Easy Thai Food at Home

Of all the Asian cuisines, I think Thai food has to be my favourite. That combination of sweet, salty, sour, bitter and hot. The aroma of steamed jasmine rice and coconut milk based sauces gets me every time. But Thai takeaway is a thing of the past for me. I’d much rather make it at home. It may not taste exactly the same as the restaurant but it’s still good. Here’s what you need to stock in your pantry to make easy Thai food at home.

To make an authentic Thai flavoured dish, you need a lot of fresh herbs and vegetables. Some may not be as easily accessible to most of us but there are some amazing supermarket products on the market now that replicate a good Thai dish. Most ingredients are available from the supermarket but try your local farmer’s market for authentic Thai herbs and vegetables.

You’ll also have to try and balance the 5 tastes of Thai food, as mentioned above. You can do that with the following ingredients:

• Sweet – cane or coconut palm sugar, pineapple
• Sour – lemon, lime, tamarind, paw paw/papaya, raw mango, sour pineapple or other sour fruits 
• Salty – sea salt, soy sauce, fish sauce or sardine and other fish pastes
• Bitter – bitter melon or raw leaves from various plants and trees (either wild or cultivated) 
• Hot – different chili peppers, fresh and dried, and peppercorns, fresh, pickled or dried, and ground peppers

In the Pantry

Jasmine rice, noodles (egg or rice), Thai pastes (red curry, yellow curry, Massamun curry etc), fish sauce, soy sauce, chilli (powder, paste or sauce), nuts (cashews, peanuts etc), powdered ginger, coconut milk, coconut cream, oil (for frying paste and/or meat), cinnamon, sesame seeds, sesame oil, nutmeg, curry powder, five spice powder, dried chillies, rice flour, salt and pepper

In the Fridge

Meat (chicken, fish, beef, seafood, pork, tofu etc), Thai pastes (after opening), shrimp paste, lime juice (or fresh limes), tamarind paste (the bitter flavour), crushed ginger (or fresh ginger)

Vegetables

Capsicum (bell peppers), fresh chili, cucumber, beans, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, salad vegetables, bean sprouts, cabbage, green onions (shallots), eggplant, bamboo shoots, asparagus, spinach, bok choy (and other Asian green vegetables), sweet potato, cassava, lotus root, taro, mushrooms

Fruit

Mango, pineapple, guava, pawpaw (papaya), lime, mangosteen, coconut, rambutan, passionfruit

Herbs 

Coriander (cilantro), mint, Thai mint, basil, dill

Easy Recipes

Here are a selection of Thai inspired recipes I’ve cooked at home on many occasions. 

Thai Chicken Cakes

Baked Thai Chicken Wings

Thai Peanut Chicken & Noodles

Thai Red Curry Beef & Cauliflower

Thai Chicken & Cashews

Easy Pad Thai at home

Thai Marinated Chicken & Warm Wombok Salad

Thai Beef Salad

Baked Thai Chicken Wings

Nothing like picking up a couple of kilos of marked down chicken wings from the supermarket, especially when you’ve been craving some sweet, spicy, finger-lickin’ wings. I was in the right place at the right time on this particular day. I think they were only about $2 for the 2 kilos (4.4 lbs). They were just what the doctor ordered on this summery, hot day and the leftovers kept well in the freezer for another quick meal.

I cut the chicken wing into thirds and kept the wing tips for the dogs. I laid them all out in a plastic dish suitable for marinating.

The marinade consisted of some basic pantry staples which was shaken (not stirred hehe) and poured over the chicken wings and left to marinate overnight ensuring I flipped the container and shook the wings around a bit.

I placed the marinated wings on a wire rack to allow excess fat to drip away from the wings.

They came out lovely and golden with a slight burn on the edge for crispiness from the brown sugar I added to the marinade.

Served with a sprinkling of fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves and a side of sweet chilli sauce, they were lip smackin’ good and a change from the usual honey/soy combination I usually do.

Baked Thai Chicken Wings

• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 2 tbs sweet chilli sauce
• 2 tbs lime juice
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup olive oil

1. Add ingredients to a jar and shake well (or whisk well in a jug).
2. Pour marinade over chicken wings and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours (overnight is better).
3. Place chicken wings on a wire rack and back for approx 25 mins in a 180 deg C oven or until golden brown and cooked.
4. Serve with sweet chilli sauce or soy sauce for dipping and a sprinkling of fresh coriander (cilantro) for garnish.
5. Great for a snack, light lunch or serve with rice and vegetables for a main meal.
6. Suitable to freeze. 

Thai Chicken & Cashews

I don’t claim to be an expert in Asian cuisine but I do love it. The vegetables are in such wonderful abundance at the moment and I sure could do with a fair bit of healthy eating. We used to eat stir fries all the time before the kids were born. It was always quick and easy after a busy working day and being late home.

Sometimes I’ll do a quick version of protein (beef/pork/chicken/fish), vegies (whatever is in the fridge) and carbs (rice/noodles) with soy, ginger, garlic and that’s it but tonight I wanted to do something a little different. I browsed the net for recipes using “chicken cashews” as my search criteria and I was shown a Chicken and Cashew Stir Fry with Thai Basil dish on http://www.taste.com.au/. I had most of the ingredients but thought I’d substitute the fresh herbs with pantry items I had. It was really delicious but I should’ve made heaps more. No leftovers for the husband’s lunch. Oh well!

