Labour of love

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"For Thai cooking to work, the aroma has to make your eyes water, make you cough, cling to your hair, linger on your clothes."

These days it is probably why Thai kitchens are in the part of houses with no views as those living there will not be spending much time in there.

But for those who love to cook Thai food, that is what it is all about.

"Thai food was meant to be a labour of love."

Nualkhair discovered her love of her country’s food as a child. Her mother was not a good cook and her father was often working when she was hungry so she taught herself to cook with the help of 1970s cookbooks.

"There were also important basics that formed the building blocks of what I grew to love about the act of cooking."

While Thai food is very varied - from very spicy southern food to mild, more meaty northern dishes - it is common for Thais to share stories and jokes over a common meal.

"Commonly made with fresh herbs, they are the reason Thai food boasts that extra oomph in flavour."

To make those pastes, there is one tool that is needed - a mortar and pestle - preferably with a tea towel folded under the mortar to keep it stable. Granite ones are good for pounding pastes for curries and chilli pastes, but bruise the delicate components of a grated salad, so a wooden set is needed for that.

Alternatively a blender can be used, but you miss out on the release of the aromas as the oils meld together, Nualkhair says.

Another important tool in the Thai kitchen is a wok to stir-fry. Originally brought to Thailand by the Chinese, wok have become an important part of Thai cooking. A good sharp knife and a chopping board are other essentials.

In her book, Nualkhair provides the basic rules that most Thais follow when cooking - only cook with unscented oils, serve food at room temperature, food is cut into bite-size pieces (so there is no need for a knife), incorporate a "crunch element" and always cook meat on the bone for more flavour (the decision to remove the bones before serving is up to the chef).

Real Thai Cooking not only provides recipes, but also the historical and cultural references behind their creation.

As chef McDang says in his forward, Thai food is delicious but each dish is also a piece of history.

"It is not just simply a way for people to get together and enjoy their lives, but as a mirror for the historical and social developments of a certain place and time."

Real Thai Cooking: Recipes and Stories from a Thai Food Expert, by Chawadee Nualkhair, published by Tuttle, distributed by Bateman Books, $49.99

Out of all the dishes to come out of Thailand in recent years, this one may well be the most popular, found on menus all over the globe. Serve this when you need a pick-me-up (or even when you don’t!).

4 bundles egg noodles, ideally fresh (dried noodles are fine)

1 cup (250ml) vegetable oil

1 Tbsp dark soy sauce

chilli oil, to taste (see below)

(450g) cubed chicken breast

2 cups (500ml) coconut milk

3 Tbsp shaved palm sugar, or regular sugar

3 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp salt

Curry sauce

½ cup (60g) peeled and cubed ginger

1 cup (170g) cubed Thai shallots (if using regular shallots reduce to ½ cup/85g)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

3 Tbsp yellow curry paste

Chilli oil

¼ cup (65ml) vegetable oil

½ tsp chilli powder (prik pon)

Garnishes

deep-fried egg noodles (made from one bunch of fresh egg noodles)

3 green onions, sliced

1 bunch coriander leaves, sliced

chilli oil

splash of fresh coconut cream

pickled cabbage

raw bean sprouts

fresh chopped shallots

fresh lime wedges

sugar, to taste

fish sauce, to taste

chilli powder, to taste

Method

To make the curry sauce, process the ginger and shallots in a blender or food processor, dampening with a few teaspoons of water until a thick paste is formed. Fry the mixture in the vegetable oil for a minute, then add the yellow curry paste. Stir-fry until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Make the chilli oil by heating the oil in a pan and "sprout" the chilli powder in the oil until it infuses the oil. Use some to season the noodles and set the rest aside as garnish.

Take 1 bunch of the egg noodles and deep-fry in hot vegetable oil until deep golden. Set aside and reserve for garnish.

Blanch the remaining noodles by placing each bundle in a strainer and immersing in boiling water. Stir with chopsticks for a minute, then plunge each bundle in iced water to stop the cooking process. Drain and season with dark soy sauce and chilli oil. Adjust to taste. Transfer to individual bowls and set aside.

Put the chicken and curry sauce in a pan and saute until the meat is just cooked through, approx 3-5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, ensuring a "soupy" consistency. Thin with water if necessary. Taste and season with the sugar, soy sauce and salt. Pour this over the noodles and serve.

