Like many northern Thai curries, this recipe calls for the chillies, shallots and garlic that make up the spice base of the curry to be roasted. Thai cooks will often use a barbecue to roast the ingredients, but an oven broiler or toaster oven will work as well. Cook the spices until they begin to blacken, turning as necessary to roast through. The outer layers are then peeled off the spices before using.

Perhaps the most unusual ingredient in this dish are the Szechuan peppercorns, the small pink seeds that look like, but aren’t really, peppercorns. They come from a completely different plant family. While pepper grows on a vine, Szechuan peppercorns come from a small shrub in the prickly ash family. You should be able to find them in Chinese grocery stores.

Northern style pork salad (Larb bab neua)

Ingredients

Preparation Method

• Peal the roasted shallots and garlic. Grind together with the chillies and salt. Add the galangal, coriander seeds, lemongrass and Szechuan peppercorns. Grind to a fine paste.
• Mix the finely chopped or ground pork with the curry paste and pork stock.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or skillet over high flame. Add the fried garlic and fry a few seconds to release the fragrance. Add the pork mixture and stir-fry until cooked through. Season with added salt if needed, then add the mint and sawtooth coriander.
• Transfer the cooked larb to a bowl. Mix in the spring onions and coriander. Transfer to a serving plate. Sprinkle some fried garlic on top. Serve with a selection of fresh coriander, spring onion stalks, long beans, sliced cucumber, mint, cabbage and pickled vegetables.

Stir-fried pork with holy basil and garlic

The dish is most commonly made with chicken or pork, but can also be made with minced prawn or beef. I’ve even seen it on offer made with frog or pigeon. You can add more vegetables to make it a bigger dish that serves more, or leave them out entirely if you plan to serve it with several other dishes. As I said, this is an infinitely variable dish, so use your own creativity to make your own signature dish.

(4 Servings)

Preparation Method

• Heat the vegetable oil in the wok. Put in the finely chopped garlic, mouse-dropping chillies and meat, and stir-fry until cooked.
• Season with soy sauces, oyster sauce, sugar, spur chilli, fresh hot basil leaves and vegetables.
• Transfer to a serving dish.

Holy Basil on sale in a Bangkok market.

Stir-fried dishes made with holy basil may be labeled either pat krapao – "holy basil stir-fry" – or pat kee-mao – "drunkard’s stir-fry". The difference is quite subtle, as both styles use almost the same ingredients. The issue is balance – pat kee-mao uses a larger proportion of chillies than pat krapao, making it a much spicier dish. One or the other combinations of holy basil, hot chillies, garlic and some kind of meat will show up at the curry stall on most days.

The western name of "holy basil" comes from India, where the Tulsi plant, as its known there, is indeed a holy bush, kept in many homes where it is believed to provide divine protection to the household. Naturally, holy basil plays a big part in Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India. The ‘holiness’ carries over to the herb’s scientific name as well: Ocimum sanctum.

Speaking of science, holy basil is high in anti-oxidants and also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. In some studies, holy basil was as effective as aspirin at reducing inflammation. In traditional medicine, holy basil is often used as a treatment for pain and arthritis. It is also credited with reducing the effects of diabetes, low libido (!) and negativity.

The anti-oxidant properties are thought to contribute to holy basil’s apparent ability to reduce the effects of stress on the body. In addition, holy basil seems to have an effect on the brain similar to that of antidepressant drugs. I guess this explains my ‘addiction’ to the hot and spicy stir-fries made with this fragrant leaf!
 

Fresh Vietnamese spring rolls are one of my favorite snacks / appetizers, although there have been many times when I’ve made an entire light meal out of them. It’s the Thai basil that makes them so addicting, I think.

There are many different recipes out there for these rolls. This can be a kind of "everything but the kitchen sink" dish, with a variety of additional ingredients such as mint, glass noodles and bean sprouts, as well as pork or shrimp. But I prefer them simple, and vegetarian.

Ingredients

Thai Basil

Pick all the leaves off the stalks. The stems and deep purple flower tops are generally not used. A bunch of around 10 grams will have enough leaves for three to four rolls.

