Thai Recipes
137 recipes found
Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles)
The taste of a good pad kee mao relies on fresh garlic, basil and chiles — and a lot of each. (“Kee mao” means, roughly, “drunk-style,” and dishes with that label are associated with late-night cravings and hangover prevention.) The finished dish should be fragrant, pungent and whatever means “hot” to you: Deploy your chiles accordingly. Hong Thaimee, a chef in New York who grew up in Bangkok, employs a heavy Dutch oven, instead of a wok. (She said she was surprised to find that it worked better than a wok for Thai stir-fries on her tiny apartment stovetop, as its wide, flat bottom has more contact with the flame and holds onto more heat.) Fresh lime leaves are a popular addition; they are easy to buy online, along with fragrant Thai basil and, sometimes, holy basil. But in a pinch, Ms. Thaimee said, Italian basil and a garnish of lime zest are fine.
Herby Pork Larb With Chile
In this take on the classic Thai dish larb moo, ground pork is pan-cooked, then stirred together with a combination of funky fish sauce, fresh and dried chiles, shallots, lime juice and an abundance of fresh herbs for brightness. If you don't eat pork, ground chicken or turkey will work well in its place. Making the toasted rice powder is a little fussy, but it gives the dish an authentic nutty flavor and crunch. That said, if you skip it, it will still be delicious. If you have the time, top this dish with crispy shallots: It takes the whole thing to the next level, as does a flurry of chive blossoms when in season. Serve this spicy dish with sticky rice, and grilled or roasted wedges of cabbage squeezed with lime, but for a low-key weeknight, plain white rice and lettuce leaves work just as well.
Thai-Inspired Chicken Meatball Soup
This stellar soup is reviving and cozy, made in one pot, and ready in 30 minutes. It starts with ginger-scented chicken-cilantro meatballs that are browned, then simmered in a fragrant coconut milk broth that’s inspired by tom kha gai, a Thai chicken-coconut soup seasoned with lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaves and chile. A heap of spinach is added for color and flavor, and a squeeze of lime adds brightness and punch. The soup is brothy, so serve it over rice or another grain to make it a full meal.
Spicy Beef Stir-Fry With Basil
This simple, delicious recipe for a spicy beef stir-fry comes from Leela Punyaratabandhu, a cookbook author who adapted it from Soei, a family-run restaurant in Bangkok. Using thinly sliced beef tenderloin means the dish is ready in just minutes, and you can adjust the heat to taste by reducing or increasing the number of fresh bird's-eye chiles. Made with fresh holy-basil leaves, the classic Thai dish is known as phat ka-phrao. If you can't find holy basil at a Thai market, Indian market or health food store, you could swap in more widely available Thai sweet basil (pictured), and make a dish of phat bai hora-pha. The dish could be one part of a larger meal or stand alone with some jasmine rice and a fried egg.
Spicy Thai Pork Tenderloin Salad
There are a lot of ingredients in this bright and bold-tasting pork salad recipe; they add up to a vibrant dish you can serve warm or at room temperature to a spice-loving crowd. Lean pork tenderloin is marinated with chiles, ginger root and cilantro, grilled or broiled, then combined with cabbage, fresh herbs and nuts and coconut for richness. A bit of reserved marinade serves as the dressing. The recipe makes a large batch; you can halve it or make the whole thing and enjoy the leftovers.
Coconut-Poached Fish With Bok Choy
This one pot, Thai-influenced dish couldn’t be easier to assemble, and its beautiful presentation makes it look like you spent a lot longer on dinner than you actually did. The poaching liquid does double duty by gently cooking the fish and wilting the bok choy. If bok choy is unavailable, another sturdy green, like kale or Napa cabbage, can be substituted. Serve with steamed jasmine rice to soak up some of the fragrant coconut milk broth.
Tomato Nam Prik
Nam prik, the classic Thai dipping sauce, is made more complex and intriguing with the addition of tomatoes. This version of the sauce is perfect alongside a grilled rib-eye.
Fish Larb
Larb, a boldly flavored Thai dish, often combines ground chicken, ground pork or other ground meat with dried chile, scallions, shallots, fish sauce, lime, fresh herbs and nutty toasted rice, which you can make yourself or find at Asian markets. The dish also works with crumbled tofu, mushrooms, cauliflower or fish. In this quick-cooking fish version, fish fillets are pan-seared until cooked through, then broken into bite-sized pieces and tossed with the rest of the ingredients. Serve with sticky rice, small wedges of salted green cabbage, cucumber spears or lettuce leaves.
Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)
In Isan (and the rest of Thailand), green papaya salad is called som tum, with “som” meaning “sour” and “tum” referring to the pounding sound of the large pestle used to crush ingredients. It is eaten by itself as a snack, or with marinated grilled beef and chicken.
Thai Rice Soup With Pork-Cilantro Meatballs
Jok, also called congee, is a rice porridge that’s like the oatmeal of Asia -- a soft, soothing, filling breakfast that can be sparked with add-ins and toppings for flavor and crunch. Before dawn in Bangkok, jok vendors begin the battle to make the juiciest meatballs, the tiniest ginger matchsticks and the liveliest pickled fresh chiles. This recipe, which also makes a great lunch on a chilly weekend morning, is adapted from two cooks: Leela Punyaratabandhu, author of Simple Thai Food, who makes a vendor-style, puddingy jok; and Chrissy Teigen, the Thai-American supermodel, who makes a simpler version, adapted from her mother Vilaluck’s home recipe.
Thai Beef Marinade
Pork Satay With Thai Spices and Peanut Sauce
Throughout Southeast Asia, little skewers of marinated meat, grilled over coals, are sold as street snacks. Sweetly fragrant with coconut milk and spices, they are perfect for barbecue parties served with steamed rice, or on their own with drinks, whether grilled indoors or out. You may use pork loin or tenderloin, but marbled sirloin or shoulder is more succulent.
Spicy Shrimp With Blistered Cucumbers, Corn and Tomato
When warm weather arrives, the best recipes are the simple ones that allow seasonal produce to shine. In this recipe, shrimp gets a quick marinade in lime juice, ginger and garlic while the rest of the salad is assembled. Pan-searing cucumbers and corn deepens their flavor and adds a pleasant contrast to the fresh tomatoes. The Thai-style vinaigrette adds zingy brightness. Serve this salad over rice studded with mint and scallions, or as a side dish to grilled steak or pork. The shrimp and the dressing (minus the chives) can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for a day or so in advance, just be sure to bring them to room temperature before tossing everything together.
Massaman Syrup
Smashed Potatoes With Thai-Style Chile and Herb Sauce
This recipe is inspired by suea rong hai, or “crying tiger,” a Thai dish of grilled beef served with a fiery sauce of crushed Thai chile, fish sauce, lime juice, toasted rice powder and cilantro. Here, the bright and punchy sauce is the perfect foil to crispy roasted potatoes, but it would be just as welcome spooned over fried brussels sprouts, sautéed shrimp or grilled steak. Finally, while the sauce in this recipe is equal parts acidic and spicy, feel free to add more chile — including the seeds and ribs — to take the heat up a notch.
Thai Grilled Beef Salad
Thai-Style Spare Ribs
These ribs are often served in Thailand to accompany ice-cold beer, said Andy Ricker, the chef and owner of the Pok Pok restaurants in New York and Portland, Ore. He warns against overcooking them: Thai diners prefer ribs on the chewy side rather than falling-off-the-bone tender. They may be cooked over indirect heat in a covered charcoal grill, but it is far easier to bake them in a slow oven, then reheat (on the grill, if you wish) at the last minute. The ribs are quite flavorful on their own, but serve them with a spicy dipping sauce if you prefer.
Kai Yang (Thai garlic chicken)
Thai Orange Duck
The Thai-style version of duck à l'orange here requires only a little more work. It does not take much time to begin with, but if it makes life easier, prepare the curry base in advance, then cook the duck breasts when guests arrive. Reheat the curry sauce, carve the meat and combine. The fragmenting segments of orange and the deep sourness of the juice perfectly complement the oily richness of the coconut and the fat sweetness of the meat.
Saffron Thai Grilled Chicken
Fish Mousse Grilled On Lemon Grass (Sate Lilit)
Lemongrass Dressing
Hot and Sour Soup with Shrimp (Tom Yum Goong)
Thai-Style Baby Back Ribs
Pork ribs are often found under layers and layers of sauce and seasoning. In this recipe, stripped down to tropical-climate easiness, the ribs are grilled after being sprinkled generously with salt and pepper, not marinated or spice-rubbed. The infusing of the flavors — fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, jalapeños, ginger, garlic and lemon grass — comes after the cooking is done. It’s pretty neat how good that tastes. The recipe makes three or four entrée servings, but it also makes a good appetizer for six to eight.