring all ingredients are well coated. Season with salt and pepper.
Garnish with sliced omelette and spring onion. Serve.
Tips
For any successful stir-fry, have all the ingredients prepared and sauces on ‘stand-by’. As food is cooked on high heat, the order of adding the raw ingredients into the hot pan is important so as not to undercook, nor overcook them.
For a vegetarian option, replace seafood with a variety of fresh mushrooms like oyster, brown, white, chanterelle and enoki to give both flavour and texture to the dish.
Chinese families often fry a bowl of finely chopped garlic in a cup of oil, until golden brown. Store in a jar, and drizzle over food as a finishing touch to dishes as you would with extra virgin olive oil. Or use this fragrant oil to fry your eggs.
Spicy Basil Chicken Stir-Fry
To Cook
Brown the meat first until cooked. Set aside
Stir-fry the paste in heated oil over medium heat until fragrant, combine the chicken meat and stir through, adding water
Add fish sauce and sugar, raise up the heat, stir well. Add fresh basil before removing from heat.
Your Spicy Basil Chicken stir-fry is ready.
Chinese Stir Fried Pork Fillet with Beancurd
To Prep
Combine pork with marinade ingredients and mix well. Marinate for 15 mins.
To Cook
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok, put in bean curds and pan-fry until the edges are lightly browned. Remove and set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok, put in pork neck and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients and stir-fry well for about 2-3 mins. Serve hot.
Thai Glass Noodle Salad (Yum Woon Sen)
To Prep
Soak bean vermicelli in warm water for about 5 mins or until softened. Drain and roughly chop.
To Cook
Heat oil in the pan/wok and cook the chicken mince. Add a dash of fish sauce and stir fry until the chicken is cooked. Add bean vermicelli and stir to mix well. Remove from heat.
Add fish sauce, lime juice, tomato wedges and sugar to the chicken mixture and stir well. Add the mint, garlic, lemongrass, chilli and minced coriander; stir well.
Line a serving plate with lettuce and then spoon the chicken mixture over the leaves. Garnish with shallot and coriander leaves.
Mamak Mee Goreng
To Make Fritters
Mix all the ingredients for fritter to form batter. Use a tablespoon to scoop a big dollop into hot oil and deep fried till golden brown. Cooled and cut into chunks.
To Make Chilli Paste
Remove seeds from dried chillies, soak in hot water for 15 mins and blend with 2 tbsp of water.
Heat up frying pan with 3 tbsp of oil and sauté the chilli paste over low heat till fragrant and oil is separated. Add in brown sugar, tamarind juice, salt and cook for 1 min. Set aside to cool.
To Cook Mamak Mee Goreng
Put 2 tbsp oil into frying pan and sauté the chopped onion and garlic.
Toss in fried tofu slices and boiled potatoes and fry for 1 min.
Add in 1 tbsp fried chilli paste (add 2 tbsp if you prefer spicier), squid and fry for 1 min.
Toss in the choy sum and squid, stir and put in the fritters and tomato wedges. Cook for 1 min.
Toss in the noodles then the sauce ingredients and stir for further 30 secs or till well mixed.
Push noodles to one side, pour beaten eggs, stir it till half cooked.
Bring noodles together with the eggs and fry till cooked.
Toss in bean sprouts and chillies, cook for 1 min and plate up.
Garnish with cucumber julienne, sliced green chillies and lime wedges. Serve.
Nyonya Style Pickled Vegetables (Achar)
To Prep
Mix all the vegetables with 1 tbsp salt. Leave aside in a colander to drain off excess liquid for about 30 mins to get the crunchiness. This step can be skipped, if you prefer your vegetables to have softer bite.
Blend the spice paste in a food processor.
To Cook
Heat up the wok on medium heat. Heat oil and fry the blended spice paste until aromatic. Add vinegar and water, bring to boil. Add salt and sugar to taste.
Turn off fire, add all vegetables into the work and stir well, ground peanuts, sesame seeds.
Dish out, garnish with peanuts and sesame seeds, let it cool to store in a jar or container. Keep chilled in the fridge.
Note: Achar taste best overnight after the flavours have developed. It can last for about 4 weeks.
