Alright, so I decided to tackle some Thai cooking myself the other day. Saw a bunch of stuff online labelled ‘quick and easy Thai recipes’ and figured, how hard could it be? Usually, I just grab takeout, let’s be honest. But I had some time and wanted to actually make something.
First off, getting the ingredients wasn’t exactly ‘quick’. Had to hit up a special Asian market for stuff like fish sauce, palm sugar, and some proper Thai basil. My regular supermarket just doesn’t cut it for this kind of thing. Spent a good hour just wandering the aisles, trying to figure out which bottle of fish sauce looked right. Finally got everything back home, spread it all out on the counter. Looked impressive, I guess.
Getting Started: The Prep Work
Decided to try two things: a simple Green Curry with chicken and maybe some Pad See Ew, ’cause I love those wide noodles.
- Chopping: Started chopping everything. Garlic, shallots, galangal (which smells amazing, by the way), chicken, veggies. This part always takes longer than you think. Knives were flying, cutting board was a mess.
- Making the Curry Paste?: Okay, the recipe said ‘quick’ so I cheated. Used a store-bought green curry paste. Sue me. Making paste from scratch? That’s a whole other weekend project, not a quick weeknight thing.
- Noodles: Soaked the wide rice noodles for the Pad See Ew like the package said. They felt kinda weird and clumpy. Had a moment of doubt right there.
The Actual Cooking Part
Okay, wok time. Heated that thing up super hot. First, the Pad See Ew. Added oil, garlic, chicken. Stirred it like crazy. Then cracked in an egg, scrambled it quick. Tossed in the noodles, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, a bit of sugar. Added some Chinese broccoli. It smelled pretty good, gotta say. But getting those noodles coated evenly without breaking them? Tricky business. Felt less like cooking, more like wrestling slippery ribbons.
Then, the Green Curry. Sautéed the curry paste in some coconut oil until it was fragrant. Dumped in coconut milk, chicken, let it simmer. Added veggies – bamboo shoots, bell peppers. Threw in fish sauce, palm sugar, kaffir lime leaves. Finished with Thai basil. The kitchen actually started smelling like a Thai place, which was encouraging. It looked pretty decent in the pot.
So, Was It Quick and Easy?
Quick? Eh, sort of. Faster than a four-hour roast, sure. But with the ingredient hunting and all the chopping? It took a solid hour and a half from start to finish. Not exactly 15-minute meal territory. Maybe ‘quicker’ is a better word.
Easy? Relatively. If you follow the steps, it’s manageable. Nothing technically complex like making a soufflé. But juggling the wok, the heat, getting the timing right for stir-fries – it takes focus. Definitely easier than dealing with my internet provider on the phone, I’ll give it that.
The food itself? Surprisingly good! The Pad See Ew noodles were maybe a little clumpy, but the flavor was there. Salty, sweet, bit of char. The Green Curry was actually fantastic. Creamy, spicy, fragrant. Better than I expected for using canned paste. Spooned it over some jasmine rice I made on the side. Felt pretty satisfied watching my family eat it. Didn’t poison anyone, so that’s a win.
Overall, a decent experience. I’d probably do it again, maybe try a Red Curry next time. It’s nice to know I can make this stuff, even if takeout is still tempting. It just takes a bit more effort than those ‘quick and easy’ titles let on. You know how it is.