Sawaddee ka! 🙏🏼
Stir fries are my go-to weeknight dinner because they are by definition quick. You stir and you fry, and ta-da, there’s dinner.
They're also flexible and a great place to use up things that have lingered in the fridge for a while - a third of a carrot, wilting green onions - it’s a terrific way to pare down your food waste!
This is why stir fries make up a BIG part of Thai home cooking. Most Thai families eat a meal comprised of a few different dishes and rice, and almost 100% of the time there’s at least one stir fry on the table.
So today I want to share 5 very simple, homey stir fries for you to try out!
But if none of these look enticing to you, I have a solution: make my universal stir fry sauce and use it to make any stir fry your heart desires!
Sweet and Sour Stir Fry - pad priew waan
Sweet and Sour Stir Fry is a really quick and flexible dish. Make your sauce from scratch (it’s super simple). Then, choose your favourite protein. It can be shrimp, chicken, tofu - your choice! You can use any veggies you like - this is great for clearing out the fridge. But, my two non-negotiable veggies are actually fruits: tomatoes and pineapple. They’re going to add to that delicious sweet and sour flavour profile to your dish!
Shaking Beef - bo luc lac
Shaking Beef is actually a Vietnamese dish that I love so much that I put in on the menu when I had my restaurant. It was very popular!
Think of it as little cubes of steak marinated and seared in the wok. They’re just packed with flavour and so good! This is a very quick and easy dish to throw together on a weeknight. Watch the video or check out the written recipe for tips on choosing your cut of beef and veggies options.
Garlic Pepper Chicken - gai pad gratiem
Garlic Pepper Chicken is a fan favourite here at Hot Thai Kitchen with good reason. I mean, how can you go wrong when garlic is mentioned right in the name? The recipe is utterly simple and incredibly delicious. You only need a handful of ingredients and a few minutes of your time and you’ll have something amazing to eat!
Long Bean Stir Fry - pad tua fakyao
Long Bean Stir Fry is a childhood favourite of mine. This is the dish I always asked for as a kid. You can serve it as a main by adding some thinly sliced pork or chicken, or keep it meat-free and serve as a side. Growing up we always added slices of pork to it, but as an adult, I love adding salted duck eggs!
Thai Chicken Fried Rice with Kale - kao pad gai
With Thai Chicken Fried Rice it’s all about the order that the ingredients are cooked so that we get maximum flavour, which is what this is all about! In this recipe, I wanted to combine a non-Thai vegetable into a traditional Thai dish and I love how it turned out! With its perfectly balanced yet simple flavours, it reminds me of one of those great hole in the wall restaurants that always make the best homestyle food!