Bangkok--10 Apr--Hill & Knowlton Strategies
By 'Chef Nan' Hongwiwat
With Songkran just around the corner, everyone is looking forward to having fun and 'splashing' New Year wishes onto family and friends. The three-day festival is something everyone in Thailand looks forward to - the perfect opportunity to spend time with our loved ones.
To give you less headaches and more holiday fun, today Chef Nan Hongwiwat, a new-gen chef who is passionate about blending modern and traditional Thai cuisine, will show you how. As he expertly mixes traditional flavours, with trendy international ingredients that are healthy, while enhancing your favourite Thai tastes. The culinary wonder here is the world-famous Mediterranean ingredient 'Olive oil.'
"I have been using olive oil for Thai dishes for many years. For me it's much more than a cooking oil for western dishes, I find the olive oil binds with the flavours of Thai food, elevating your crafted dish to extra enjoyable heights," explains chef Nan with a smile. "From experience, it will make your Thai cooking taste even better with the added benefit of being healthy too."
Chef Nan's Top Tips
Chef Nan describes holiday time as an opportunity to relax, indulge in new and exciting foods, or try a new spin on an old classic. Cooking with olive oil allows us to enjoy all our favourite Thai dishes, while adding a new dimension of taste. Plus, giving our loved ones the olive oil health benefits that include high levels of antioxidants, as well as the ability to help reduce bad cholesterol.
The secret is to stick to your favourite Thai recipes, and simply swap out other oil usage, and add your new kitchen hero 'Olive oil'. And if people think Olive oil isn't for Thai dishes, Chef Nan says they will change their mind, after tasting this forward-thinking recipe. "Thai-style BBQ beef with Jaew Dipping Sauce Fried rice is the featured menu today. Thai BBQbeef or "Nua Yang" and fried rice is an all-time favourite where kids and adults cannot resist the simple yet scrumptious tastes," he says.
Make it easy and use recipes where everyone can help make the dish to their own tastes. Also, why not include the family in the cooking process. The recipe and instructions are not complicated; so he suggests using the kids to help to make the marinade for the beef. While the adults can help preparing the Jaew (Thai-Isan style dipping sauce) fried rice.
"My recipe today gives a new look at an authentic Thai-style dish with the full flavours of signature Thai flavours. The Olive oil pairing helps enhance the taste of the sizzling beef, and cooking fried rice with Olive Oil is a good choice for health-conscious family members," Chef Nan says.
RECIPE: Thai-style BBQ beef with Jaew Dipping Sauce Fried Rice
Ingredients for Jaew Fried Rice
1-2 tablespoons of Bertolli® Extra Light Olive Oil
3 cloves of minced garlic
6 cloves of sliced shallots
4 Thai bird's eye chilies
3 cups of Cooked Jasmine rice (best to cook, then leave it overnight in the fridge before using)
1 x fresh egg
¼ teaspoon of table salt
2 x sliced spring onions
3 x sliced bergamot leaves
Ingredients for BBQ Beef
2 x ground coriander roots
2 cloves of minced garlic
300 g. of beef sirloin
¼ teaspoon of ground pepper
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
¼ teaspoon of Palm sugar
2 tablespoons of Bertolli® Classico Olive Oil
2 tablespoons of roasted rice
Ingredients for Jaew Sauce
1 tablespoon of ground dried chillies
3 ½ tablespoons of fish sauce
2 ½ tablespoons of lime juice
2 tablespoons of tamarind sauce
1 tablespoon of roasted rice
1 tablespoon and ½ teaspoon of palm sugar
Suggested side vegetables to be served: cucumbers, sweet basil, green beans, and saw-tooth coriander/culantro.
Instructions
1. Combine all ingredients for the BBQ beef and marinate the beef for at least 10 minutes, or overnight.
2. Turn on the oven with maximum heat and put the meat in for 4 minutes. Then take the meat out and sprinkle roasted rice on top, put it back in the oven for another 4 minutes.
3. While waiting for the meat, combine all ingredients for Jaew sauce, stir well until the palm sugar dissolves.
4. Heat the Bertolli® Extra Light Olive Oil in the pan. Cook together the minced garlic, sliced shallots, Thai chillies, and rice into the pan with 3 tablespoons of Jaew sauce. Cook well to blend the rice with sauce.
5. Break the egg into the pan and cook well with rice, seasoning with table salt, spring onions, and sliced bergamot leaves.
6. Serve the final dish with fresh side vegetables and the meat placed on top of the rice.
Ingredients variations
The beef can be replaced with chicken breast or pork sirloin
Stay tuned for more menus from the partnership of Chef Nan https://www.facebook.com/chefnan.cookityourself/ and Bertolli® or visit https://www.facebook.com/BertolliTH/ to ignite your cooking ideas with olive oil.