Rosa's Thai Cafe: Easy stir fry recipes for mid-week meals and BBQs

Born in the east and raised in the East End Saiphin Moore puts together family recipes from her home in northern Thailand in the new cook book Rosa's Thai Cafe

Sweet and sour stir fry (recipe below)

After walking past a disused English caff in east London's Spitafields called Rosa's in 2008, Saiphin Moore had found where she would share her family recipes with the rest of London. Infusing cool London with authentic and modern Bangkok, Saiphin grew up surrounded by fresh produce which she credits her culinary ambition with.

Remembering the first thing she ever cooked to be sticky rice, at 14 she opened her own noodle stall and then moved to Hong Kong , worked in a Thai restaurant, opened a Thai grocers and finally opened her own Thai restaurant, Tuk Tuk Thai (still open) before moving to London in 2006.

Thai sweet-and-sour tofu

The sweet-and-sour flavour is very much associated with China, but many Southeast Asian countries have their own variants. My mum taught me this one, which uses no artificial colours, so you can achieve that vibrant red associated with sweet-and-sour dishes without skimping on quality.

serves 2

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ red pepper, chopped
¼ green pepper, chopped
50g (2oz) cucumber,
thickly sliced
4 cherry tomatoes
¼ onion, chopped
50g (2oz) fresh pineapple, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
½ teaspoon Chinese rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ tablespoon granulated sugar
250g (8oz) soft tofu, cut into pieces
1 spring onion, chopped

Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat, add the garlic and stir-fry for about 10 seconds until golden brown. Add the red and green peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, onion and pineapple, then stir in the tomato ketchup. Add the rice vinegar, Chinese wine, soy sauce and sugar and stir to mix well. Add the tofu and stir-fry for 30 seconds, then serve topped with the spring onion.

Stir-fried asparagus with prawns

My home town in the north of Thailand is considered cold. Sometimes, the temperature dips as low as 20°C (68°F), which is low enough to make a Thai shiver! It’s also just the right temperature to grow asparagus, which thrives in the tropical rain. It’s a wonderfully crunchy, refreshing vegetable. I can’t remember when I started eating this dish, but I know it came from my mum and began with asparagus simply stir-fried with garlic and oil. Adding the prawns makes for a more substantial dish.

Prawn and asparagus stir fry

Serves 2

10 asparagus spears 
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 prawns (about 40g/1 ¾ oz each), shelled, deveined and heads removed, but with tails intact
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water or chicken stock
Pinch of white pepper
Steamed rice, to serve

Trim the woody ends off the asparagus, then slice the spears diagonally into pieces, about 6cm (2 ½ inches) long. Heat the oil in a wok set over a medium heat and stir-fry the garlic for about 10 seconds until it is almost golden brown. Add the prawns and stir, then add the asparagus and toss to mix well. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds, then add the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Increase the heat to high and add the water or stock. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes until the prawns are cooked, then take the pan off the heat.

Spoon into serving dishes, sprinkle with the white pepper and serve with steamed rice.

Grilled pork skewers in thai marinade

In my family, these skewers would be made to give to the kids to eat while they walk to school – breakfast with a side order of sticky rice. They are such a part of my childhood, I just had to include the recipe in this book. They are super-simple to make and taste delicious. You can cook them in a griddle pan or under a grill, but they’re also great for the barbecue.

Grilled pork skewers

Makes 8 skewers

500g (1lb) boneless
pork tenderloin, cut into thin slices

For the marinade

3 coriander roots, roughly chopped
20 white peppercorns
4–5 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
5 tablespoons oyster sauce
5 tablespoons soy sauce
5 tablespoons nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons cornflour
5 tablespoons vegetable oil sticky rice, to serve

For the dipping sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
1 red chilli, finely chopped

Pound the garlic, peppercorns, coriander roots and coriander seeds using a mortar and pestle. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, honey, cornflour and vegetable oil and mix well. Add the pork slices, ensure they are well coated in the mixture, then marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, place 8 wooden skewers in water and leave them to soak. Preheat a grill or griddle pan until very hot. Meanwhile, thread the marinated pork on to skewers (2 or 3 slices per skewer).Grill or griddle the skewers for 1–2 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.

Mix together the ingredients for the dipping sauce. Serve the skewers with sticky rice and the dipping sauce.

Rosa's Thai Cafe: The Cookbook by Saiphin Moore, Photography by Dan Jones, published by Mitchell Beazley, £20, www.octopusbooks.co.uk