Sawaddee ka! 🙏🏼
I’ve recently returned from a month long trip back home to Thailand, which of course, meant a visit with my Grandma!
It’s an unwritten rule that grandmas are the best cooks. It doesn’t matter if it’s my grandma or yours - they are all the best. It’s just how the rule works.
At 95, my grandmother is somehow, miraculously, still cooking! 😮 Even though she’s had some health challenges the last few years, she still loves to get in the kitchen and I’ll take any opportunity to join her!
These are the dish that she loves to make and they’re the ones I will always associate with her. Here’s to our grandmas! 💕
Vegan Pad Thai
Vegan Pad Thai is actually a Thai dish called pad mee korat, the signature dish of Korat, my grandma's hometown. She made this often for use growing up. It’s very similar to pad thai, with the same sweet-salty-sour flavour profile, but there’s no eggs, dried shrimp, or fish sauce.
Grandma’s Epic Twice Cooked Chicken
My Grandma’s twice cooked chicken, or gai kem, is one of my absolute favourite chicken dishes - as well as the one that means the most to me. She makes it for me every time I come home and this is her exact recipe!
🎉Advance Prep Tip: Poach the chicken in advance and keep it in the fridge. Then dinner can be ready in just minutes! You can also use the leftovers from Hainanese Chicken Rice to make this dish.
Hainanese Chicken Rice
Speaking of Hainanese Chicken Rice… this is another of my Grandma’s specialties - and how we get her amazing twice cooked chicken in the first place! The recipe calls for poaching an entire chicken and while it’s a great weekend cooking project, if you want a quicker, easier option, try my Easy Hainanese Chicken Rice. It’s ready in just 25 minutes.
Thai Sour Curry with Shrimp - Gaeng Som
My grandma makes this Thai Sour Curry with Shrimp the most often because she loves it, my mom loves it, and it’s the easiest curry paste to make from scratch at home. It’s also loaded with vegetables and herbs.
🎉Tip: This is a dish that gets better with age. Make it in advance for really incredible flavour!
Custard in a Pumpkin
Ok, this Custard in a Pumpkin dish is not a Grandma recipe but it is a traditional Thai dessert. Halloween is just around the corner and this creamy coconut custard steamed in a kabocha squash is like a delicious deconstructed pumpkin pie. Plus… and I’m still embarrassed about this… I dress up as a bunny in the video sooo… that’s worth checking out! 😆🐰
SABAI is on Prime Day Sale!
My cookbook is on sale! Sabai was chosen to be part of the "Top Cookbooks" promo for Amazon Prime Day in Canada. It looks to be on sale in the US also but not part of a Prime Day promo.
It could make a Christmas gift for someone, perhaps?
Prime Day ends Oct 11, so don't wait too long!
Canada: https://amzn.to/46Ljpe2
US: https://amzn.to/3ZTJe9w
Love your Grandma’s recipes! Your email/Substack is great, thanks Pailin.
I love custard in pumpkin and def plan on making that in the coming weeks