Lettuce

Any kind of leafy lettuce will do, such as the oaks or corals.

Carrot

Carrots seem to be a very common ingredient for the rolls, as well as the sauce that accompanies them. Finely grate or shred the carrot.

Spring Roll Sheets

Look in your Asian grocery’s freezer case for these. I will admit that I once tried flour tortillas instead, and the results weren’t bad at all, although the shape is a problem.

Preparation Method

• Lay out a spring roll wrapper on a cutting board.
• Place a single layer of lettuce leaves on top of one end of the wrapper.
• Add a handful of Thai basil on top of the lettuce. Don’t be stingy! Use a generous handful of leaves or they won’t taste right.
• Top the leaves with a few strips of grated carrot.
• Pull the end of the wrapper up and over to roll up the filling. Tuck the ends in as you roll. A little bit of water on your fingertips will help ‘seal’ the roll up so it doesn’t come undone too easily.
• Slice the roll into bite-sized pieces.

Spring Roll Sauce

The sauce is an essential part of this dish. On their own, the rolls can be a little bland, but with the sauce they turn into a veritable party in your mouth. The typical sauce is spicy-sweet, but I have a simple "cheat" that works well:

Start with Thai chicken dipping sauce, which is available at most Asian grocery stores. The sauce is a little too thick for this use, so for three or four spring rolls, start with about ½ cup (100 ml) of dipping sauce and add two to three tablespoons of hot water to thin it down. Stir in a tablespoon of finely shredded carrot and top with a teaspoon of crushed peanuts, and voilà! The perfect spring roll sauce.

A basket of Kaffir Lime leaves on sale.

The leaves are a bit odd, in that they usually appear to be two heart-shaped leaves occupying a single stem end to end. The leaves are also a bit thick and fleshy. The fruit of the kaffir lime (ma-groot) itself is rather unusual as well, in that its green colored skin is very lumpy, quite unlike other citrus fruits. You may find the fruits on sale at the curry spice stall, since the zest is used in some Thai dishes. Herbal shampoos made from the kaffir lime are widely available in most supermarkets in Thailand. It is supposed to prevent dandruff. Some people even believe that the kaffir lime wards off evil spirits (like garlic to vampires) and hang it outside their house.

Fresh Coriander for sale

The most unique aspect of coriander’s role in Thai cooking is the use of the root in many curry pastes. Ground fresh coriander root is probably the true "secret spice" in Thai cuisine. It’s what gives Thai fried chicken that extra flavor and provides the undertone to dishes ostensibly flavored with garlic and pepper. The use of the root presents a problem for many cooks trying to master the true taste of Thai food, since most western supermarkets cut the roots off. Some solve this problem by growing the herb themselves.

Coriander seeds are perhaps the least used part of the plant in Thai cuisine. The small round seeds resemble white peppercorns, although not quite as hard. When called for, the seeds are usually dry roasted in a frying pan before being ground up as part of a curry paste.

Although most of the coriander used in Thai food is similar to that used elsewhere, another strain of coriander is sometimes called for. Known as pak chee farang or "foreigner coriander" in Thai, in English it’s known as sawtooth coriander, understandably because of the herb’s long narrow grass-like blades with sawtooth edges.

Spicy Pork Salad

Larb is generally classified as a salad by western standards, mainly because it is almost always served at room temperature and with fresh vegetables like cabbage or long beans. This point makes it a good dish for a diner party, since it can be prepared in advance and simply set aside while you make other dishes that need to be served hot.

This version of larb is really the northern-eastern ("Isan") variation on the traditional recipe. It’s perhaps the most liked of all the regional variations, and is the most palpable to Western tastes. One of the key ingredients of Isan style larbs is roasted rice, which is used as a sort of binder. To make it, dry-roast uncooked rice in a pan until it begins to brown, then grind it in a mortar and pestle.