To serve

Garnish with the deep-fried noodles, green onions, coriander leaves, chilli oil and a splash of fresh coconut cream, if you like.

Place pickled cabbage or fresh bean sprouts, shallots and wedges of lime on the side. The diner can re-season the noodles with more sugar, fish sauce and chilli powder, also on the side.

I’ve had this dish many times, but the best version I’ve ever had is the one cooked by Jay Fai at her now-Michelin-starred restaurant.

Before the days of long queues and frantic diners, I had the chance to sit down with her after a meal and she told me she used a nice stock made of shrimp heads and a spoonful of oyster sauce.

I’ve added that to the recipe here and it’s great.

Ingredients

5 cups (1.25 l) fish or chicken broth

1 tsp roasted chilli paste (namprik pao)

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

6 large slices galangal

5–7 makrut lime leaves, leave some whole, finely julienne a couple

4 stalks lemongrass, tender inner part of the bottom third only, bruised

4-8 red finger-length chillies or bird’s eye chillies, bruised (this depends on your heat tolerance)

1 shallot, sliced

6 jumbo prawns with heads on, deveined (I find it easier to deshell the prawn tails and to snap off the heads, which will be added to the broth)

5 Tbsp fish sauce

1 cup (200g) oyster mushrooms, torn into bite-sized pieces

1 cup (155g) young coconut shoots (substitute peeled green asparagus stalks or bamboo shoots)

Juice of 2 limes

Bring the broth to a boil. Stir in the roasted chilli paste and oyster sauce. Add the galangal, makrut lime leaves (both whole leaves and julienned), lemongrass, chillies and shallot. Allow to infuse for about 5 minutes, then bring to a simmer.

Add the shrimp heads, first scraping their contents into the soup. Wait five minutes, then season with the fish sauce. Add the mushrooms and coconut shoots (if using asparagus stalks, add in 20 min- utes later).

Wait half an hour, or until the coconut shoots are tender. Skim the scum off the surface and discard the shrimp heads. Turn off the heat, then add the cleaned and deveined shrimp, and stir until the shrimp turn "pink".

Season with the fish sauce and lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Serve immediately.

This is not a traditional sour curry recipe. It’s taken from the Bunnag family recipe archive, where it is referred to as gang som chak.

This gang som resembles regular sour curry, except that the chilli paste base includes makrut lime peel, lemongrass and galangal, much like gang ped or gang kua (red curry).

This curry makes a lot of use of morning glory (but not the Chinese kind, because it doesn’t keep its shape after long cooking). The protein is a white-fleshed fish; if you were to use three-layer pork or fatty pork, the name of this dish would be "taypoe pork curry".

The three flavours featured here are sour (hence the name), salty, and sweet (it’s a Central Thai family, after all).

Speaking of which, you can add coconut milk to this, and it will be delicious in a different way.

Ingredients

4–8 dried chillies, depending on your spice tolerance

1 tsp minced galangal

4 Tbsp minced lemongrass, tender inner part of bottom third only

4 Tbsp minced shallots

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp grated makrut lime rind

1 tsp shrimp paste (kapi)

1 tsp salt

2–3 Tbsp unscented oil (vegetable oil)

1kg fatty, white-fleshed fish, flesh cut into bite-sized pieces

6 cups (1.5L) water

3 Tbsp sugar, or to taste

3 Tbsp fish sauce, or to taste

3 Tbsp tamarind juice,or to taste

Salt, to taste

240g Thai morning glory, or spinach

6-8 makrut lime leaves, shredded

Juice of 1 makrut lime (regular lime may be substituted)

3-4 Tbsp coconut milk (optional)

Serve with lime wedges, nam pla prik and steamed rice

Pound the chillies, galangal, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, makrut lime rind, shrimp paste and salt into an even paste in a mortar and pestle.

In unscented oil in a soup pot over medium heat, fry the paste until aromatic (about 1 minute). Add the fish and fry until cooked through, adding a little water as you go along if necessary.

Add the water, sugar, fish sauce, tamarind juice and salt to taste.

After it starts boiling, add the morning glory and makrut lime leaves and juice. Taste to check seasoning and adjust as necessary.

If you are using coconut milk, now is when you want to add a dash or two. Allow to simmer for about 10–15 minutes for the flavours to meld. Serve with steamed rice, nam pla prik and lime wedges.

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