kai pad ki mao - drunkards noodles and chicken

kai pad ki mao - drunkards noodles and chicken

There are a number of line of thought about ki mao dishes in Thailand.
They are widely served as bar snacks, in much the same way that Spanish
bars serve tapas (and serve to make you thirsty, when used for this
purpose). Other dishes described in this way are eaten as a stomach
liner before embarking on a serious nights drinking. Other such dishes
are served by the patient wife of the wandering husband who cralws back
hung over in the middle of the night only to realise that he has to get
up for work before 5 the following morning!

I hadn't heard of a noodle "ki mao" dish, but when I discussed it with
my wife, she came up with the following. As is often the case it could
equally well be prepared with beef or pork.

--Ingredients
--

6 ounces of wide rice ribbon noodles (sen yai)
a quarter cup of chopped shrimp
half a cup of chopped chicken
a quarter cup of firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped shallots (purple onions)
1 tabelspoon yellow bean sauce
1 tablespoon white (rice) vinegar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
4 tablespoons of palm sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon prik phom (ground red chillis)
a quarter cup of bean sprouts
1 tablespoon chopped mixed red and green prik chi fa (jalapenos)
1 coriander plant, chopped
1 cup of bai gaprao (holy basil leaves)
2 bulbs of pickled garlic, thinly sliced (garnish)
3-4 red jalapenos, julienned (garnish)

--method--

Soak the noodles in water for about 15 minutes; take about a third of
the sen yai and cut the ribbons into short pices (about 2" long). The
remaining two thirds of the noodles should be plunged into boiling
water, and cooked until "toothy" then removed and placed on the serving
plate.

If desired the tofu can be marinated in some dark soy to which a couple
of sliced chilis are added.

The third of the noodles that have been chopped are fried in hot oil
until crispy.

The remaining ingredients, except the pickled garlic, are stir fried in
a medium hot wok until cooked through (if you want the sauce thickened
add a little rice flour or corn starch) and then poured over the boiled
noodles. The fried noodles and the pickled garlic are then added as a
garnish.

Kai Ho Bai Toei (Chicken wrapped in Pandanus Leaf)

pandanus leaves act as both a wrapping and flavoring in this dish. Leaving a long tail on the parcels will make them prettier and easier to handle so don't trim the leaves. To eat, carefully unwrap the parcels and dip the chicken into the sauce.

5 cilantro roots, cleaned and roughly chopped
4 to 5 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 pound, 5 ounces skinless chicken breast fillet, cut into 25 cubes
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 ½ tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon plain, all-purpose flour
25 pandanus leaves, cleaned and dried
vegetable oil for deep-frying
plum sauce or a chilli sauce, to serve

Using a motar and pestle or a small blender, pound or blend the cilantro roots, garlic, white pepper, and salt into a paste. In a bowl, combine the paste with the chicken, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and flour. Cover with plastic wrap and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Fold one of the pandanus leaves, bringing the base up in front of the tip, making a cup. Put a piece of chicken in the fold and, moving the bottom of the leaf, wrap it around the chicken to create a tie and enclose the chicken. Repeat until you have used all the chicken.

Heat oil in a wok or deep frying pan over medium heat. When the oil seems hot, drop a small piece of leaf into it. If it sizzles immediately, the oil is ready. Lower some parcels into the oil and deep-fry for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the parcels feel firm. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Keep the cooked ones warm while deep-frying the rest. Transfer to a serving plate, and serve with plum sauce or a chilli sauce.

Kai Phat Yot Khao Pot (Chicken with Baby Corn)

Servings: 4

500 grams (1 pound) chicken fillets
1 tablespoon fish sauce
pepper
1 teaspoon oil
400 grams (13 ounce) babycorn, fresh or canned
3 spring onions
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

Slice chicken and marinade with fish sauce, pepper and oil for ten minutes. Cut babycorn lengthwise into halves. Cut spring onions into 3 cm (a little over an inch) long pieces. Chop garlic. Heat oil in a wok or a pan and roast garlic until golden. Add chicken and stir-fry until tender. Add babycorn and onion and continue to stir-fry. Add fish sauce, oyster sauce and sugar and taste if extra sugar or fish sauce is needed.