Thai Chicken & Cashews
(Recipe based on Chicken & Cashew Stir Fry with Thai Basil)

60ml (1/4 cup) bottled lime juice
60ml (1/4 cup) fish sauce
2 tbs sweet chilli sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs mint sauce
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled, halved, thinly sliced lengthways
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
5 shallots, ends trimmed, cut into 6cm lengths
80g (1/2 cup) raw cashews
600g chicken tenderloins, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

1. Combine the lime juice, fish sauce, sweet chilli, soy sauce, mint sauce and sugar in a bowl.
2. Heat half the oil in a wok over high heat until just smoking. Add the onion, garlic, and shallot. Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until the onion softens. Transfer to a large heatproof bowl.
3. Heat remaining oil in the wok over high heat. Add the cashews. Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until golden. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to the bowl.
4. Add one-third of the chicken to the wok. Stir-fry for 4 minutes or until just starting to brown. Transfer to the bowl. Repeat, in 2 more batches, with the remaining chicken, reheating the wok between batches.
5. Return the chicken and onion mixture to the wok. Add the fish sauce mixture and pepper. Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat.   Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with the fried shallots to serve (optional). Serve with rice or noodles.

Serves 2.

Easy Pad Thai at home

“Pad Thai” or Thai stir fried meat, vegetables and rice noodles is such a tasty, easy dish to make at home. Before we had the kids, and we both worked, we’d often get Thai takeaway, but these days, it’s just too expensive. Rice noodles are readily available in the Asian section of your supermarket and relatively inexpensive and a jar of Thai curry paste is only a couple of dollars. You only need a small amount and it lasts forever in the fridge.

This recipe is in no way authentic and I apologise to any Thai recipe purists for my version but it satisfies my Thai cravings and is inexpensive and quick to make.

Note: I had a little too much liquid in my serve but I still lapped it up.

Easy Pad Thai (Thai rice noodles with chicken and vegetables)

1 chicken breast fillet, diced
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbs oil for frying (I used olive oil)
1 tbs Thai curry paste (use more if you prefer it spicier)
1 can coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups vegetables, chopped (I used carrot, celery, mushrooms. Use whatever you have on hand.)
1/2 packet rice noodles (or ‘sticks’ as they’re otherwise known)
1 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs lime (or lemon) juice
fresh coriander to garnish
deep fried shallots to garnish (also available in Asian section of the supermarket)

1. Pan fry onion until clear, add curry paste and fry for 1 minute. Add chicken breast and fry until coated in spice paste and starting to cook.
2. Add coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and lime juice.
3. Add chopped vegetables.
4. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for approx 15 mins.
5. Add uncooked rice noodles to the pot and push down. They will soften in the pot and absorb most of the liquid.
6. Sprinkle with coriander and fried shallots to serve.

Thai Marinated Chicken & Warm Wombok Salad

I picked up the most beautiful wombok while shopping last Thursday for a ridiculously low price. It looked so fresh and the green leaves were a darker green and the white stems crisp and crunchy. We love wombok in the summer time in Asian salads but I thought I’d make a warm ‘salad’ tonight to serve with some Thai marinated chicken thigh fillets. I made a ‘pantry’ Thai marinade that could be used on chicken, fish, pork, beef or fish. Great for the grill, barbecue, pan or roasting. The whole meal took me about 15 minutes to throw together, except for the marinade which I did earlier today.

The salad could be served cold as well, that is, don’t cook any of the ingredients, throw the dressing ingredients together and toss through salad just before serving.

‘Pantry’ Thai Marinade
(based on a recipe found on http://www.taste.com.au/)

1/3 cup lime juice (bottled variety kept in the fridge)
2 tbs sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp dried coriander
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp brown sugar

Combine ingredients. Place meat in marinade for at least 2 hours. Brush on any remaining marinade during cooking process. Can be placed in a jar and kept in the fridge. (Can be bottled up and given as a gift too.)

Warm Wombok Salad

1/2 wombok, finely shredded
1 small onion, finely sliced
1 carrot, grated
handful of button mushrooms, sliced
1 tbs lime juice
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Add all ingredients to a pan and over high heat, stir fry until wombok has just wilted. Top with a drizzle of Kecap Manis(*) and/or fried shallots(*) to garnish.

(*) Kecap Manis is a thick, sweet soy sauce and fried shallots are both ingredients available in the Asian section of the supermarket.

Thai Beef Salad

After a very warm day and not getting home from being at Mum’s all day this Australia Day, I threw together this Thai Beef Salad based on a recipe from Taste.com with what I had on hand. I could also add this to this fortnight’s Cooking Challenge with a ‘citrus’ theme, if you count the lime juice.

Thai Beef Salad

1 piece of rump steak
1 1/2 tbs lime juice
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs fish sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 baby cos lettuce
Baby Roma Tomatoes
1 Lebanese cucumber, halved lengthways, thinly sliced diagonally
3 spring onions
2 tbs hot chilli sauce
1 bunch fresh mint, leaves picked, large leaves torn
1 bunch fresh coriander, leaves picked

Mix lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Marinade steak in half of this mixture for at least 2 hours. Pan fry steak. Mix salad ingredients and toss through remaining marinade mixture. Slice steak and toss through salad.

Serves 2.