Thai Lao Steam Bun

Today marks the one year anniversary of Thai & Lao Food blogging. With full time employment and part-time blogging, I am exhausted!

Here is the traditional Thai Lao Steam bun recipe filled with pork, egg, mushrooms, and sweet sausages. I make steam buns on weekends; then I freeze the buns in containers. I would thaw in the fridge overnight and warm in the microwave for 20 seconds. This makes a quick breakfast on the go and I take them to work as a delicious alternative to sandwiches.

Appetizer Recipe: Thai Lao Steam Bun
1 package of steam bun mix. Look for steam bun picture to make sure you have the right package
½ cup sugar
1 cup fresh soy milk
1 tablespoon oil
12 quail eggs or 3 chicken eggs
2 Asian sweet sausages
1 cup ground pork
2 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
2 shallots minced
1 clove garlic minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons oyster sauce or hoisin sauce
12 wax paper cut into 2 inches square
2 tablespoons white vinegar

There should be directions on the package of the steam bun. However here are the basic steps:

1. For the Dough - mix the package with fresh soy milk, sugar and oil. Knead dough for 5 minutes. Leave dough aside for 20 minutes. Knead again for 2 minutes and divide dough into 12 equal balls.

2. For Pork Filling - boil quail eggs for 15 minutes or chicken eggs for 20 minutes. Cut large eggs in quarters. Cut sweet sausages into 12 pieces or into very small pieces. For pork filling, add chopped garlic, shallots and mushrooms, salt, pepper, and oyster sauce.

3. Putting it together - Sprinkle flour onto hard surface and roll dough out into a large circle slightly larger than palm of hand. Add eggs, sausages and 1 tablespoon of pork filling. Gather opposite edges and meet in the middle. Pinch dough to seal out any small air holes. Place wax paper under base of steam bun. Place six buns in each stainless steel steaming layer.

4. Add water into steaming pot so it levels 2 inches. Add vinegar and bring water to boil. Add steaming layers with bun over the steaming pot. Steam bun 10 minutes. Lift lid of steamer to remove condensation. Steam another 10 minutes.

Eggplant in Fish Sauce Stirfry

My aunt came to visit from Australia and she shared with me her eggplant recipe. Thank you "Ba Von" for this simple and delicious recipe.

Stirfry Recipe: Eggplant in Fish Sauce
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups water
1 long purple eggplant
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 chopped chili
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 egg
chopped cilantro for garnish

In a bowl, dissolve salt into water. Chop eggplant into bite size pieces and add into salt water for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, add sugar and fish sauce and chili. Mix to dissolve sugar. In a wok over high heat, add oil and garlic. Stir until garlic is crisp. Drain water from chopped eggplant and add to wok. Stirfry for 1 minute. Add the sugar, fish sauce and chili mixture. Stirfry for 1 minute. Crack the egg into wok and stirfry for 1 minute. Serve immediately and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve with sticky rice or khao chow and the Classic Thai / Lao Hot Sauce.

Dome Kim - Pork & Egg in Soy Sauce

I've seen people evolve this dish by adding potatoes in with the egg. This is one example of generations evolving quickly in North America and the reason why my blog is about authentic Thai and Lao food. If you are serving Dome Kim to Thai and Lao people, do not add potatoes into the pot.

Stir Fry Recipe: Dome Kim1 inch ginger
2 pounds pork that has fat, meat, and skin sections
5 eggs
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
½ tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 star anis (optional - also used in Lao Pho)

Thinly slice ginger. Chop pork to bite size pieces so that each piece has the fat, meat, and skin. Boil eggs for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and remove shell from egg. In a large pot of high heat add oil and garlic. Stir until garlic is brown. Add pork pieces and stir until brown which is about 10 minutes. Pour water into pot so that it just covers the pork. Add ginger, sugar, soy sauce, salt, and the hard boiled egg. Cook for 40 minutes while stirring occasionally. Turn heat off. Add fish sauce and stir again. Serve immediately with Lao sticky rice or khao chow.

Dome Kim is one of the rare Thai and Lao dishes that does not call for any chilies. So serve with Dome Kim with the Classic Hot Sauce and Roasted Tomato Chili Sauce. The best Dome Kim dish has pork pieces that contain the fat, meat and skin sections.

Coconut Custard Dessert

The Thai Lao Coconut Custard Dessert is usually served with black sticky rice to make Khao Sung Ga Ya. Fill a squash with custard to make another popular Thai and Lao dessert. The coconut custard dessert can be served with fresh tropical fruits.

Dessert Recipe: Coconut Custard
4 eggs
½ cup sugar
1 cup fresh coconut milk

In a bowl mix eggs and sugar. Add fresh coconut milk and mix thoroughly.

To bake, set oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 1 inch of water into a baking dish. Spoon custard into ramekin. Place ramekin into baking dish. Place in oven for 40 minutes.

To steam, place custard into a bowl. Place bowl into steaming bamboo basket and cover custard. Add 2 inches of water into steaming pot. Place steaming pot on maximum heat. Place bamboo basket and custard onto steaming pot. Steam for 40 minutes.

