Cuisine Quest: Chile and ginger stir-fry

Cuisine quest • Fresh ingredients, stir-fried, adds up to a spicy dish for every day.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Attention spicy-food lovers and quick-meal makers: Today's recipe for pad phrik khing — chile and ginger stir fry — is for you. Thai cuisine relies on fresh ingredients and minimal cooking to produce food with vibrant flavors and colors.

A lover of Thai food, Judy Dahlquist requested the dish, one of many that come from the central part of Thailand.

Reader Maggie Gresseth sent her version, something she makes for a quick weekday meal. She serves it with jasmine rice and a cucumber salad as a side.

Requests • Deidra Meibos is looking for the recipe for flank steak lo mein noodles from Indochine.

Reader Sid McOmie would like the ribs and sauce recipes from La Frontera.

Larry Geigle would like the recipe for the blue cheese salad dressing at Italian Village, or something similar.

Since the owners of Tres Hombres don't want to divulge their salsa recipe, perhaps the folks at Restaurant Morelia will part with theirs?

Lindsay Jensen is hoping to get the recipe for Macey's grocery store's shortbread-like ice box cookies. They are usually swirled with a few colors and come in vanilla flavor.

Wendi Miller would like the spicy rice with lemongrass chile chicken recipe at Mi La Cai Noodle House.

Email requests or responses to lneilson@sltrib.com, facebook.com/tribremix. —

Pad prik king (Phat phrik khing) Stir-fry of chiles and ginger

Note: If you use yardlong beans, cut them into 1-inch lengths and cook in boiling water for 2 minutes and shock in ice water prior to adding them to the recipe. Also, this is usually a dry curry, but adding coconut milk will make it wetter, as well as tame the spiciness of the red curry paste.

1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 to 2 tablespoons red curry paste (see note)

4 kaffir lime leaves, rolled up and cut into fine shreds (see note)

1½ cups green or yardlong beans, cut into 1-inch lengths (see note)

1 cup medium raw shrimp

2 teaspoons palm or granulated sugar

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1 (5.6-ounce) can coconut milk

Warm steamed rice

In a wok or large frying pan over medium heat, add oil. Add curry paste and stir to break it up. Add kaffir lime leaves and green beans. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add shrimp and cook about 3 minutes. Turn the shrimp and cook about 2 minutes longer. Add sugar, fish sauce and coconut milk and serve immediately with steamed rice.

Note • Red curry paste, kaffir lime leaves and yardlong beans can be found in Asian markets.

Makes • 4-6 servings

Source: Adapted from Maggie Gresseth