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Alex

@butter.aficionado

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Rice Enthusiast
Bristol, UK
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Triple Yolker Pad Kra Pao

I've been seeing so many photos from the Phed Mark London pop-up that I couldn't resist trying to make one of their iconic multi-yolkers at home. It was also a great excuse to cook up one of my all time favourite dishes again, Pad Kra Poa.

The triple yolker was built on a double white base (I used the third to egg wash something I was baking). I couldn't believe how much the eggs shrank while cooking, I was barely able to get the yolk on in the end (see video 2).

I've made quiet a few Thai style fried eggs in my life, I wouldn't say this was my favourite. It was fun to try but in the future I'd rather just have 3 crispy individual eggs... or just the normal 1 or 2.

Little bit of a substitution for the typical ground beef as well. I had a small steak in the freezer and quickly thawed it before slicing and dicing into small pieces. Because it was a steak that I'd happily eat rare, I only flashed it in the pan quickly before adding in my Thai basil. Overall the flavour was great, but I could have used some more charred bits which add some texture to the dish.

While looking back for the last time I posted Pad Kra Poa, I came across a few Mapo Tofu's, a bunch of fried eggs over rice, some Cantonese BBQ style meats. Pretty much all the stuff that I'm cooking right now. I guess I'm a creature of habit but what can I say? I like what I like and I post what I eat.

Happy cooking y'all taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @butter.aficionado

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4 months ago

In Pursuit of Noodles: Ep. 7

The final bowl of S1 - Fish Fragrant Tofu Noodles. Inspired by the iconic Sichuanese dish, Fish Fragrant Aubergine.

These were a perfect way to wrap up the season. The crunch of the oven baked tofu went so well with the corn starch thickened sauce. If you really want to go all out, I think deep frying the tofu would boost this to another level.

Where do these rank? I think they just fall short of the podium and I’ll let them take up the 4th spot.

1. Tian Shui Mian - Sweet Water Noodles
2. Chilled Sesame Noodles
3. Dan Dan Adjacent Noodles
4. Fish Fragrant Noodles
5. Shanghainese Sesame Noodles (Ja Jiang Mian)
6. Bean Bowl
7. B.A.M Noodles

Thanks so much to everyone who’s watched this series, liked, and shared! It’s the first one I’ve done on here and I’m already thinking of what to do next!

A quick reminder on the rules - each bowl must be made at lunch, take no more than 20 minutes to prepare and utilize only pantry/fridge staples. Additionally, each bowl must contain exactly 100g of the same noodles, be eaten out of the same bowl and with the same chop sticks.

Let me know what your go-to lunch time noodle bowl is and I’ll make sure to include it in the series.

Happy cooking y’all taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @butter.aficionado

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3 months ago

Char Siu Continued

Getting closer and closer to my dream of serving up a "3 meats over rice" from the comfort of my own kitchen. I'm saying it publicly to keep myself accountable - it will happen in the first half of 2026!

My ideal 3 meats over rice selection:
- Char Siu
-Siu Yuk
-Soy Sauce Chicken

These photos are from 2 different cooks, both using Iberico Pork but just different cuts. Photos 1, 2 use the Pork Pluma which was some of the best char siu I've ever had. This is a more premium cut of pork but because I'm only cooking for myself, the smaller pieces it comes in ends up working very well for me. All the other photos use the more standard pork shoulder, still great, just didn't blow me away as much.

I served it with the essential ginger scallion sauce, some blanched greens on the side, and most importantly, steamed rice.

Happy cooking y'all :) taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @butter.aficionado

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3 months ago

Crispy Pork Belly & Sticky Rice

Spicy, handheld, and delicious - what else could you possibly want?

I’ve been thinking about making these since I saw a post from @nines_table for their Korean BBQ version. There’s something about building every bite on a sturdy piece of cabbage that just makes this such an enjoyable eating experience.

Dor the dipping sauce, I was really excited to make Nam Jim Jaew but realized I had bought the wrong tamarind paste/puree so a pivot was neccessary.

Ingredients for the the sauce:

-Thai chillies
-Minced Garlic
-Palm Sugar
-Fish Sauce
-Lime Juice
-Toasted rice powder
-a little bit of water

For the crispy pork belly, I marinated it for about an hour and then mixed in enough corn flour to turn the marinade into a thick batter. After that, all that was left to do is fry until golden brown and delicious.

Served these up super simply with some sticky rice, cabbage and cucumbers. If you manicure the cucumbers they do taste that much better so don’t skip this step!

