.: evil jungle prince :.

Last night I was looking at a recipe for gkai pad gkaprow (spicy basil chicken) when I noticed that it said 'anything goes' when it comes to replacing the chicken with other proteins, so I tried preparing spicy basil tofu. To my suprise it really came out great and I'll likely be repeating this recipe from herein.

1. First I prepared the ingredients by slivering 2-3 shallots, 2-3 cloves of garlic, a few kaffir lime leaves, and slicing a couple of Thai chilli peppers (to taste) into small rounds. I also set a aside a handful of fresh Thai basil, half a block of cubed, firm tofu, and 4-5 green onions (cut into 3 inch lengths). I then pre-mixed my seasonings in a small bowl by mixing 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce, white pepper to taste, and half a teaspoon of shrimp paste in soy bean oil.

2. Next I heated the wok until smoking, added peanut oil, and then the shallots, garlic, and chilli peppers. Once fragrant, I then added the tofu. After about 15 seconds, I then added the pre-mixed seasonings. After about 15 more seconds, I added the green onions. I then added the Thai basil and removed the contents as soon as the leaves were about mid-way, but not entirely wilted.

By the way, here is the new wok I picked up in San Francisco. It is pure heaven using this after dealing with a Le Creuset wok for so many years that never functioned the way I wanted it to. That wok was the bane of my kitchen existence -- it had so many problems. It was flat bottomed and always fell off my round-bottom burner while cooking, it never seasoned properly and food always stuck to it, it was too heavy and too bulky to easily remove food, and the list goes on. On the other hand, my new wok seasons perfectly, fits the burner perfectly, is light enough to easily remove food, has two handles, and is an all-around joy to use. My wok burdens have been lifted!

Don't forget: anything goes with thai basil.