We Love This New Cookbook’s Quick And Delish Thai Recipes

When Pailin “Pai” Chongchitnant was studying at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in San Francisco, Calif., she didn't set out to be a YouTube star. Chongchitnant, who started her Thai cooking channel in 2009, now has a whopping 1.73 million subscribers after social media took her on a different kind of culinary adventure.

"The flavours of Thai food at home are very bold," says Chongchitnant of the mouth-watering, sinus-jolting tastes she grew up with in the southern city of Hat Yai, Thailand. When she moved to Vancouver to study nutritional sciences at the University of British Columbia, she felt that balanced intensity fell short. "Here, they tone it down just in case it's a bit much for the western palate. The flavours of the herbs are not as intense, the funk from fish sauce and shrimp paste is not as strong, and some dishes never see the light of day because they might be a little different.” Hot Thai Kitchen —Chongchitnant’s debut cookbook released in 2016—re-laid those foundations by using recipes as the building blocks to bring broader concepts to life. “I always describe it as a textbook for Thai cuisine,” she adds.

Related: Nuit Regular’s First Cookbook Is A Love Letter To Thai Home Cooking

Seven years later, her newly released second cookbook, Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week, aims to debunk myths that Thai dishes are too complicated and time-consuming for everyday cooking. The spirit of the recipes is rooted in sabai, a clever Thai word applied to many situations. "They all refer to this comfortable, relaxed, carefree state of being,” explains the chef-author. Whether home cooks are trying the fish sauce wings, Thai Pork Omelet or Isaan Steak Dinner, “I want people to be able to cook sabai-sabai.”

Chatelaine spoke to Chongchitnant about the personal milestone that sparked her latest cookbook, the basics of a Thai pantry and her top time-saving hacks that won’t compromise flavour.

Everything about the recipes in Sabai seems well-balanced with minimal steps. Has that anything to do with the fact that you now have a young child?

Oh, 100 percent! As this book was brewing, my son was one; he's almost four now. [Before], I never had to think about how complicated a recipe was because I had time; I could eat a late dinner [without] a problem. Then suddenly, I have a little mouth to feed, and I'm extremely pressed for time. Once I became a mom, I craved sabai-ness in my life; everything is so not that when you have a toddler. I was like, let’s just let my food be sabai.

You talk about how building a basic Thai pantry makes weeknight cooking a breeze. What are some of those key staples?

If you need to go shopping every time [you] be a pain no matter how easy the recipe is. Fish sauce, soy sauce and oyster sauce are basics. I call these the trinity of stir-fry sauces; these sauces will save you.

The other two are coconut milk and curry paste. The only thing we use for creaminess is coconut milk, so to have that ready to go [means] all your curries are in good shape. Most Thai people don't make curry paste, so don't worry about that too much, just buy a jar of good curry paste and have that in your pantry. Once it's open, stick it in the freezer—it lasts forever! Making all these curry pastes from scratch, [I] there were so many common ingredients. I started using store-bought red curry paste as a base, adding other ingredients [like] to build it up.

I noticed several steamed dishes in the book, from Steamed Black Cod with Thai Miso to Self-Saucing Steamed Pork with Ginger.

The use of steamers is something that I wanted to preach a little bit. We don't use ovens in Thai cooking. Instead, we throw [the] into a steamer. If you roast or bake a piece of fish [in] and [it] too long, that fish [will] dry. But if you steam it, it's a lot more forgiving. You can’t burn food in a steamer, as long as [there] water in the pot.

Dishes like the Garlicky Cabbage Fish Sauce Stir-Fry can cook in under 10 minutes, and braising duck is whittled down to 45 minutes using an Instant Pot. What are some of your favourite hacks?

One dish that I love is my Quick Yellow Curry with Beef. I used to think [this] was a three-hour ordeal; you stew big chunks of beef until tender. Working in a Thai restaurant several years back, they used thinly sliced beef as you would find in a stir-fry. That was revolutionary because who said beef curry needs to come in chunks? Thin slices cook in a fraction of the time, and they become flavourful really quickly. The recipe for Seared Scallops with Tom Yum Sauce as well. It's gorgeous. Just because it's quick and easy doesn't mean it has to look drab.

Related: Make This Delicious Recipe For Old-School Pad Grapao From Sabai In 20 Minutes Flat