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.

Water Lily Stir Fry

Some call it “water lily” or “on choy” but in Thailand and Laos, this green vegetable is called “puk bonge”. Purchase the water lily vegetable at most Asian supermarkets.

Most Thai and Lao people will eat water lilies raw with spicy dishes like the green green papaya salad, lap Lao beef and lap chicken because it cools the tongue. I prefer it raw myself but here is a stir fry recipe given to me from my aunt “Ba Von”.

Stir Fry Recipe: Water Lily
1 tablespoon oil
¼ cup chopped onions
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 inch of ginger and sliced thinly
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce or hoisin sauce

Cut 2 inches off the bottom stem and discard. Wash water lily in cold water thoroughly and remove any damaged leaves. Drain excess water. In a small bowl, mix shrimp paste, fish sauce, and oyster/hoisin sauce. Cut the washed water lily 4 inches in length and separate the large stems from the smaller stems. In a wok over high heat, add oil, garlic, onions and ginger. Stir fry until onions are tender. Add the thick stems and stir fry for about 2 minutes, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium. After 2 minutes, remove lid and add the tender stems and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Turn heat off and add sauce. Mix sauce with water lily stir fry and serve immediately.

Serve water lily stir fry with sticky rice or jasmine rice.

Beef Stir Fry

Most Thai and Lao children first learn how to cook sticky rice or jasmine rice before other dishes. However, the beef stir fry was my first dish when I was 11 years old. This shows you how simple it is to make this dish. Make sure that cooking time does not exceed 3 minutes.

Stir Fry Recipe: Beef Stir Fry
2 cups chopped beef
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster or hoisin sauce
1/2 cup snow peas
1/2 cup chopped sweet red peppers
1/4 cup chopped red onions

Add chopped beef, garlic, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Mix thoroughly together and marinate for 1/2 hour. In a wok, over high heat, add oil and marinated beef. Stir fry until 50% of beef is cooked. Add onions and stir fry for 1 minute. Add snow peas and sweet peppers and stir for 2 minutes. Stir fry beef should not take longer than 3 minutes.

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

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 Lao Glass Noodle Shrimp Soup

In Lao, glass noodle is called "sin lon". When purchasing glass noodles make sure the ingredients listed on the package shows only mung bean and water. Glass noodles are often used in salads, soups, and fried spring rolls. Do not use pho noodles or sin khao bune - rice noodles with this recipe.

Soup Recipe: Glass noodles and shrimp
2 bundles glass noodles
4 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
1 piece lemongrass
1 lime kaffir leaf
1 chopped chilies (optional)
4 tomato pieces
8 mushroom pieces
8 shrimps
8 baby bok choy bunches
1 tablespoon oyster, mushroom or bean sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Place 2 bundles of glass noodles in a bowl. Pour warm water to cover the glass noodles. Wait for 15 minuets. Remove the string from the bundle and cut the noodles in half. Divide the glass noodles into 4 separate bowls.

In a pot over high heat, add 4 cups of water. Add salt, lemongrass, kaffir leaf and optional chilies. Once the water boils, add tomatoes, mushrooms, shrimps, baby bok choy, oyster sauce and fish sauce. Stir until the shrimp is cooked which is about 2 minutes. Remove and discard the lemongrass and kaffir leaf from the soup. Pour soup over 4 individual bowls. Make sure each bowl has equal portions of tomatoes, mushrooms, shrimps, and baby bok choy. Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro.

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.