Grilling Sticky Rice with Egg

I think this recipe is appropriate for the Labour Day long weekend. For those out camping or at the cottage, try roasting sticky rice with egg over a camp fire instead of marshmallows. For those getting ready for school, learn how to make this appetizer dish because grilled sticky rice with egg is great to take with you while walking or driving to school.

One of my fondest childhood memories is roasting sticky rice over a camp fire with my dad. He would wrap cooked sticky rice around a wooden stick, roast it over a camp fire for about two minutes, then dip the sticky rice into scramble eggs, and roast again until the egg is cooked.

Barbecue Recipe: Grilling Sticky Rice with Egg
1 egg
¼ cup cooked white Thai / Lao sticky rice
sprinkle of salt

Scramble the egg in a small bowl. Take cooked sticky rice, spread flat and sprinkle salt. Knead the rice to incorporate salt and make unto a round pattie. Grill the sticky rice over a barbeque or cast iron grill on high heat. Grill for one minute. Flip sticky rice over and spread one tablespoon of scrambled egg over rice. After one minute flip the sticky rice and spread egg over rice again. After one minute, flip the rice to cook the egg. Serve immediately or repeat by flipping and spreading more eggs over sticky rice.

I have not grilled black sticky rice with egg but one day I'll give it try.

Pad Thai Pho Noodles

My fans have been asking for this recipe from day one of blogging. So here is everyone's favourite recipe. The most important thing here is to cook in high heat, that is, between medium and maximun heat. When purchasing pho noodles, make sure the label of the noodle package reads "Rice Sticks" and "Pho". Use pho noodles to make Lao Pho - beef noodle soup.

Stir Fry Recipe: Pad Thai Pho Noodles
1 handful of rice stick pho noodles soaked in luke warm water for 2 to 3 hours.
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon hot chili sauce
3 cups chopped baby bok choy, snow peas, sweet red peppers

Ingredients for Egg Strips:
1 egg
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon garlic

To make fried egg strips, in a small bowl mix egg and soy sauce. In a wok of high heat, add oil and garlic. Stir for 30 seconds and pour egg mixture into wok. Cook evenly and flip the egg in half and flip again to cook other side. Remove from wok. Once cooled, sliced into strips. Egg strips are also used in the Fried Rice recipe.

To make pad Thai noodles, drain the water from the soaked noodles. In a wok of high heat, add oil and garlic. Add noodles and soy sauce, oyster sauce and chili sauce. Stir quickly. Add chopped vegetables and stir quickly. If the noodles look dry and not yet cooked add ½ cup of water and mix again for another minute. Pour noodles into serving dish and top with fried egg strips. Pad Thai Noodles should not take more than 5 minutes to cook. Serve immediately.

Thai Jasmine Fried Rice

I poste this recipe in honour of Mother's Day. This Thai Lao recipe is my mother's specialty. From my mother's love, class, and pride, I share her Thai Jasmine Fried Rice recipe with you. Happy Mother's Day!

Stir Fry Recipe for Thai Jasmine Fried Rice - Pad Khao Chow:
1 sprig of Thai basil chopped
1 sprig for green onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 egg
½ cup of frozen peas and carrots thawed
2 cups Thai jasmine rice cooked - Khao Chow
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce

Instructions on making Fried Egg Strips: Crack an egg into a small bowl, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and mix with a fork. Set the stove element to high heat and place a wok over the element. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and garlic into the wok. Add the eggmixture and swirl the egg around the wok. Fold the fried egg in half then flip it again to cook the other side. Place the fried egg on to a cutting board. Once the fried egg is cooled, cut in half and slice the egg finely and thinly into long strips. Fried Egg Strips are also used in Pad Thai Pho Noodles

Instructions on making Thai Jasmine Fried Rice: Set the stove element to high heat and place a wok over the element. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and garlic into the wok. Add the thawed vegetables and mix for 1 minute. Add the cooked jasmine rice. Add 2 tablespoons each of oyster sauce and soy sauce. Mix to incorporate all ingredients and break out the jasmine rice clumps. Once the rice is broken, add chopped Thai basil and green onions. Place the fried jasmine rice into a serving bowl and top with the fried egg strips.

Baked Cassava Dessert Squares

In my video, I show the method used in Thailand and Laos which is finely grating fresh cassava. You can purchase grated frozen cassava but you’ll need to first thaw the packages before mixing the cassava with the other ingredients. The cassava mixture may be steamed and then tossed into coconut flakes. Check out steam cassava with coconut flakes

Recipe for Baked Cassava Dessert Squares:
3-4 cups of cassava finely grated
1 egg (optional)
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups fresh coconut milk

Mix all ingredients together in a large boil. Pour the cassava mix into a 7 x 10 inches baking pan. Bake in the oven in 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 50 minutes or until the center of the dessert is firm. Cool and then cut into squares.

Thai and Lao ways are always from scratch so my Thai & Lao Food video shows you the fresh and tastier method.