Courtesy of the Oriental Hotel Cooking School, Bangkok, Thailand
Featured in: Revolution in Thai Cooking
Ingredients
- •300 grams (1½ cups) Coconut Cream*
- •100 grams (1 cup) chicken, minced
- •40 grams (3 tablespoons) shallots, finely sliced
- •40 grams (½ cup) firm tofu, diced
- •30 grams (3 tablespoons) preserved soybean**
- •6 grams (1½ teaspoons) salt
- •40 grams (¼ cup) palm sugar
- •35 grams (4 tablespoons) tamarind pulp***
- •3 grams (1 teaspoon) chili flakes
- •20 grams (2 tablespoons) chili oil
- •200 grams (2½ cups) rice vermicelli, soaked, boiled, and drained
- •Bean sprouts, as needed
- •Chinese chives, as needed
- •Shredded egg crepe, as needed
- •2-3 wedges lime
*Coconut cream recipe here
**Preserved soybean is also called fermented soybean. It is sold in a glass jar. I buy a brand made in Taiwan called Dragonfly. However, you can choose a brand you think you might like. My advice is to stay clear from the ones manufactured in Mainland China. I am leery about anything grown and manufactured there.
***Tamarind pulp recipe here
Preparation
In a bowl, combine half of the coconut cream with the minced chicken. Keep stirring to make sure there are no lumps. Set aside.
Heat the rest of the coconut cream in a wok and reduce over medium heat until it becomes a little oily. Add the shallots to cook until aromatic. Pour the mixture from above to mix and stir well until cooked.
Add the tofu, preserved soybean, and season with salt, palm sugar, tamarind pulp, and chili flakes.
Spoon out ⅓ of the sauce and reserve it for garnishing. Add the chili oil to the rest of the sauce, then stir in the rice vermicelli. Cook a few minutes and remove from the heat.
To serve, put the vermicelli on a plate, then pour the reserved sauce over. Serve with bean sprouts, Chinese chives, and lime.