Pad Pak Boong Fai Daeng
ผัดผักบุ้งไฟแดง·(pad pak boong fai daeng)
Weeknight Kab Khao: The Thai Family Table
If you grew up in a Thai-American household, the earthy, savory funk of fermented soybeans hitting smoking hot oil is the smell of a Tuesday night. Pad Pak Boong Fai Daeng translates to 'Red Fire Morning Glory,' a nod to the towering flames street vendors use to flash-cook the greens. Don't worry, nobody is setting your Midwestern kitchen on fire today. The secret of the Thai grandmother is the one-bowl drop: load everything into a single bowl and dump it into a smoking-hot pan all at once. It creates an instant steam cloud that cooks the greens in thirty seconds flat, leaving the stems crunchy, the leaves bright green, and the garlic perfectly fragrant. It is unapologetic, fast, and tastes exactly like home.
Before you start
Snap the stems by hand to ensure they are tender.
Instead of chopping with a knife, use your fingers to snap the stems into 3-inch lengths starting from the leafy top. If the stem makes a clean 'pop,' it is tender; as you move closer to the root, if it bends and refuses to snap, discard that tough woody section.
Ingredients
- Chinese water spinach1 lb
- garlic cloves4 large
- Thai bird's eye chilies4 med
- Thai fermented soybean paste1 1/2 tbsp
- oyster sauce1 1/2 tbsp
- light soy sauce1 tsp
- white sugar1 tsp
- water2 tbsp
- neutral cooking oil2 tbsp
Method
- 01
Assemble the single bowl.
Place the snapped morning glory into a large mixing bowl, then pile the smashed garlic and split chilies right on top of the greens.
- 02
Add the seasonings.
Pour the fermented soybean paste, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and water directly over the aromatics without mixing them in.
- 03
Get the wok smoking hot.
Place a carbon steel wok or your heaviest skillet over the absolute highest heat your stove can produce, add the oil, and wait until distinct wisps of white smoke rise from the surface.
- 04
Execute the drop.
Dump the entire contents of the bowl upside down into the smoking pan all at once.
- 05
Toss and serve immediately.
The pan will roar and hiss; immediately toss the greens from the bottom up with a spatula for no more than 30 to 45 seconds until the leaves are just wilted but the stems remain bright green and crisp, then slide everything onto a serving platter.
Notes
Source the right vegetable.
Look for Ong Choy, Kong Xin Cai, or Kangkong at your local Asian market. You specifically want the variety with pale green, hollow stems and vibrant leaves.
Substituting the fermented soybean paste.
The Thai fermented soybean paste, Tao Jiew, provides the essential funky backbone of this dish. If you cannot find it, substitute one tablespoon of Japanese miso or Korean doenjang thinned with a half tablespoon of water.
Do not mince the aromatics.
Minced garlic will instantly incinerate at these extreme temperatures. Roughly smashing the garlic and chilies releases their oils to perfume the dish without turning bitter or overwhelmingly spicy.
Ditch the non-stick pan.
Teflon pans cannot hold the requisite thermal mass for this technique. Use a carbon steel wok or a large cast iron skillet.
From Cook Thai in America.