Thai on Bruce loves to cook

Thai-inspired noodle soup

Sat, 17 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A coconut curry noodle soup built on quick-marinated pork (a shortcut to [[Velveting (pork)|velveting]]), lemongrass, and whatever vegetables are on hand. Brown the pork fast and leave it underdone, so it finishes in the soup and stays tender.

Butternut squash curry

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A simplified weeknight coconut curry built around pan-browned butternut squash and yellow Thai curry paste. Soy sauce keeps it vegetarian; fish sauce adds more depth if you eat it.

Ingredients

250 g long-grain white rice, uncooked
3 tablespoons coconut or canola oil, divided
½ small butternut squash (about 450 g), peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, peeled
3 tablespoons yellow Thai curry paste
1 can (400 ml) light coconut milk
1 jalapeño or Thai chili, halved
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into 1 cm pieces
2-4 tablespoons lime juice, plus lime wedges to serve
1 tablespoon soy sauce, or fish sauce if not vegetarian
140 g (5 oz) baby spinach, chopped
Chopped cashews and cilantro, to serve

Method

Cook the rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the squash and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and beginning to soften, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Instant Pot chicken thigh curry

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Adapted from an Instant Pot beef chuck curry, swapped to boneless chicken thighs for a faster weeknight cook. Pressure time is cut way down from the original, which called for 35 minutes to break down chuck roast.

Pad kra pao moo saap

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Thailand’s everyday lunch dish: minced pork stir-fried hard and fast with garlic, chili, and holy basil, served over rice with a fried egg. The dish lives or dies on two things: real holy basil (not sweet Thai basil) and heat high enough to sear the pork rather than steam it.

Peanut sauce

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A good peanut sauce is perfect with salad rolls and satay.

Ingredients

150g (½ cup) hoisin sauce
60g (¼ cup) peanut butter
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 tablespoon sambal oelek
60 ml (¼ cup) warm water

Method

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Thin with more water if needed.

Bruce’s Thai red/green curry

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

These are rough approximations for the Thai red and green curries I’ve been making for many years now. These are not super authentic, but are based in reality from some recon a friend did at a local Thai restaurant back in the 90s.

Simpler Thai red curry

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is a simpler version of my Thai curry recipe that works especially well with vegetarian ingredients. It’s a bit closer to an authentic curry, except that we skip the shrimp paste and use a commercial curry paste rather than making it from scratch.

Thai-style chili lime sauce

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A bright, uncooked blender sauce of lime, fish sauce, and chili for wings, chicken sandwiches, noodles, and tofu. It’s sour, sweet, and very mildly spicy (according to our family), and doubles as a marinade.

Thai cucumber relish

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This is our version of a common Thai side.

Ingredients

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½ cm dice
60ml white vinegar (¼ cup)
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon fish sauce

Method

Stir together vinegar and sugar until dissolved. Add fish sauce, red pepper flakes, shallot, and cucumber. Toss to combine. Fold in mint just before serving.

Red Thai curry

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This is our classic Thai curry, based on a restaurant that closed many years ago.

Mechanic

The key step is heating the coconut cream alone until it splits (the fat separates from the liquid). Frying the curry paste in this split cream is what develops deep flavour; adding all the coconut milk at once and simmering is a shortcut that produces a flatter result.