42 Thai recipes. Page 2 of 2. Compare ingredients and cooking times. Thai Drunken Noodles, Som Tam (Thai Green Papaya Salad with Lime Fish Sauce Dressing).
Wide rice noodles, chicken thigh, garlic, fresh chili, and Thai basil hit a smoking-hot wok together in this spicy Thai stir-fry, also called drunken noodles. The noodles soak only until pliable, keeping a firm core so they hold their shape over high heat. Fish sauce brings briny depth, and dark soy sauce colors the noodles and adds a hint of sweetness.
Shredded green papaya is bruised only lightly in a mortar with a hot lime dressing and keeps its strands crisp instead of limp. The mortar acts more like a mixing bowl than a grinder. Pounding hard snaps the thin strands and softens them.
A whole steamed white fish gets a sauce of lime juice, fish sauce, garlic and minced Thai chili spooned over it raw, never heated. The lime and chili stay sharp, and cilantro goes on top. Whatever sauce pools on the plate is soaked up with jasmine or sticky rice.
Sold from morning to night at Thai street stalls and restaurants, this chicken fried rice keeps its seasoning short: fish sauce, oyster sauce, and a little sugar. The diced chicken thigh goes into a very hot wok first, spread in a single layer to brown. At the table, fish sauce, dried chili flakes, sugar, and vinegar are always within reach, and each diner reseasons their own plate.
Charred edges and a dark, glossy coat of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and dark sugar are what set pad see ew apart from other noodle stir-fries. That char comes from the heat: in a pan that is not scorching, the sauce pools at the bottom, the noodles steam in it, and caramelization never happens. The sauce is mixed and the sugar dissolved before the pan heats, because once the noodles land there is time only for fast tossing. Gai lan, or Chinese broccoli, keeps its thick stems crisp and adds a slight bitterness that balances the sweet sauce. Eggs scrambled in the same pan catch between the noodles and add soft pockets of texture.
Fine shreds of green papaya get lightly bruised in a mortar so they soak up lime juice, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Unripe papaya has none of the fruit's sweetness, just a crisp crunch, and the dressing hits hot, sour, salty, and sweet all at once. A cold-water soak firms the shreds, but they need thorough draining or the measured dressing turns watery. Light pounding is all it takes; stop once the tomatoes start to release juice, before they collapse. Without a mortar, a large bowl and a rolling pin do the same job with gentle pressing, and seeding the Thai chilies tames the heat. Serve it as soon as the peanuts are mixed in, while the papaya is still crisp.
The thick cream from the top of the coconut milk is heated first until a little oil shows, and the green curry paste is fried in that before the rest of the milk goes in. Eggplant can cook until soft, but the shrimp go in last and come off the heat the moment they turn pink and curl. Thai basil and lime juice are added off the heat.
Shrimp fried rice, pale yellow from a little curry powder, goes to the table inside the hollowed-out pineapple shell it was spooned into.
Wide rice noodles pressed against a hot wok for about 20 seconds pick up charred patches, and those toasty spots make pad see ew taste like more than soy-sauced noodles. Dark soy sauce does the coloring, turning the noodles deep brown alongside regular soy and oyster sauce, with a little sugar for sweetness. The wide strands tear easily, so they get lifted and turned in big motions rather than stirred. Kale provides the green, its stems going in ahead of the leaves.
Peanut butter whisked with soy sauce, lime juice, and chili sauce gives the same rich, nutty profile as the peanut sauce served with satay skewers. That sauce goes over thick pieces of seared tofu with lettuce, carrot, and cucumber, turning a salad into a full meal. Water clinging to the vegetables thins the dressing and dulls it, so shake them dry before assembling.
The duck breast is cooked slowly skin side down to render out its fat before it meets the curry, so the browned skin still tastes of the pan even in a rich coconut red curry. Bamboo shoots, red pepper and Thai basil go in with it.
Egg and scallion are about the only other things in the pan, so the sweetness of the crab comes through first. In Thailand it arrives with a wedge of lime on the plate for you to squeeze over yourself.
Tamarind, fish sauce, and sugar decide everything in pad thai: shift the ratio slightly and the dish leans sour, salty, or sweet. Firm tofu fried golden gives a nutty base, shrimp cook only until pink, and eggs are scrambled into thin ribbons in a cleared space in the pan. Bean sprouts and scallion go in for the last few seconds to stay crisp, with crushed peanuts and lime on the side.
Fish sauce and lime hit first, salty and sour, with seared sirloin underneath carrying the beefy flavor. Chili flakes bring heat, and torn mint cuts through the richness of the meat. Rather than a fixed cooking time, which shifts with the thickness of the steak and the heat of the pan, doneness is judged by the thickest part reaching at least 63°C, followed by a 5-minute rest before slicing. If the red onion tastes too sharp, a 5-minute soak in cold water tames it, as long as it is drained well afterward. Fish sauce does all the seasoning with no separate salt, and the beef is tossed while still warm so it contrasts with the crisp cucumber, tomato and red onion.
With fish sauce as the only added seasoning, frying the yellow curry paste in a dry pot until it darkens slightly and turns fragrant does most of the flavor work. Cut large, the potatoes simmer quietly with the chicken and onion in the coconut milk until a chopstick slides in, staying in whole chunks that soak up the sauce.
Glass noodles drink up soy and oyster sauce fast, turning clear and glossy within a minute or two in a hot pan. With shrimp, cabbage, carrot, and egg, this Thai stir-fry comes together in a few minutes over high heat.
Star anise and cinnamon steeped in beef broth, darkened with dark soy sauce, give this bowl its deep color and warm spice aroma, while fish sauce and a little palm sugar keep it salty with a rounded edge. The name comes from noodles once sold from boats along Thai canals. Thin beef slices cook in the hot broth for only a minute or two, and the bean sprouts soften under the ladle yet keep some crunch.
Lime juice, fish sauce, and palm sugar make a sharp, salty, faintly sweet dressing that soaks into fine mung bean glass noodles, poached shrimp, celery, and red onion. Cilantro goes in last and is folded through lightly so the leaves stay bright. The salad is meant to be eaten right after mixing, while the noodles are still springy rather than swollen with dressing. Thick sweet potato noodles used for Korean japchae are not a substitute, since they need different soaking and cooking times.