Neua Pad Kimao - Thai Beef Flambe

[TheWalkingMan]

I found this recipe on the Internet, but have not tried. It looks interesting.

http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/thai/neua-pad-kimao1.html

Yield: 4 servings

1 c Beef, sliced thinly,

-diagonally across

-the grain

1 c Maekhong (whiskey),

-warmed, for flambé

3 tb Prik ki nu daeng (red

-birdseye chilis),

-thinly sliced

1 tb Kratiem (garlic),

-thinly sliced

1 tb Kha (galangal)

-thinly sliced

1 tb Hom daeng (shallots),

-thinly sliced

1 tb Nam pla (fish sauce)

1 tb Nam makham piag

-(tamarind juice)

3 Bai makrut (kaffir lime

-leaves), torn,

-or 1 teaspoon lime zest

1 ts Nam tan paep (palm sugar)

This is perhaps one for the adventurous - or the outdoor chef? - for not

only is the meal cooked in very hot oil, but it is deliberately flamed at

the end! Because of this I recommend you use a wok, not a skillet, at least

16 inches in diameter and 6 inches deep, or a sauté pan, at least 16″ in

diameter and 4″ deep.

maekhong is the generic name for Thai whiskeys derived from rice liquour.

It is also the name of one of the popular (and relatively cheap) brands.

However if you prefer, or simply can't get Thai whiskey, you can use any

whiskey, whisky, brandy or rum you choose!

Method

Place a wok over very high heat and stir fry the ingredients quickly,

stirring or shaking the wok vigorously to prevent the meat burning.

Add 1 cup of warmed maekhong (rice whikey) to the wok and tip it to cause

it to ignite. After about 30 seconds if it is still burning place the lid

on the wok to kill the flames.

Serving & Storage

Serve with the usual table condiments and white rice.

On a cold night the best “wine” to go with this is whiskey (good sippin'

whiskey), warmed in the style of sake. On a hot summer hight, accompany it

with a robust, and well chilled beer, such as Singha or Beer Chang (a Thai

product of the Carlsberg breweries that is 9% by volume alcohol!) “Col.

I.F. Khuntilanont-Philpott”

[tutsiwarrior]

good luck finding edible beef in Thailand...anything vaguely resembling is usually raised elsewhere...the 'cook' that wrote the article is an idiot...the point is to emphasize local ingredients and Thailand is a pork/chicken/fish type of place...I've never seen beef in the local market...

Edited April 4, 2012 by tutsiwarrior

[stailmanki]

Sounds like a really good recipe to me. Admittedly the local (Thai French) beef is not the best but if you used a good cut like fillet it would be fine.I'm sure it would work with pork or chicken.

I would add some vegetables for a bit of colour , maybe mushrooms & red/green bell pepper/capsicums.

[AyG]

good luck finding edible beef in Thailand...anything vaguely resembling is usually raised elsewhere...the 'cook' that wrote the article is an idiot...the point is to emphasize local ingredients and Thailand is a pork/chicken/fish type of place...I've never seen beef in the local market...

The guy who wrote the recipe isn't a cook. He's the late Colonel Ian Khuntilanont-Philpott who wrote up his wife's recipes in the very early days of the Internet on Usenet (before the World Wide Web became popular). He's also not an idiot (or rather, wasn't).

Beef is widely eaten by the Moslem community here. In fact, the Moslems eat rather more beef than pork, so this really isn't just a "pork/chicken/fish type of place" when the followers of The Religion of Peace make up about 15% of the population. Beef is also traditionally the original meat for green curry (not chicken or fishballs as you usually see these days). As for not seeing beef in the local market, then you're not looking hard enough. It's there.

There's an almost complete archive of the Colonel's recorded recipes at http://www.chetbacon.com/thai-html/thai.html

[tutsiwarrior]

I wouldn't mind some beef but I'm finicky about fat and gristle and then someone lost the cutting blade to my meat grinder and then beef no longer was feasible...

but I have never seen beef in the market, only the odd cut at lotus...I can see it's popularity in the south as muslims don't eat pork...I lived in Indonesia for a few years and the daging sapi was never very appealing except in a rendang with long cooking and I'm surprised that this tasty Sumatra beef curry doesn't have a greater appeal in Thailand; a staple of spicy masakkan padang and world famous as an example of SE Asian cuisine...if you like to cook then rendang is a challenge as it's hard to 'get right'...

http://norecipes.com/blog/beef-rendang-recipe/

Edited April 4, 2012 by tutsiwarrior