THAI COOKING:Thai food is quick and easy to prepare, once you understand the balance of flavours involved. RACHEL COLLINSand LAURENCE MACKINjoin a master class with Taweesak Trakoolwattana, head chef at Saba and author of the restaurant's new cookbook
IT’S NOT EVERY day you find yourself caught in a chilli-eating competition before 10am.
“Are three chillies enough?”
“Let’s add more. Can you handle more?” “Umm okay. One more?”
“How about two more . . .”
It looks like nobody’s backing down until someone loses an eye – or their taste buds anyway – so we compromise with five chillis and our Tom Yam soup is ready to eat.
It’s a typical damp, grey Irish winter morning, but inside Saba restaurant in Dublin’s Clarendon Street, we’ve been transported to a little corner of Thailand in the company of executive chef Taweesak Trakoolwattana (Tao to his Irish friends).
We’re here to learn how to cook some of Tao’s favourite recipes from his new book The Saba Cookbook – published next week. The book, a long-standing ambition of Tao’s and Saba’s owner Paul Cadden, is the result of years of fine-tuning authentic Thai food for the Irish palate. Proceeds will be split between an Irish charity – Our Lady’s Hospital for sick children in Crumlin – and a Thai one – the Thai Red Cross, which is helping with the recent floods in Tao’s home town, Bangkok.
The book features almost 100 recipes, from traditional Thai soups and salads to appetisers, curries and noodle dishes, stir fries and desserts. There is also helpful information on stocking your kitchen with basic Thai ingredients, how to shop in Asian supermarkets, and tips and hints from the Saba kitchen on how to make the most authentic dishes.
The proliferation of Asian supermarkets here makes it a lot easier to get good quality Thai ingredients, Tao explains, as he leads us through a basic shopping list. Despite achieving a wide range of flavours, Thai cuisine relies on only a small number of key ingredients and the cooking processes are quick and simple. “It’s all about balance,” he says.
We start with the basic sauces. “You should think of Thai sauces like wine,” Tao recommends. “Soy sauce is like red wine – you use it to flavour meat. And fish sauce is like white wine – you use it with fish and vegetables.” On to that Irish favourite, sweet chilli sauce. Much to his amusement, Tao says: “When I ask Irish people what they use sweet chilli sauce for, they say ‘everything’. This is totally wrong. Sweet chilli is for dips and marinades only. Not for cooking, ever. When you add this, it ruins your seasoning and all you can taste is the sweet chilli.” He kindly overlooks our guilty faces and continues through the ingredients, from curry pastes to fresh herbs and noodle types (see panel right) and then it’s time to fire up the woks.
First up is that Tom Yam soup, a spicy prawn soup (you can also make this with chicken). As he guides us through the simple recipe, Tao explains that a love of his national cuisine has seen him cook for such illustrious guests as the queen of Thailand (she had duck, in case you’re wondering) and eventually led him to meet Irishman Paul Cadden, who invited Tao to work as executive chef when he opened Saba in 2006.
Tao says that the Irish are definitely becoming more adventurous with our eating habits since he first came here, and while he may tone down the spice in some of the recipes in his book, they are all authentic Thai dishes.
“And you can always add more spice if you want,” he says – which leads to the chilli-off. Having let the side down with our earlier sweet chilli faux pas, neither of us is willing to shout stop as the chilli count rises. However, there are no tears or streaming noses when we taste the delicious soup, so, dignity restored, we continue on to the next dish, a glass noodle salad.
As with all Thai dishes, salads – regardless of their ingredients – need to achieve a balance of sweet, salty, sour and spicy flavours (some chefs also add “bitter” to that list, but we’re not doing so in these dishes).
Tao recommends a standard five-ingredient mix as the base for every salad – three cloves of garlic, a dessertspoon of chopped coriander stalks, five bird’s eye chillis, one large red chilli and two chopped shallots. This keeps in the fridge for up to two weeks, he says, and goes really well with leftovers such as roast chicken, or with chopped tomatoes and spring onions to make a light salad.
Again, he offers some good tips for using Thai ingredients at home, such as soaking the glass noodles in cold water, not hot, so they remain intact when you add them to the salad later (he advises you do this with all types of noodle, as it means they won’t fall apart in stir-fries or sauces and they will keep in the fridge if you don’t use them).
We also try our hands at stir-fried chicken with ginger; beef with chilli paste in oil (a video of this recipe is available at irishtimes.com/foodanddrink), and a green monkfish curry.
