‘General’s’ Noodles

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According to the waiters at Sanamluang, this noodle dish is named for the restaurant’s former parking attendant whose authoritarian ways were legendary. Any kind of mixed meat can be used, although to stay true to form requires leftover roast duck, beef meatballs and squid.

Ingredients

  • 1 package dried rice noodles

  • 6 cups beef broth

  • 1 cup leftover roast duck, sliced

  • 4 preserved duck eggs, hard-boiled and sliced

  • 1 cup squid, cooked and chopped coarsely

  • 8 to12 beef meatballs (found in the frozen section of most Thai stores)

Instructions

Soak the rice noodles in warm water for 15 minutes. Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot. Divide the noodles into four individual portions and dunk each into the boiling broth for a few seconds with a wire strainer basket before placing in four bowls. Divide and dunk the duck, sliced eggs, squid and meatballs in the broth and place on top of the noodles.

Pour 1/4 of the broth into each bowl and serve hot.

Kung Po Chicken

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This classic Sichuan stir-fry dish can be made with shrimp, pork, beef, or even tofu as well as chicken.  It’s a simple dish with just a few ingredients combined with crunchy peanuts for texture. The complex flavors come from the marinating and seasoning sauces.

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite-sized pieces

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, peanut preferred

  • 4 to 6 whole dried red chiles, such as piquin or cayenne

  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic

  • 2 teaspoons grated ginger

  • 1/2 green bell pepper, cubed

  • 1 small onion, cubed

  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil

  • ½ cup roasted peanuts

  • Garnish: 1 green onion, chopped including some of the green

For the Marinating Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

For the Seasoning Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup chicken broth

  • 2 tablespoons Asian chile sauce

  • 2 tablespoons hoison sauce

  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Asian hot bean sauce

  • 2 teaspoons light soy sauce

  • 2 teaspoons rice vinegar

  • 2 teaspoons ground Sichuan pepper*

  • 2 teaspoons sugar

  • 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

 

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients for the marinating sauce along with 1 tablespoon of water in a large bowl and stir to mix. Toss the chicken in the sauce to coat and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

In another bowl, combine all the ingredients for the seasoning sauce, stir to mix and set aside.

Heat a wok or heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot and add the oil. Add the chiles and stir-fry for a couple of minutes or until they start to blacken. Push them to the side of the wok, add the garlic and ginger, and stir-fry until fragrant.

Drain the chicken and add to the wok. Stir-fry the chicken for a couple of minutes until the chicken changes color. Remove, drain and keep warm. Add the onion and bell pepper and stir-fry until they just soften.

Add the seasoning sauce to the wok and cook until the sauce thickens. Return the chicken and toss to coat. Heat until the sauce forms a glaze over the chicken. Add the sesame oil, peanuts and toss until coated.

To serve, mound the chicken on a serving platter and garnish with the chopped green onions. Serve with plain white rice.

Chicken with Basil

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“Holy” basil is widely available in Thai stores. The stems are purple and the leaves are pointed, distinguishing it from regular sweet basil. I actually prefer the flavor to “regular” basil—it’s slightly more bitter and fragrant, with a unique aroma. The basil doesn’t require much cooking, as too much heat makes it bitter and destroys the delicate flavor.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons oil

  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed

  • 1/2 pound chicken breast, chopped coarsely

  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce

  • 4 fresh red chiles, sliced lengthwise

  • 1 large bunch of Thai “holy” basil

Instructions

Heat the oil in a wok and fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the chicken breast, and cook over high heat for a few minutes. Add fish sauce and chiles and cook for a few minutes more. Add the basil and toss together until cooked.

Fried Spicy Noodles

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I like the way the cooks at Ruen Pair prepare their Khii Mao or “drunkard’s noodles.” It is less elaborate than some, but I prefer its simplicity. This is a typical bar food dish in Thailand, intended to be washed down with buckets of Singha beer. Don’t be afraid to make it as spicy as you can stand—it will certainly be true to the original. Stir-frying noodles isn’t hard, but it does require a lot of oil. To minimize the amount of oil used, add a little at a time as you cook the noodles.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound chicken breast

  • 4 tablespoons oil

  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed

  • 1 pound fresh wide, flat rice noodles (Sen Yai)

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce

  • 2 to 8 Thai chiles, chopped coarsely

  • 1 small bunch Thai basil

  • White or black pepper to taste

Instructions

Slice the chicken breast into strips 1/4-inch wide. Heat the oil in a wok and add garlic. As soon as the garlic begins to cook, add the chicken and cook for a few minutes. Remove from heat and set aside, saving the oil. Stir fry the noodles in the oil with the soy sauce until cooked, then add the chicken breast. Mix together and add fish sauce, chiles, and basil leaves. Toss in a wok, remove from heat and add pepper. Serve with vast quantities of Thai beer.

Penang Curry

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It may seem like cheating, but I like to use canned curry paste for this dish since it avoids the work of chopping and pounding that homemade curry paste involves. This dish takes its name from the northern Malaysian port city, but in Thailand the sauce is creamier and richer than the dry dark curries popular there.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups coconut milk

  • 2 tablespoons coconut cream

  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil

  • 1/4 cup Penang curry paste

  • 1 pound lean beef sliced across the grain into strips approximately 1/4-inch wide

  • 4 kaffir lime leaves, sliced into thin strips

  • 3 to 8 Thai chiles (bird’s eye), sliced thinly

Instructions

To separate the coconut milk and cream, open a can of coconut milk, scoop the cream off the top and reserve.

Heat the oil in a wok or small saucepan over high heat. Add the curry paste and fry for one minute. Add 1/2 cup of the coconut milk and boil for another four minutes or until thickened. Add beef strips and cook until nearly done, then add the remaining coconut milk. Boil together until thickened slightly. Before serving, swirl coconut cream into the curry and garnish with lime leaves and sliced chiles. Serve with fresh white rice.