TVP Pad Kra Pao

Strangely enough, I've settled on a final version of my meat-free pad kra pao before figuring out the meaty one. Life's funny sometimes! In any case, this recipe - an adaptation of Hot Thai Kitchen's recipe - was a win on the first try. (My spouse didn't even realize there wasn't any meat in it!) If you don't like TVP, no worries, there'll be a meat version posted eventually, probably once my basil grows back.

TVP Pad Kra Pao

(3 servings*)

Ingredients

1 cup of textured vegetable protein/TVP

7/8 cup of boiling water (as directed*)

3 to 5 Thai bird's eye chilis**

6 cloves of garlic

1/2 of a red bell pepper (divided***)

1/4 cup of broth

1 2/3 tablespoons of fish sauce

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of light soy sauce

Black pepper (to taste)

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (divided)

1 1/4 cup of holy basil or Italian basil

Cooked rice (to serve)

Sliced cucumber (to garnish)

Prik nam pla (to serve)

*Rehydrate the TVP according to the package instructions - those provided are what the TVP I usually have on hand call for.

**We enjoy spicy food, but three is a happy medium spicy for us - five gets one into the medium-hot range. Anyone who finds garlic spicy will find five quite toasty...

***Chop half and julienne the other half.

Directions

1) Stir the hot water into the TVP and set aside to rehydrate. The brand I have on hand calls for it to sit for 10 minutes, so I let it sit for 10 minutes.

2) Crush the chilis, garlic, and chopped bell pepper together in a mort 'n pestle, or give 'em a pulse in your food processor, then set aside.

3) Stir together the broth, fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, and black pepper and set aside.

4) Set your wok or a large pan over high heat with half the oil and stir fry the rehydrated TVP for 5 minutes or so until it becomes a bit crispy.

5) Reduce the heat to medium, push the TVP to the edges of the wok, add the remaining oil to the centre, and stir fry the crushed chili/garlic/bell pepper paste for a minute or so until fragrant, then thoroughly mix it with the TVP.

6) Return the heat to high, add the sauce, and mix well to make sure everything's well combined.

7) Add the julienned bell pepper and stir fry for another half a minute.

8) Remove the wok from the heat and stir in the basil. If TVP isn't hot enough to wilt the basil, feel free to cover it for a couple of minutes.

9) Serve the finished pad kra pao with rice garnished with the sliced cucumber and a dish of prik nam pla (prik nam pla always adds a beautiful brightness to this dish). Enjoy!