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Our Go-To Lockdown Recipe
As we enter our second month of lockdown here in Malaysia, the one thing we look forward to on the daily is still our food :)
There is a faint sense of excitement every time the local delivery men and women come around and we rush to greet them. Ordering in has become routine to us as dining out has come to a halt, and let’s be honest - we’ve lost creativity in the kitchen.
Although we find comfort in our routines, there are benefits in breaking out of them every now and then. To help you shake things up, we recruited the expertise of celebrity chef, Ili Sulaiman, to bring you an easy, four-step recipe that you can cook at home today.
Let's put the delivery apps away and get to wok.
Chef Ili Sulaiman's Pad Kra Pao
Ingredients
- 200g of Mince Chicken/Tofu*
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 chili padi
- Handful of Thai basil leaves
- Some vegetable oil for frying
- Some corn flour with cold water (for slurry)
For the sauce
- 2 tbls gluten free oyster sauce*
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce*
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tbls dark caramel soy sauce (omit if you are gluten intolerant)
To Serve
- 2 eggs
- Some oil for frying
- 1 cucumber to garnish
- 1 red chili sliced
- Enough cooked rice for two portions
Method
Step 1: Fry the Egg
- In a pan, add in some oil and fry the egg until sunny side up and set aside
Step 2: Prep the ingredients
- Chop up the chili and garlic
- In a bowl add in all of the ingredients for the sauce and set aside
Step 3: Cook the Pad Kra Pao
- In a pan add in oil and garlic and fry for 30 seconds on high before adding the mince meat and stir fry for a few minutes until slightly cooked
- Pour in the sauce and the sliced red chili padi and stir fry until meat is cooked, if too watery add in the corn flour and water slurry and cook until combined
- Lastly add in the basil leaf
Step 4: Serve
- Slice up the red chili and cucumber
- Plate up the rice some of the Pad Kra Pao and the egg and serve immediately
*You can substitute the mince meat with tofu for a vegetarian option and use vegetarian oyster sauce and also light soy sauce instead of the fish sauce.
You can also watch our cook-along with Ili to learn her tips and tricks for the perfect Pad Kra Pao.
We've recently launched two new plant starter sets for you to kick-start your home garden. Each set comes with seeds and soil, a vintage mister, a pot and an hand-made batik planter. With our Grow Set, you can grow your basil from scratch and use it in your Pad Kra Pao, pesto sauce and many more recipes.
Be sure to tag @thebatikboutique and @ilisulaiman if you've made this dish, we can't wait to see it. To go full-MasterChef, you can also dress your dish up in our artisan-made homeware that we’re sure you will enjoy.
Happy cooking, everyone.
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