Tao says it’s not the end of the world if you don’t make your own curry paste. “It’s good to make your own, but sometimes it’s hard to get all the correct fresh herbs. If you can’t get them, it’s better to buy a good paste in the Asian supermarket, and they will last in the fridge for three months.” And while we are becoming more attuned to Thai cuisine here, we’re clearly influencing his tastes too, as he admits that when making the monkfish curry for himself, he prefers to make it with salmon (it’s not on the menu in the restaurant, though, as “Irish people don’t come to a Thai restaurant to eat salmon – you eat enough of that at home”.)
After just a couple of hours, we’ve cooked five tasty, healthy meals from scratch. Thai cooking takes very little time – chopping your ingredients generally takes longer than cooking them – and all the preparation can be done up to a day in advance.
We leave Saba laden down with the spoils of our morning’s labour and within minutes of arriving back in the office it has been gobbled up by hungry colleagues.
“Oh, anyone could do it,” we tell them, “but first things first: how many chillis do you think you could handle?”
The Saba Cookbook by Paul Cadden and Taweesak Trakoolwattana is published on Wednesday, €30.
Tao runs Thai cooking days at Saba, including a trip to the Asian Market. See fabfoodtrails.com
All recipes from the master class and a video tutorial are available online at irishtimes.com/foodanddrink
Thai Essentials
These are the ingredients most commonly used in Thai cuisine. If you can, shop in Asian supermarkets for authentic ingredients. For the freshest produce, shop on Thursdays, as most Asian stores receive shipments from Thailand on Wednesday evenings.
Soy and fish sauces
Good quality fish sauce doesn’t have a strong smell or taste. It’s mild and adds character. Buy it in a clear glass bottle, it should have a clear colour. Soy should also be light in colour and in a clear bottle. Only use dark or black soy for colour. It’s strong caramel flavour will overpower your dish.
Coconut milk
Buy in cans, but add water as it’s too creamy for Thai dishes. A quarter can of water per can of milk in curries, a half can of water per can of milk in soups.
Rice
Irish people sometimes find jasmine rice is too fluffy or sticky, so Tao recommends that they mix half long grain and half jasmine. They cook in the same time.
Noodles
Soak noodles in cold water rather than boiling water to rehydrate them and then add to your dish. This will stop them sticking or falling apart. You can keep the noodles you don’t use in the fridge afterwards. Rice noodles take 30 minutes soaking; vermicilli noodles, 20 to 25 minutes; egg noodles, 10-15 minutes.
Palm sugar
This is much better than ordinary sugar for curries and adds a deeper note.
Chilli paste
A great all-rounder. Buy the Thai-style chilli paste in oil and use in stir fries, soups and even on bread as a snack.
Curry paste
There are four main types: massaman, red, yellow and green. Red and green are similar in spice levels, although the green is slightly sweeter. Yellow curry paste is the only one that’s vegetarian.
Mushrooms
Oyster and button are most often used, but you can also buy shitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms in Asian stores.
Kaffir lime leaves
These add a strong lime flavour and aroma. You can buy them dried, but frozen leaves are better. Tear roughly into soups and curries (you can remove before serving), or slice finely into salads.
Limes
It’s better to squeeze these with your hands, as you release oils from the skin.
Shallots
Smaller and sweeter than onions, they are often used raw in salads and as an accompaniment to spicy dishes.
Lemongrass
This gives a subtle citrus flavour to soups and curries. The larger, hard-leaved ones are grown in the Netherlands. If you can, use Thai lemongrass, which is smaller and has more flavour.
Coriander
Add leaves at end of the cooking process so they hold their flavour. Stems can be cooked into soups and curries or chopped finely into salads.
Birds eye chilli
Small, hot chillis. With most chillis, red is hotter than green. But with the bird’s eye chilli, the green is hotter than the red.
Galangal and ginger
From the the same family, but used in different dishes. Galangal has a mild flavour and it goes in spicy wok dishes whereas ginger has a spicy taste, so it goes in mild wok dishes.
Note: Herbs can be kept in the freezer for up to a year. Pre-slice them first, so you can use them as you need them.
Yaam Woon Sen
Spicy glass noodle salad with minced pork and prawns
Serves 4 as a starter
(Gluten free)
Ingredients
200g glass noodles
100g pork neck or loin minced
16 medium prawns, fresh or frozen
1l water
30g wood ear mushrooms, finely sliced
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
3 shallots, finely sliced
80g spring onions, cut 4cm
50g unsalted, roasted, peanuts or cashew nuts
For the dressing:
3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
1dsp coriander stalks, finely chopped
5 bird's eye chilli, finely chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped
1dsp hot chilli sauce
3dsp fish sauce
3dsp lime juice
¼dsp sugar
Cooking method
Use fresh or frozen prawns, take the shell off but leave the tails on and remove the centre vein.