Looking for something fun and tasty to cook this weekend? I’d give this a try! taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @butter.aficionado

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2 days ago

Saucy Fried Aubergine w/ Thai Basil 🌿

I'd been thinking a lot about an aubergine Pad Phet I had at Singburi a few months ago. I realized it had been a while since I've cooked aubergine and decided it was about time to give it a try. I didn't follow a recipe but I think this is pretty similar to that original aubergine pad phed with a few changes.

To make it, I salted the aubergine and fried in small batches, then let to cool while the other bits were assembled.

I've been really working on my crispy eggs lately and this one was a stunner. Not too much oil, on a high, but not super high, heat. Gave it a few spoon-fulls of hot oil over the top to help it along. The result was a very runny yolk and incredibly crispy edges.

Back to the aubergine, crushed up chillies and ginger in a mortar and pestle, fried until fragrant and then added in my sauce. A mix of fish sauce, oyster sauce, golden mountain seasoning, and sugar. Super simple and not really labour or time intensive. A bit of a pain to have to fry but the end result is really worth it.

It ended up being exactly what I was craving. Lately, I've been loving super crispy eggs, served over rice, with a side of something spicy (ideally with some Thai basil in the mix). If you look through my recent post, you can see the pattern. This completely hit the mark.

Happy cooking y'all! taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @butter.aficionado

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4 days ago

Green Curry Fried Rice 🍚

If you’ve been following me for any length of time you probably know I’m a big fried rice aficionado. Lately, it’s been all about “Thai Inspired” flavours and this is just a continuation of that.

I followed a very similar structure to what I would normally do, frying shrimps, ginger and garlic, seasoning with fish sauce, golden mountain seasoning and sugar. The main difference is what I did with the rice.

This is inspired by Golden Fried Rice. In that recipe, you separate your egg whites from your egg yolks and coat your rice in the yolks before frying. The final result is equally beautiful looking as it is luxurious. It’s a recipe that every time I make, I feel like I’m doing something right in my life. I took this idea of coated rice and decided to put my own twist on it. What would happen if you coated your rice in curry before frying it?

I’ve always got some curry pouches from @wildriceworld at home so I decided to use those. Personally I think the milder, red curry would provide a prettier final result but I was going for a lil spice so the green curry made the most sense.

I made sure to cook my rice with a little less water than normal. My goal was to not end up with a big wet pile of slop. Surprisingly, this worked really well! The rice absorbed the curry without becoming too hydrated and once fried, it still had decent grain separation. If you have a really high powered stove I’m sure you could fry this until as “dry” as a more traditional fried rice.

Is this a little bit out there? Yeah sure. But it’s fun and it’s tasty and I think if you try it out, you’ll be pleasantly surprised! Let me know what you think!

Happy cooking y’all! taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @butter.aficionado

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9 days ago

Char Kway Teow 🇲🇾

Malaysian Stir Fried Noodles!

This is one of the dishes I ordered at Dragon's Delicacy a few weeks back and have been thinking baout it ever since. Funnily enough, I bought all the ingredients at Wei Yee Hong (just below DD), and it took a ton of will power to not just walk upstairs and get an order of this. As tasty as their version was, I was super excited to try making this myself.

Ingredients:
-Wide fresh rice noodles
-Shrimp
-Chinese sausage
-Egg
-Bean Sprouts
-Garlic Chives

Sauce:
-Dark soy
-Light soy
-Sugar
-White pepper
-Oyster sauce
-Fish sauce

After making beef chow fun recently and feeling like I may have overcooked the noodles, keeping these in a more solid state was my main focus. I very gently separated them in some warm water and tried to avoid tearing while wok frying.

Is this one missing some of that iconic wok hei? Yeah probably. I could have really turned the heat up and caramelized all the sugar in the sauce. But for a first attempt I'll give it a passing grade and try again soon.

Happy cooking y'all! taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @butter.aficionado

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11 days ago

Bún Bò Xào 🇻🇳

#AD - Doing my best to combat the summer heat with this extremely refreshing bowl of Vietnamese Bún bò xào (Vermicelli with Lemongrass Beef).

I’d been eyeing one of the many iterations of Bún over the last few weeks and finally managed to land on this recipe. Making this feels like putting together the best kind of salad, just replace the lettuce with thin rice noodles. As for toppings and dressings, top with all the different bits and pour in a whole load of nước chấm. That’s it, sit back, forget about the heat, and enjoy!

Of all the toppings, the pickled carrot and daikon were the stars of the show. All that’s required is a bit of knife work, thankfully I had my set up from @notorious_cookware which made the whole thing a breeze. If you’re looking to pick one of these up, check out the link in my stories and use code ALEX10 for 10% of your order.