(4 – 6 Servings)

Ingredients

Preparation Method

• To make roasted rice, stir some uncooked rice in a hot dry frying pan until it begins to brown. It may puff up a little. Then grind the rice to a powder with a mortar and pestle or a food processor.
• Drizzle four tablespoons of the lime juice over the ground pork. Allow it to marinate for a few minutes. Drain the pork and brown it in a hot skillet.
• As soon as the pork is lightly browned, add the roasted rice, pepper, coriander, shallots and one or two tablespoons of lime juice.
• Once the pork is cooked through and the shallots are soft, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool. Larb should be served at room temperature, or just slightly warm. Sprinkle the mint over the larb just before serving. Note: if the larb is too hot, it will turn the mint black.

Fresh mint on sale

The ancient Romans believed that eating mint increased intelligence and kept you from getting headaches. Mint was used by Europeans in the middle ages more as a drug than a seasoning. It was used to treat mouth sores, dog and wasp bites, whiten teeth, and prevent milk from curdling. It also repels mice and rats, reportedly.

Jade Sticky Rice – The Christmas Version

(4 – 6 Servings)

Sticky Rice Layer

Ingredients

Preparation Method

• Before cooking sticky rice, it must first be washed. Rinse the rice in a strainer until the water is clear. Traditional wisdom in Thailand is that it takes three washings to properly clean the dust off the rice.
• Here’s the tricky part: the rice must be soaked overnight (in other words, about eight hours or more) before cooking.
• Next, sticky rice must be steamed, not boiled, so you cannot use a traditional rice cooker unless it has a strainer to keep the water separated from the rice. You also get the best results if the rice is a uniform depth when cooking. I’ve gotten my best results using a round cake pan with a mesh bottom placed in a vegetable steamer. The pan allows the rice to be smoothed to an even depth, while the mesh bottom allows the steam through without letting the rice fall out. Steam the rice about 20 minutes.
• While the rice is cooking, stir together the sugar, coconut cream, pandan flavoring and food coloring. Use just enough coloring to give the mixture a light creamy green color. It helps dissolve the sugar if you warm the coconut cream for 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave before stirring in the sugar.
• As soon as the rice is cooked, transfer it to a large bowl and pour the sweet coconut cream over it. Stir it to mix and let it set. If you seem to have too much liquid, strain the mixture to remove the excess.
• Once the mixture has cooled slightly, you can transfer it to a pan or individual serving dishes. Keep it in the refrigerator to make it firm.

Coconut Cream Topping

Ingredients

Preparation Method

• To create the coconut cream second layer, mix together the coconut milk, rice flour and salt in a pan. Heat to boiling over medium flame, stirring until it thickens. Remove from heat and spoon onto the top of the first layer.
• Store in the refrigerator.

Serving note: If you refrigerate this dessert – which you will want to do if you’ve made it well ahead of time – be sure to take it out well enough ahead of time to be served at room temperature. The dish doesn’t taste very good cold, and needs to be room temperature or warmer.

I was surprised to find on my return home to Bangkok that there weren’t many references – on-line or in print – for Cambodian foods. As a result, I had to guess at the recipe, and I don’t even know what the name of this dish is, since a transliteration of it was not included on any menus I glanced at. In future trips to Cambodia, I’m going to have to look into this and see if I can find some local references. If you know the Khmer name of this dish, please leave a comment.

Chicken with Lemongrass and Holy Basil

(4 Servings)

Preparation Method

• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or wok. Add the lemongrass, onions and spur chili, and sauté over medium heat until the onions are wilted.
• Add the chicken; continue to saut&eacut; until the chicken is browned. Add the oyster sauce and chicken stock.
• Allow to simmer for a few minutes until the liquid is reduced to a sauce.
• Stir in the holy basil leaves and continue cooking for a little while longer, until the holy basil leaves are wilted.

Crispy Basil Leaves

Some crispy basil leaves make a nice garnish for this dish. In Thailand, where holy basil is cheap and plentiful, some chefs like to completely smother the dish in these leaves. Making them is easy. Simply heat some oil in a skillet or wok until it’s very hot, then drop a few leaves into the hot oil. They will fry up in just a few seconds, so you need to remove them quickly and place on a paper towel to drain. It doesn’t take much oil, but it does take a bit more than you’ll need to stir-fry this dish. I set aside the excess oil for future use, since it will take on some of the fragrance of the holy basil.