Cooking up a Songkran storm

SONGKRAN is a perfect occasion for family members to spend quality time together, visiting a temple to make merit, bathing Buddha images with scented water and pouring water over the hands of the elderly as a way of paying respect. 
Cooking together is also fun during the holidays, and chef Nan Hongwiwat, who is passionate about blending modern and traditional Thai cuisine, is offering an easy-to-follow recipe for Thai-style BBQ Beef with jaew dipping sauce and fried rice that’s healthy and satisfies everyone’s taste for something truly Thai. 

 Chef Nan Hongwiwat

“Nua yang, or Thai BBQ beef and fried rice, are all-time favourites. Kids and adults just can’t resist them,” Nan says. “The recipe and instructions are not complicated, so the kids can help making the marinade for the beef while the adults prepare jaew [spicy Isaan-style dipping sauce] fried rice. My recipe is a new take on an authentic Thai dish that maintains the original 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 the health-conscious.” 

Ingredients for Jaew Fried Rice
1-2 tablespoons of Extra Light Olive Oil
3 cloves of minced garlic 
6 cloves of sliced shallots
4 Thai bird’s eye chillies
3 cups of cooked Jasmine rice (cook, then store overnight in the fridge before using)
1 fresh egg
1/4 teaspoon of table salt
2 sliced spring onions
3 sliced bergamot leaves

Ingredients for BBQ Beef
2 ground coriander roots
2 cloves of minced garlic
300 grams of beef sirloin
1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon of palm sugar
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of roasted rice

Ingredients for Jaew Sauce
1 tablespoon of ground dried chillies
3 1/4 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons of lime juice
2 tablespoons of tamarind sauce
1 tablespoon of roasted rice
1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon of palm sugar

Suggested side vegetables: cucumbers, sweet basil, |green beans, and saw-tooth coriander/cilantro

Method
1. Combine all ingredients for the BBQ beef and marinate the beef for at least 10 minutes, or overnight.
2. Turn on the oven to maximum heat and cook 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 four minutes.
3. While waiting for the meat, combine all ingredients for jaew sauce, stirring well until the palm sugar dissolves.
4. Heat the extra light olive oil in the pan. Cook the minced garlic, sliced shallots, Thai chillies then add rice into the pan with three 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 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 Chef Nan at Facebook.com/chefnan.cookityourself/ or visit Facebook.com/BertolliTH/.