Reddit reviews Hawker Fare: Stories & Recipes from a Refugee Chef's Isan Thai & Lao Roots

This dish turned out awesome--it's definitely going into the rotation. I expected it to taste a lot like pad thai as the ingredients were quite similar but the flavor profile was actually pretty different thanks to the caramel-based sauce and lack of tamarind/lime.

Recipe is from the excellent cookbook Hawker Fare by James Syhabout which has a mix of Lao & Thai recipes. I modified it slightly to reduce the amount of oil, increase the amount of fish sauce & shallots slightly, and incorporate meat & broccoli/veggies to make it a complete meal.

RECIPE: I recommend halving this unless you are cooking for a crowd. Plus half the recipe cooked up perfectly in a regular cast iron skillet.

Ingredients:

OMELET (KHAI JIAO)

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 teaspoons canola oil

NOODLES

0.5 lb chicken, pork, or 1 block tofu (optional)

any other vegetable you want to include

24 ounces dried medium-wide rice noodles

1/4 cup canola oil

100 grams granulated sugar

1/2 cup sliced shallots

2 tablespoons finely minced garlic

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

3 tablespoons Gold Mountain brand seasoning sauce (can sub soy sauce)

1/3 cup fish sauce

1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (I subbed regular soy sauce)

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon MSG (optional)

2 cups mung bean sprouts

1½ cups scallions, in 1-inch pieces

GARNISHES

Sliced omelet

2 tablespoons Fried Shallots (optional)

½ cup chopped cilantro, stems included

1 cup mung bean sprouts

CONDIMENTS

Prik phong (ground toasted chile) or Sriracha

Directions:

MAKE THE OMELET: Crack the eggs into a small mixing bowl and add the fish sauce. Beat with a fork, as if making scrambled eggs. Add the oil to an 8-inch nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. When it’s warm pour in the egg mixture and tilt the pan to ensure the egg covers the bottom. Continue to cook over gentle heat for about 3 minutes—you’ll notice the top of the omelet firming up. (If it starts to color it means the pan is too hot; remove the pan from the heat.) Once the top is firm, flip and cook over low heat for another minute. Slide the omelet out of the pan and onto a plate to cool. Slice into ¼-inch by 2-inch slivers and reserve for garnishing.

MAKE THE NOODLES: Cook the noodles according to package directions, but undercook them by a minute or two as you'll finish cooking them in the pan.

If adding meat or other vegetables, stir fry them now then set aside.

Add the oil and sugar to a saucepan with a wide diameter and mix well; set over medium-high heat. As the oil gets hot the sugar will caramelize. Cook until the caramel turns a deep amber.

Once it has reached the desired color turn off the heat, carefully add the shallots and garlic, and give it a stir with a spoon to sweat the aromatics—at this point your kitchen should smell very good. Sweat the aromatics for 1 minute, deglaze with the water, and stir well. Add the seasonings (oyster sauce, seasoning sauce, fish sauce, sweet soy sauce, black pepper, and MSG, if using) and mix well.

Return the saucepan to medium heat and bring to a simmer. Add the drained noodles and cook, stirring constantly with a pair of tongs. Move the noodles as if tossing a salad—they’ll wilt and slowly soak up the sauce. When the noodles have absorbed all the sauce and the pan is dry, with no residual sauce remaining, turn off the heat and fold in the bean sprouts and scallions, again like tossing a salad. Season to taste with additional salt, soy sauce, and/or fish sauce. Top with the omelet slices, fried shallots, and chopped cilantro, with a side of extra mung bean sprouts. Serve with prik phong or Sriracha.