Happy cooking y’all! taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @butter.aficionado

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14 days ago

Pad Krapow Pla Muek 🦑🇹🇭

A variation of one of my all time fav dishes, swapping the beef for squid.

I'd first seen this dish posted by @shhh__letmefeast and just knew I had to try it. More recently, I've been watching a lot of content from @makebistro and it finally pushed me into buying some squid. My algorithm on here has been slanted heavily Thai recently and with the hot weather, it's all I've been craving. Watching Make Bistro reel's has been a big part of whats been inspiring me to cook lately. So, expect more Thai food from me! If you're looking for some inspo, I'd highly suggest giving these two accounts a follow!

This was also my first time using duck eggs from @steweeggs which were really nice. I see them used for the massive 4 yolkers at Phed Mark and I think I understand why now. Managed to get these properly crispy on the bottom but still missing a big of that lace that you see from the pros. Either way, these were incredibly tasty and I will be picking up some more soon.

I guess it's worth talking about the squid. I went in with high expectations as I love the beef version and I was not disappointed. I can't for sure say that its my new go-to but its up there. In the video you can see I had a heavy hand with the oyster sauce and the heat (which wilted the Thai basil a lot). I guess my only option is to cook this again soon!

Next up on my Thai holy basil adventures - Moo Krob - crispy fried pork belly stir fried in the same addictive flavours. Keep an eye out for that one in the coming weeks!

Happy cooking y'all :) taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @butter.aficionado

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15 days ago

Mouth Numbing Noodles 🍜🍜🍜

Another instalment of “Hot Day, Cold Noodles” with this fiery bowl. This is a version of a iconic dish, Mouth Watering Chicken (or Saliva Chicken), just served with rice noodles instead of rice. Super simple to put together, I’d imagine most of the ingredients are things you’ve already got in the pantry.

For the sauce:
- Homemade chilli oil
- Sichuan peppercorn oil
- Sesame oil
- Sichuan Peppercorns (toasted & finely ground)
- Black vinegar
- Dark soy sauce
- Sugar
- Chicken broth (from poaching chicken)

For the chicken
- Chicken broth
- Chicken powder
- Ginger
- Garlic

Toppings
- Cucumber
- Scallions

You can get your sauce and toppings prepped while you poach your chicken. I let my chicken & noodles cool through completely before assembling the bowl so it would be extra refreshing. I was maximizing the mouth numbing effects here by using my homemade Sichuan chilli oil, straight Sichuan peppercorn oil, AND ground Sichuan peppercorns. If you’re looking for something a little more mellow, maybe cut back on those.

Not into meat? I think this would be really tasty with some tofu as well. I’d imagine poaching thick-ish slices in salted water and then cutting into strips would work!

Happy hot day cooking y’all :) taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @butter.aficionado

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18 days ago

Khao Pad 🍚🦐🇹🇭

The other week I saw a story from @xin.xin.chan where they had made Khao Pad (Thai Fried Rice) and it really lit a fire under me.

Over the next week, I obsessed about making my own version. This would have probably been my first real attempt at "recipe testing" and I've got to say, eating the same thing everyday is pretty awesome! After a few tries and I finally got to a version I was really happy with. Here's what was in it:

-Rice
-Egg
-Thai Chillies
-Shallot
-Garlic
-Thai Basil
-Shrimp
-Golden Mountain Seasoning
-Fish Sauce
-Oyster Sauce
-Lime Juice
-Scallion
-Cucumber (on the side)

I initially was dubious of the cucumber and lime on the side. After giving my fried rice a nice spray of fresh lime juice, I knew it was an essential element. Similarly with the cucumber, it really helped cut through the heat when I went a little overboard with the chillies.

By round 4 I was also able to get my ego under control and limit the amount of Thai Chillies I was using.

I'm hoping to put together a full video for next week with all my findings but for now, enjoy this mix of attempts. If you're looking for something fun and summery to eat this weekend, I'd recommend this!

Happy cooking y'all taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @butter.aficionado

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23 days ago

Khai Jiao - Thai Crispy Omelette 🇹🇭

My never ending search for the best rice & egg dish continues. There’s a lot of great options, but this Thai crispy omelette has to be pretty high up on the list. Super crispy, a subtle hint of fish sauce, pairs perfectly with a panang red curry, whats not to love?

I’m using a recipe from @themeatmenchannel that uses the following:

-eggs
-water
-cornstarch
-fish sauce
-lime juice

All whisked up and then fried until golden brown and delicious. I paired mine with a curry from @wildriceworld but this would also be super tasty on its own (with some rice).

Happy cooking y’all! by @butter.aficionado

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a month ago