Nasi Goreng Kampung
To Cook
Puree everything in (Part A) except oil. If you can’t get it smooth, add the oil, stir and blend again. It’ll get finer.
Heat wok on medium heat. Add oil and if including anchovies, fry anchovies till golden and crispy, drain and dish up.
With remaining oil in wok, put in (Part A) and 1 tsp salt and carefully fry it until fragrant.
Put in rice and turn the heat on high. Toss until it looks even, push the rice aside.
Crack your eggs and put it in the center. Spread the eggs around. Immediately push the rice onto the eggs and toss the rice, making sure the eggs at the bottom are all brought up and broken up. Fry for a while.
Put water convolvulus or choy sum. Toss for 5-10 secs, not too long. Dish up and serve this delicious Nasi goreng kampung.
Nasi Lemak with Sweet Sambal
To Cook
Place washed rice, salt and knotted pandan leaves in an electric rice cooker.
Add coconut milk, water, ginger and salt over the rice and leave to soak for 30 mins.
Then press “Cook”. Once cooked and on “keep warm” button, fluff rice with a ladle or chopsticks. Leave it on to keep warm.
For sweet sambal, roast peanut on dry wok (no oil) on low heat, stirring to avoid burning peanut. When the peanuts are browned to liking, put the dish aside to cool.
Blend A (with little water) till fine paste.
Heat cooking oil in a wok, deep fry 1 cup of ikan bilis ( dried anchovies) till golden brown. Dish aside.
Add in blended A into remaining oil, sauté till fragrant and aromatic.
Add gula Melaka, tamarind peel, ½ cup water and salt, continue to sauté over low flame for 15-20 mins. When the paste becomes thick, taste and add more to your preference. Dish out.
Serve with coconut rice and garnish with fried anchovies, cucumber slices, hard-boiled eggs and toasted peanuts.”/
Pineapple Fried Rice
To Prep
Cut prawns into small pieces and coat with ½ tsp fish sauce. Cut chicken fillet into small cubes and coat with ½ tsp fish sauce.
To Cook
Brown chicken meat over medium heat until cooked. Set aside. Stir fry prawns until cooked, set aside.
Stir fry onion in heated oil over medium heat until fragrant, combine cooked rice and stir through. Add fish sauce, sugar and pepper, mix well.
Combine pineapple, chicken meat, prawns and pineapple juice, mix through raise up the heat, add capsicums and stir fry until well cooked. Remove from heat.
Omelette strips: Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan over medium heat. Pour 1 well beaten egg in the middle and move the pan to spread out the egg thinly. Place the pan over the heat until the egg is set and slightly brown. Roll the egg and remove from heat, thinly sliced when it cools down.
Top this Thai pineapple fried rice with omelette strips when served.
Northern Thai Sauce (Nam Prik Ong)
To Prep
Combine dried chilli, lemongrass and salt in a mortar and pound until fine, adding shallot, garlic and salted soy bean, continue pounding until become fine paste.
Add tomatoes to the paste and gently pound together, until well combined Transfer the mixture into a mixing bowl, add the minced pork and mix well
To Cook
Stir fry chopped garlic in heated oil over low heat, until fragrant. Combine curry mixture and stir well, adding water and stir fry until well cooked and thickens. Remove from heat
Place the mixture in a serving bowl, top with spring onion and coriander. Serve as dipping with vegetables; ie. Carrot stick, cucumber, celery, etc. and pork crackling as an entrée.
Your Northern Thai Dipping Sauce is ready!
Hint: It is also good for topping rice vermicelli, served as a light meal, or used as cooking sauce for various stir fried.
Braised Vegetables in Vegetarian Stir Fry Sauce
To Cook
Bring half a pot of water to boil. Add in a little oil and salt and cook the Shanghai cabbage until tender. Drain and arrange on a serving plate. Keep warm.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Toss in Chinese mushrooms, straw mushrooms and button mushrooms. Sauté until fragrant.
Add in cloud fungus, baby corns, white fungus, carrots and fried wheat gluten pieces. Mix in Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir Fry Sauce and water. Bring to a boil. Then, cover and simmer for 10 mins.
Place the cooked ingredients on top of Shanghai cabbage to serve.