Pad Gra Pao (Thai Stir-fried pork with basil)

Pad Gra Pao ready to eat!

Pad Gra Pao is a delicious Thai pork stir-fry featuring salty, sweet, and spicy notes that is a regular in our weeknight meal rotation. Erin introduced Mark to this dish a few years ago, having become a fan of it herself during her time in Thailand and Southeast Asia. When we visited Thailand a couple summers ago, I (Mark) had the chance to try the dish from a local vendor and was shocked by how similar the version we make at home was to the version we had in Thailand. The main difference between our version and what we enjoyed in Thailand is the spice level: we use fewer chili peppers.

The recipe we use originally comes from Leela at SheSimmers. The main difference in our version is that we typically use only regular soy sauce and use fewer Thai chili peppers. Regardless, it is still delicious. Every time we make this dish it turns out slightly different depending on the spiciness of the chile peppers, the amount of garlic or shallot we use, or the exact mixture of sauce ingredients. However, it never disappoints and this stir-fry is a staple in our weeknight diets.

Ingredients

The aromatics - garlic, shallot, Thai chile pepper, and Thai basil

The sauce - oyster, soy, and fish sauces

• 1 pound ground pork
• 5-7 garlic cloves
• 2-3 Thai chili peppers
• 1 large shallot
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves, packed
• Thai Jasmine Rice for serving
• Fried egg for serving

Directions

Minced aromatics ready for sautéing

1. Finely chop or mince garlic, chili peppers, and shallot together. If you have a mortar and pestle, pound these ingredients together into a coarse paste.
   
   

   

   Sautéing the aromatics

   
   
   
2. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, then add garlic, chili peppers, and shallot mixture. Fry until fragrant.
   
   

   

   Stir-frying the pork with the aromatics

   
   
   
3. Add meat to pan and break it up into small pieces as it cooks.
4. When the meat is nearly cooked, add remaining ingredients (except basil), and stir well to incorporate.
   
   

   

   Adding Thai basil to the stir-fry

   
   
5. Once meat is cooked through, add basil leaves and stir a few times, then remove pan from heat and continue to stir basil in until it wilts from the residual heat.
6. Serve over Thai Jasmine rice and then top with Thai-style crispy fried egg.

Notes

• Feel free to substitute ground beef or chicken for the pork for a variation on the dish. I don't think we have ever tried, but tofu crumbles might also work for a vegetarian (protein-wise) variation.
• The soy sauce can entirely regular soy sauce or a combination of thin/light soy sauce and dark sweet soy sauce in 2:1 ratio.
• The Thai-style crispy fried egg can be replaced with a sunny-side-up or over-easy egg.

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Rice Pilaf with Homemade Vegetable Stock and Saskatchewan Wild Rice (Gratitude Post!)

Rice Pilaf (Vegan Sausage) and Homemade Tzatziki !

This is a gratitude post! This is a recipe that is grateful for friends and family who share recipes, food, and resources.

This is a rice pilaf dish that I came up to use homemade vegetable stock, based on our friends’ recipe (check it out on their blog!), and a long grain wild rice given to us by Mark’s Aunt and Uncle in Saskatchewan (Canada).

It made for a really easy and tasty weekday meal and the leftovers were just as good as the original. NOTE: You do not need to have fancy Canadian rice for this, but I do urge you to diversify the rice(s) you put into your pilaf for different flavors and textures. Just note that you may want to slightly adjust the broth/liquid depending on the type of rice.  

This recipe uses a field roast, but you could certainly sub for real sausage, fish, other meat, or simply veggies.

 

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 2 Tbsp butter (sub olive oil if you prefer/if cooking vegan)
• ½ cup orzo pasta
• ½- ¾ cup diced onion (yellow or red)
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup uncooked white/jasmine rice
• 1/3 cup Saskatchewan wild rice (sub for another wild rice, long grain rice, etc.)
• 2 ¼ cup vegetable broth/stock
• Field roast Italian garlic and fennel plant-based sausage (or other protein)
• ½ cucumber, diced  

 

Homemade Tzatziki (from Love and Lemons!)

• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup finely grated cucumber
• ½ Tbsp lemon juice
• ½ Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small clove of garlic, grated
• Pinch of sea salt
• ½ Tbsp chopped dill

 

Directions

Melt the butter (or heat the olive oil) in a lidded skillet over medium-low heat. Add the orzo and cook until golden brown stirring frequently.

Stir in the onion and bell pepper and cook until the onion becomes translucent (approx. 5 min), add the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Add all the rice and the broth/stock. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil

Reduce the heat back to low/medium-low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed (approx. 25 minutes).  

While the rice pilaf is cooking, slice your sausages and warm up in a pan over medium heat until they brown slightly on both sides (if you are using uncooked meat, you will need to properly cook it)

While your sausages are browning and your rice pilaf is cooking, make the tzatziki: Squeeze liquid from the cucumber slices using a towel and then combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Remove from the heat (cook for a few minutes with the lid off if there is noticeable liquid remaining), let sit for a few minutes, and then stir.

Place rice pilaf into a bowl, top with the browned sausage slices (~ 1 sausage per person), add fresh diced cucumbers, and top with tzatziki! 

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