Soak the glass noodles in cold water for 15 minutes, drain and cut into 10cm pieces.
To make the dressing:
Combine the garlic, shallots, coriander, bird's eye chilli, chilli, hot chilli sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. Mix well and keep to one side.
Put the water in a wok, bring to the boil, add the minced pork, cook for 30 seconds before adding the prawns and mushrooms and cook for 30 seconds. Add the glass noodles and cook for another 30 seconds. Drain and run under cold water to prevent further cooking. If you want to serve this hot, skip running the cold water and just drain and then combine everything and serve immediately.
Combine the cherry tomatoes, shallots, spring onions, roasted peanuts or cashew nuts and mix everything together.
To serve
Pour over the dressing, mix well.
Tip
• You can combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a blender and whizz them around. It will keep in the fridge for at least 2 weeks.
Gang Kiew Wann Pla
Green monkfish curry
Serves 4
(Gluten free)
Ingredients
480g monkfish or monkfish fillets, sliced
3dsp sunflower oil
2 heaped dsp green curry paste
800ml coconut milk, 21% fat
200ml water
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
3dsp fish sauce
1dsp or 20g palm sugar
80g Thai pea aubergines
50g bamboo shoots, sliced
100g mixed peppers, sliced
100g string beans, cut 4cm
2 chillies, finely sliced
10g sweet basil, torn
Cooking method
Heat the wok to a medium heat, add the oil and green curry paste and stir until you begin to get an aroma. Add the coconut milk and the water to thin it, bring to the boil for a few minutes and then add the kaffir lime leaves. Season with fish sauce and palm sugar.
This dish can be made in advance as far as this step, and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Add the monkfish and Thai aubergines, cook for one minute and then add the rest of the vegetables.
Cook for a few minutes but keep the vegetables crunchy and at the last minute add in the sweet basil.
To serve
Serve with Thai jasmine rice.
Tip
• Coconut milk with 21% fat content gives a better flavour than those with a lower fat content but water is added to lighten it.
Phad Khing* Thai
Stir-fried chicken with ginger
Serves 4
Ingredients
480g chicken breast, finely sliced
3dsp sunflower oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
100g ginger, in fine strips
80g mixed peppers, sliced
80g onions, sliced
30g shitake mushroom sliced (fresh or dried)
80g baby corn, halved, par-boiled
2dsp soy sauce
1dsp oyster sauce
½dsp black soy sauce
¼tsp sugar
30ml chicken stock or water
Cooking method
Bring the wok to a medium heat, add the oil, garlic and ginger and stir until there is a fragrance. Add the pork and stir for one minute before adding the peppers, onions, shitake mushrooms and baby corn.
Season with the soy sauce, oyster sauce, black soy sauce and sugar. Then add some chicken stock, pouring it around the side of the wok and stir for just a minute. Do not overcook the vegetables, they should be crunchy.
To serve
Serve with Thai jasmine rice or noodles on the side.
Tip
• If you can't get fresh shitake mushrooms, use dried ones. Simply put the dried mushrooms in water, bring them to the boil and cook for about 5 minutes until just soft.
Phad Nam Prik Pao
Stir-fried beef with chilli paste in oil (see video for tutorial on how to make this dish)
Ingredients
480g beef fillet, finely sliced
3dsp sunflower oil
3 cloves of garlic, crushed, chopped
1½dsp chilli paste in oil
80g baby corn, halved, par-boiled
30g wood ear mushrooms in strips
80g onions, sliced
80g mixed peppers, sliced
50g spring onions, cut 4cm pieces
2 chillies, sliced
2dsp fish sauce
1dsp oyster sauce
¼tsp sugar
30ml chicken stock or water
10g sweet basil, torn
Serves 4
Cooking method
Bring the wok to medium heat, add the oil, chopped garlic and chilli paste in oil and stir until it begins to cook but not brown. Add the prawns and stir for another 30 seconds. Now add the baby corn, wood ear mushrooms, onions, peppers, spring onions and chillies.
Season with fish sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Then add some chicken stock or water, pouring it around the side of the wok to gather the lovely flavours but making sure not to cool it down. Stir for a minute but do not overcook the vegetables, they should be crunchy.
To serve
Add the sweet basil and serve with Thai jasmine rice.
Tip
• Do use the chilli seeds, they give this dish a special zip.
To serve
Add the sweet basil and serve with Thai jasmine rice.
Tip
• Do use the chilli seeds, they give this dish a special zip.
