Thai Sweet and Sour Stir Fry with Broccoli

Thai Sweet and Sour Stir Fry with Broccoli

Thailand streets are full of road side vendors and they rustle up some wonderful dishes which enchant your senses and mesmerise you with the aroma and look. They are fast and easy to prepare and equally tasty. During my three visits to Thailand I picked up lots of recipes from these roadside vendors. This is one such dish. The Sweet and Sour Chicken Pieces, stir fried with Broccoli and served on Hot bowl of fragrant Jasmine Rice is a simple treat from Food Heaven. Try this out for yourself and enjoy it with your family and friends.

Preparation Time  : 10 minutes
Cooking Time       :  20 minutes
Difficulty               :  Very Easy
Serves                   :   4

Ingredients :

3 cups Broccoli florets

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

2 skinless, boneless Chicken Breast Halves - cut into 1 inch strips

1/4 cup sliced Green Onions

4 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce

1 tablespoon Chili Paste

1 tablespoon low sodium Soy Sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger

1/4 teaspoon crushed Red Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

4 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced

1/8 cup Chicken Stock (you can also use stock cubes in water)

 

Method :

   1) Place broccoli in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm, about 5 minutes.

 

   2) Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, add and saute the chicken for a few minutes. 

 

   3) Now add green onions, and garlic saute until the chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

 

   4) Stir the hoisin sauce, chili paste, and soy sauce into the skillet.

 

   5) Season with ginger, red pepper, salt, and black pepper.

 

   6) Stir in the chicken stock and simmer about 2 minutes.

 

   7) Mix in the steamed broccoli until coated with the sauce mixture.

 

   8) Once the sauce is thick, taste and adjust seasonings, if required.

 

   9) Serve hot over a bowl of Hot Jasmine Rice. You can also sprinkle some chopped Green onion from the top to make the dish look better. 

Gai Pad Yod Khao Pod (Chicken with baby corn)

Gai Pad Yod Khao Pod (Chicken with Baby Corn)

This Thai dish I first tasted at a street food stall in Pattaya. I was there to eat prawns, but when I saw them preparing this dish I could not stop myself from ordering a plate. The best part of eating food at a road side stall is, you can see the whole cooking process and learn it before you actually taste the dish. Eventually I found this stir fry dish soooo tasty that during my stay in Thailand, I made it a point to eat it almost everyday. This is an absolutely fast and easy recipe. I'm sure you will enjoy preparing and eating this dish as much as I do.

Preparation time  :  10 minutes
Cooking time       :  15 - 20 minutes
Difficulty               : Easy
Serves                   :  4

Ingredients :

3 tablespoons Oil (use any vegetable oil, but I prefer to use Peanut oil) 

500 grams Chicken breast or thighs, boneless, skinless and thinly sliced 

1/2 Onion, thinly sliced

3-4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 cup Baby corn, cut into rounds or Thin battons 

1 cup Straw mushrooms (use can use Oyster/Button mushrooms as Straw Mushrooms are not easily available in India except in China Town of Kolkata)

3 tablespoons Oyster sauce

3 tablespoons Fish sauce

3 tablespoons Sugar

2 teaspoons Pepper

Salt to taste

Finely sliced Green Onions and Coriander leaves to decorate

 

Method :

 1) Wash and clean Chicken very well and drain all the liquid off the chicken. You can also soak the excess water by placing the pieces in between two kitchen towels.

 

 2) Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame.

 

 3) Once the oil is hot enough add the chicken and stir fry until halfway cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.

 

 4) Add the onions and garlic and continue stir frying until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are lightly translucent, another 2 or 3 minutes.

 

 5) Reduce heat to low and add the corn, mushrooms, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar, salt and pepper.

 

 6) Simmer for another 5 minutes to cook through.

 

 7) At the end of 5 minutes check if the chicken is perfectly cooked, check and adjust seasonings and serve hot with rice. Don't forget to sprinkle the greens on top.

Gai Pad Yod Khao Pod Variations :

 

Add some julienned red peppers along with the onions if you like.

 

Substitute chopped, blanched cabbage, blanched broccoli or bok choy for the straw mushrooms if you like. Or use a mixture of vegetables.

 

Simple Pad Thai Noodles

Simple Pad Thai Noodles

During my last trip to Thailand, I ate Pad Thai in at least 20 different places, which includes local road side carts to ones served in decorated platter in a 5 star hotel. The best one I ate is what I am putting on my blog today. A very simple version of the authentic Pad Thai, cooked in less than 30 minutes and the taste is good enough to make you ask for more. The only changes I made in today's dish is I omitted the dainty little shrimps the stall owner decorated my plate with. You can always go ahead and add those to your plate too.

Preparation time : 10 minutes
Cooking time      :  15 minutes
Difficulty              : Very Easy
Serves                  :  4

Ingredients :

250 grams of dried, wide and flat Rice noodles
2 tablespoons Brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh Lime juice
3 tablespoons  Light Soy sauce
1 about 1/8 teaspoon of Shrimp paste(optional)
2 teaspoons Vegetable oil (I prefer Peanut Oil, use can use any one)
3 Green Onions, white and green parts, separated and thinly sliced
1 Garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup fresh Coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts, partially broken
2 - 3 whole dried Red Chilies, seeded and cut into small pieces.
Salt to taste.

Method :

1) Soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, light soy sauce, and Shrimp paste (if you are using it) and set aside.

3) In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.

4) Once the oil is hot enough add scallion whites, cut chilies and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds).

 5) Add noodles, scallion greens, and sauce to skillet. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft (about 1 minute). Taste and then add salt. It also might not be necessary as the sauces contain a good amount of salt.

6) Put in the roasted peanuts and stir once. Top with coriander leaves and sprinkle Lime Juice from the top.

7) Serve Hot.

Note : This dish can be spiced up with fried eggs or sauteed fresh shrimps. You can also add fried tofu to give a new twist to your Pad Thai,  but it also taste wonderful without condiments.

When I soaked the Pad Thai for the first time I was not very certain if really the noodles will ever become soft enough to eat ? But then I learnt that the noodles soaked in cold water might not look fully done or soft enough, but they taste wonderful once they are tossed in a wok with the veggies and spices.