Craving Thai food? Skip the take-away restaurant and give these easy Thai recipes a try if you need an easy and quick meal.
The cuisine of Thailand effortlessly lures food lovers with its aroma. Its rich and creamy curries, fragrant sauces, flavourful snacks and sinful sweets are bound to make you go back to indulging in them, time and again.
According to experts, the key to cooking any Thai dish lies in balancing the five key flavours – sour, bitter, salty, sweet and spicy, which takes skill to master.
Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand for the UK, Ireland and South Africa, Sadudee Sangnil, notes that a big part of the culinary tradition in Thailand involves people coming together to cook and share a meal.
And for South Africans who are looking to bring a touch of Thai magic home, Sangnil recommends these three delicious recipes, all of which are easy to prepare and feature ingredients readily available on local shelves.
Pad Thai Koong (fried noodles with king prawn)
Serves: 2
Ingredients
250g king prawns (this also works well with beef, chicken, or just vegetables)
90g rice noodles
50g bean sprouts
2 spring onions chopped
6 tbs fish sauce
3 tsp tamarind sauce
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs preserved turnip (not essential)
2 eggs
1 tsp red chilli
½ lime
2 tbs crushed peanuts
Method
Soak rice noodles for 30 minutes in room temperature water.
Heat and season the wok. Add king prawns and stir fry for a few minutes.
Add egg and stir fry. Before the egg is fully cooked, add the noodles, sugar and turnip. Stir fry until all ingredients are mixed well and the noodles are wilted.
Add the tamarind and season with fish sauce. Then add bean sprouts, green onions, and the red chilli. Stir fry quickly to ensure everything is well combined.
Remove from heat and serve with crushed peanuts and lemon wedges on the side and garnish with coriander.
Recipe by chef director and owner of the Chaophraya restaurant group, Kim Kaewkraikhot.
Som tam (papaya salad)
Serves: 1-2
Ingredients
1 large green papaya (or 2 small ones)
1 garlic clove
Handful cherry tomatoes (halved)
Handful peanuts (roasted or fried)
5 snake or long beans or a handful of French beans
1-2 Thai bird’s-eye chillies or one large red chilli, if you do not want it too spicy
1 tbs fish sauce (or Thai light soy if you want it vegetarian)
2 tbs tamarind juice
2 limes squeezed (save the empty limes)
1 tsp palm sugar dissolved in boiling water
6-8 dried prawns (optional)
Method
Peel the skin off the papaya, cut it in half, and scrape out the seeds.
Grate the papaya with a julienne peeler or grater.
Mix all the wet ingredients in a bowl. The sauce should be sweet, sour, and salty.
Pound the chilli and garlic with a pestle and mortar (or in a mixing bowl), then add the beans and dried prawns (if using prawns). Bruise and then add the papaya, tomatoes, and peanuts.
Pour in the sauce.
With a large spoon in one hand and the pestle in the other (this may take some practice), scoop and pound until everything is well combined, and the juice of the tomatoes has made its way into the dressing.
Scoop onto a plate, making sure you get all that lovely dressing.
Serve with absolutely anything or just eat it on its own.
Recipe by chef Gary Butler.
Chicken or beef massaman curry
Ingredients
For the curry paste
1½ tsp of coriander seeds
½ tsp of cumin seeds
4 cloves
4 cardamom seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
10 whole dried red chillies, soaked to soften
6 cloves of garlic
4 shallots
1 stem fresh galangal or ginger
2 stems of lemongrass
1 tsp of lime rind
½ tbs of sea salt flakes
½ tbs of white peppercorns
1 tbs of shrimp paste
For making the curry
500ml can of coconut milk
2 tbs massaman curry paste
500g stewing beef steak, cut into large chunks, or 600g chicken thighs or drumsticks
300g small or new potatoes, peeled
3 small onion, halved
50g roasted peanuts
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
4 star anise (optional)
1 tbs palm or soft light brown sugar
1 tbs fish sauce (or ½ tbs salt)
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
Method
Heat 2 tbs coconut milk in a large pot with a lid. Add the curry paste and fry for 5 minutes with low heat.
Then stir fry in the beef or chicken until well coated and sealed.
Stir in the rest of the coconut milk. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook at least 30 minutes for beef or 15 minutes for chicken until the meat is tender.
Add the potatoes, onion, cinnamon, sugar, fish sauce and most of the peanuts then let it simmer for another 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with the remaining peanuts, and then serve with jasmine rice.
Recipe by chef Nawamin Pinpathomrat.