Drunken stir-fried seafood (pad kee mao talay)

There's actually no alcohol in this recipe; the name stems from the story of a drunkard who was hungry and had to cook with the ingredients available, resulting in a surprisingly delicious dish – spicy, aromatic and full of herbs.

Credit: Alana Dimou

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 red bird’s eye chillies, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 100 g (3½ oz) krachai (see Notes), finely chopped
• 100 g (3½ oz) squid, cleaned and finely sliced
• 100 g (3½ oz) banana prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined
• 100 g (3½ oz) scallops
• 50 g (1¾ oz) baby corn
• 50 g (1¾ oz) pea eggplants (aubergines)
• 4 tsp fish sauce, plus extra if necessary
• 1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar, plus extra if necessary
• 25 g (1 oz) holy basil leaves
• 2 long red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
• 1 small bunch fresh green peppercorns
• 1 tbsp nam prik pao (see Notes)
• steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the red chilli, garlic and krachai and stir-fry until fragrant.
2. Add the squid, prawns and scallops and stir-fry until almost cooked. Stir in the baby corn and pea eggplants, then add the fish sauce, caster sugar, basil, long chilli, green peppercorns and nam prik pao. Stir to combine and remove from the heat.
3. Check for seasoning, adding more fish sauce or sugar if necessary. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Notes

• Krachai, or fingerroot, can be found in Asian supermarkets, sometimes in the freezer.

• Nam prik pao, also known as Thai chilli paste, can be purchased at national supermarkets and Thai grocers.

Recipe and images from Bangkok Local by Sareen Rojanametin and Jean Thamthanakorn, Smith Street Books, RRP $39.99

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.