Pad Woonsen Gra Prow

[eje]

Hello,

Had what a restaurant called "Pad Woonsen Gra Prow" for the first time the other night and quite enjoyed it.

I would like to learn to make it myself; but, haven't had much luck finding a recipe on the internet.

The menu description is, "Sauteed silver noodles, marinated tofu, mushrooms, vegetables, with spicy chili garlic sauce, sweet basil."

There is a sauteed silver thread noodle dish in "Cracking the Coconut" which I suspect might not be too far off.

I would appreciate any suggestions of recipes or cookbooks.

Thanks!

Erik

[uberleet]

A couple recipes here and here...do they seem close?

It's been a long time since I had these, they sound really good.

[eje]

A couple recipes here and here...do they seem close? 

It's been a long time since I had these, they sound really good.

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Those are both pretty close to the one I found in "Cracking the Coconut". The dish I had was vegetarian.

I'm not sure what sort of tofu to use for the "marinated tofu". It had a very meat-like texture.

I'm pretty sure "Gra Prow" refers to the Thai Basil in the dish. Or does it also mean a certain kind of sauce?

[slbunge]

I'm not sure what sort of tofu to use for the "marinated tofu".  It had a very meat-like texture.

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Was probably drained using cheesecloth and then marinated in-house. Creates a much firmer cake than the normal store-bought. There are a few hits in google for marinating your own tofu.

If you are looking for something far more convenient, you can investigate baked tofu for this application. Far lower moisture and sort of 'cured' with various flavors. Check for it at Whole Foods or health food stores.

[eje]

Was probably drained using cheesecloth and then marinated in-house.  Creates a much firmer cake than the normal store-bought.  There are a few hits in google for marinating your own tofu.

If you are looking for something far more convenient, you can investigate baked tofu for this application.  Far lower moisture and sort of 'cured' with various flavors.  Check for it at Whole Foods or health food stores.

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Thanks!

I'll poke around a little more and see what I can find.

[Austin]

Methinks you might be a getting the names mixed up: Phat wun sen is a fried noodle dish, but doesn't normally (or ever?) include kraphrao, a kind of basil. Phat kraphrao is a fried dish that doesn't normally (never) includes noodles. Neither uses tofu. Confused? Good.

Oh, and as we're on the topic, although kraphrao is commonly referred to in English as "Thai basil", I think this can also include horaphaa, but the two are very different. Kraphrao, a thin, large light green leaf, is almost always cooked, be it fried or thrown in soups at the the last minute. Horaphaa, a thicker, smaller dark green leaf, is almost always eaten raw, with som tam or as a garnish with certain curries.

Austin

[ecr]

Austin, you've been living at the source too long Thai restaurants outside of Thailand often take liberties with traditional recipes. From my experience phat wunsen krapow is a pretty common dish in American Thai restaurants.

As long as we're on the subject of Thai basils - there's also bai menglak (known as "gumgaw" in the north), usu. added to curries.

[Austin]

I've only ever eaten Thai food in the US once; don't need to repeat that experience again! Phat wun sen kraphrao seems like a really bizarre combination to me...

And yes, menglak is another "Thai basil", although I assumed most people wouldn't be familiar with it. Menglak is usually eaten with khanom jeen, or added to soups, such as kaeng liang, at the last minute.

Austin

[eje]

Oh, and as we're on the topic, although kraphrao is commonly referred to in English as "Thai basil", I think this can also include horaphaa, but the two are very different. Kraphrao, a thin, large light green leaf, is almost always cooked, be it fried or thrown in soups at the the last minute.  Horaphaa, a thicker, smaller dark green leaf, is almost always eaten raw, with som tam or as a garnish with certain curries.

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The one we get most of the time in San Francisco, I think, is "bai hora bah". I don't think it gets hot enough for true holy basil, "kraphrao" to grow. At least I've never had any luck getting the seeds to germinate or the plants to grow. From what I can tell, not having been to thailand, "bai hora bah" is what I find in restaurants and farmers' markets.

If yer interested, Kitazawa Seeds, here in the US, sells seeds for 5 varieties of Thai Basil.

Thai Basil Seeds

And, yeah, it seems like the restaurant is mixing their traditional Thai dishes. Tasty though. I'm gonna have to try it a couple ways to see which sauce comes out better.

Edited March 3, 2006 by eje (log)

[trillium]

If you heat up your seeds while they're in soil (I use a lightbulb over my starter tray) you can grow kraphrao. Just let it get established indoors and then plant it outside when the weather doesn't fall below 50 at night. I grow 3 or 4 varieties in containers. I put the containers on the cement driveway against the house foundation and they get plenty of heat. Works well with chillies too.

regards,

trillium

[pim]

As long as we're on the subject of Thai basils - there's also bai menglak (known as "gumgaw" in the north), usu. added to curries.

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I've never heard of Bai Mangluck being referred to as Thai Basil. We can easily find them here at farmers market in the Summer through Fall, and they are called Lemon Basil.

[ecr]

Hmmm ... thanks Pim.

If bai menglak is grown and consumed in Thailand, is it a "Thai" basil? I suppose it is, but only to Thais who've never encountered it elsewhere.