Khao Pad is a delicious Thai version of fried rice

Cooking has been a bit of a struggle the past two weeks.

We’ve been having renovations done to our home and have been staying in a rental that, despite the full kitchen, is “interestingly” equipped. I should have brought my own pans, but well, we’ve all been there.

I did find a wok, along with a huge stock pot and a tiny saucepan. The last two items haven’t been much help, but a wok is always handy and reminded me of one of the first Asian meals I learned to cook — Khao Pad, or as I thought it was called for years, Cowpot.

That’s how my brother-inlaw who served in Vietnam pronounced it, and at that point I hadn’t been in a Thai restaurant so I had no idea of the correct spelling. I didn’t even know what it meant, just that it was easy to make and was delicious.

It’s so easy, in fact, that I used to make it in my college dorm kitchen and once at an international student dinner at a professor’s house. One of the guests had been raised in Thailand so I asked her what “cowpot” meant in Thai. It ends up, it’s nothing exotic. It simply means fried rice.

We’ve lightened it up a bit by substituting riced cauliflower, but feel free to use actual rice if you’d like.

We were also using leftovers from a holiday picnic veggie tray and a yellow squash someone at church gave to us. Some recipes even use cucumber. Traditionally, it’s just seasoned with soy, but we’re trying to cut down on sodium and didn’t have a lot of spices with us, so we used commercial stir fry sauce this time. We were pleased with the results.

The nice thing with Khao Pad is that it’s very forgiving and a great way to use up leftovers. Use the meat of your choice or make it a vegetarian meal. Spice it up, or leave it relatively plain.

A large frying pan works almost as well as a wok, though you may need to make it in smaller batches, depending on the size of your pan. As always, make it your own.

Khao Pad

2 cups of cooked rice or one bag of riced cauliflower cooked and well-drained (set aside until the end) 2-3 tablespoons of oil for frying 6-8 ounces of boneless chicken, pork or beef, cut into small pieces Snow peas, broccoli, onions, sweet red pepper, carrots, squash, etc., chopped or sliced bite-size (approximately 1 ½ -2 cups total 1-2 eggs Stir fry sauce Sriracha sauce or crushed red pepper, if desired Heat the oil in the wok on high heat. Add the meat and stir fry until cooked through. Move the meat up the sides of the wok or remove temporarily if using a regular frying pan and add the vegetables, moving them around rapidly until cooked but still slightly crisp. Move the vegetables to the side to make room at the bottom of the pan to scramble the eggs, breaking them up into small pieces, then add the rice.

Stir fry until lightly browned (a few minutes.) If you are using riced cauliflower, it will not be as browned. Mix all the cooked ingredients together and stir in the sauce to taste (about 3-4 tablespoons,) blending the flavors for a few minutes before serving. Spice individual portions with pepper or sriracha sauce if desired.