Delicious Thai food from your own kitchen? Yes! If you love curries and cucumbers but prefer to dine in your pajamas, you’ll love these easy Thai recipes to make at home!
We live in a tiny town.
And in a tiny town, there tend to be not a lot of food options.
Now this is a problem because we LOVE to eat out. We love trying new restaurants and cuisines. We love experiencing fiery heat and mellow flavors. And truthfully, since we ran our own restaurant for 7 years, we love being waited on!
When we travel, our first stop in a new city is often the top rated Thai restaurant. It’s fun to try different versions of Pad Thai and to be comforted by the familiar taste of the beloved chicken coconut soup called Tom Kha Gai.
Thai recipes at home
Back at home, we recreate these alluring flavors in our own kitchen. Over the years, we’ve developed a few favorites that we turn to again and again when we’re looking for quick, easy Thai recipes to make at home.
First, gather some basic ingredients. You’ll notice that a lot of these recipes have several ingredients in common:
- Fish Sauce. Stinky, yes, but full of glutamates that enhance flavor like nothing else.
- Cilantro. You either love it or you hate it, but it’s hard to have great Thai food without it!
- Limes. Acidic lime juice brightens the flavors of these Thai recipes.
- Chili. For that bit o’ heat you can use Sriracha, garlic chili paste or hot chili flakes.
- Garlic. Because life is better rubbed with garlic! Seriously, it provides flavor and a bit of bite.
And now, on to the recipes!
Thai Beef Salad
Grill a steak and you're half way there! This is one of those recipes that is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Super easy and it holds well in the fridge for leftovers. Serve alongside or atop a pile of rice.
Ingredients
Grilled Beef
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 pound ribeye or NY strip steak experiment with other cuts
Salad
- - Grilled Beef thinly sliced + warm
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion yellow onion or shallot, minced
- 1/2-1 cup cup cilantro coarsely chopped (about a handful)
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cup mint leaves fresh
Instructions
Grilled Beef
- Combine soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar in a ziploc bag. Add beef and let marinate for about 30 minutes tops (don't go longer as it tends to soften the meat).
- Grill steak over medium high heat for about 5 minutes per side. If you want it not quite so pink, go a bit longer.
- Remove steak to a platter or cutting board, and slice thinly.
Salad
- Combine all the salad ingredients in a nice sized bowl then add the sliced Grilled Beef. Stir together well then hurry it to the table so you won't eat it all while standing at the kitchen counter.
- Enjoy this tasty salad on its own or served with rice. This will keep a day or so in the fridge. If you find that the flavors dull over time, just squeeze on a bit more lime juice to freshen the taste.
Notes
You can also use leftover steak in this recipe. Just slice it thinly, then heat in a saucepan, skillet or microwave with a bit of chicken stock before combining with the salad ingredients.
Thai Grilled Chicken
It's kind of ridiculous how easy this is! Just plan to start marinating the chicken a couple hours ahead.
Ingredients
Grilled Chicken
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 8 cloves garlic about 2 tablespoons
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 pounds chicken thighs, breasts or a combination
Sweet + Spicy Dipping Sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1-3 tsp Sriracha or chili garlic sauce taste and adjust to your heat tolerance
Instructions
Grilled Chicken
- Mix pepper, cilantro, garlic, soy sauce and salt in a blender to make a paste (I use my Magic Bullet!)
- Place chicken in a ziploc bag or bowl, and pour over the marinade. Let rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
- Grill chicken pieces over medium high heat, turning occasionally. Use a meat thermometer to make sure chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165*
- Remove to a serving platter and let rest for about 10 minutes.
- Serve with Sweet + Spicy Dipping Sauce.
Sweet + Spicy Dipping Sauce
- Mix all ingredients except Sriracha in a saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower heat and cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in Sriracha.
Easy Thai Curry
Many years ago my best friend from art school taught me how to make this delicious, frugal and totally satisfying Thai curry. It's so adaptable as you can use whatever veggies and/or proteins you have lurking about. Just fill a bowl with rice, top with veggies and pour over the sauce. Use loads of fresh cilantro, a sprinkling of roasted peanuts and a squeeze of lime to finish it off!
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Rice cooker, optional
Ingredients
- 1 14-oz coconut milk
- 1 tbsp red curry paste available in Asian markets
- 1 tbsp peanut butter I prefer natural chunky
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 3/4 cup vegetable stock substitute water with a splash of fish sauce
- 1 tsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled, cooked + cubed
- 1 cup frozen peas, steamed briefly
- cilantro, roasted peanuts + lime juice
- cooked rice
Instructions
- Pour half of coconut milk into a saucepan and heat briefly to release fragrance.
- Whisk in curry paste and peanut butter and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the remaining coconut milk plus sugar, soy sauce, salt and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 12-15 minutes.
- When ready to serve, toss in sweet potatoes and peas. Feel free to substitute whatever you have.
- Serve over white or brown rice topped with cilantro and roasted peanuts.
Notes
This makes 2 large servings or 4 smaller servings.
To store, keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Cucumber Salad
This is a favorite summertime dish at our house! David often keeps a bowl in the fridge for snacking. Keep in mind that the cilantro and peanuts will get a bit soggy after awhile, so you may want to leave them out and add to individual servings.
Ingredients
Syrup
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Salad
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, quartered and cut into 1/4" thick slices remove seeds if seedy
- 1/3 cup chopped red onion
- 1/3 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts plus extra for garnish
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus extra for garnish
Instructions
Make the syrup
- Mix all syrup ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a low boil. Cook until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
Assemble the salad
- In a serving bowl, mix all the salad ingredients. When the syrup is completely cool, add it to the bowl. Stir all together.
- Serve either garnished with extra peanuts and cilantro or pass around for guests to add their own.
Whether you live in a tiny town or a booming metropolis, I hope you’ll enjoy trying out a few of these easy Thai recipes to make at home!
Maybe you could make ALL the recipes and have a dinner party with your friends.
Crack open a beer, grab a few limes and a lot of cilantro and get ready for flavor central!
If you do, be sure to post the photos and tag me @camptopisaw!
