**The Art of Making Cho Phak Kat and Yunnan-Style Stir-Fried Vegetables**

When it comes to exploring the diverse culinary landscape of China, few dishes can compare to the flavorful and aromatic delights found in Northern Thailand's Isaan region. One such dish that has caught our attention is Cho Phak Kat, a stir-fry made with an assortment of vegetables, including Thai chilies, garlic, cilantro, and sticky rice. In this article, we will delve into the world of Cho Phak Kat and explore its variations, as well as its Yunnan counterpart.

**Cho Phak Kat: A Northern Thai Delight**

For those unfamiliar with Cho Phak Kat, let us introduce you to this delectable dish that showcases the vibrant flavors of Northern Thailand. The ingredients are simple yet bold, featuring a medley of fresh vegetables such as chilies, garlic, cilantro, and bamboo shoots. To begin, heat some oil in a wok or large skillet over a medium flame, then add a few cloves of minced garlic and sauté until fragrant. Next, add the chopped chilies and stir-fry for about four minutes, or until they are slightly softened.

**Seasoning and Finishing Touches**

With the aromatics ready, it's time to introduce the main event: the vegetables. Add a variety of colorful vegetables such as Thai chilies, bean sprouts, and cabbage, and stir-fry for another three to five minutes, or until they are tender-crisp. Now, season with a half teaspoon MSG and finally hit it with the juice from half a lemon. This is where the dish takes on its signature brightness and depth of flavor. At this point, the Thai version usually finishes things off with some fried garlic and chilis. Over a low flame, quickly fry about six or seven dried chilies until crisp, about four minutes, and then scoop them out.

**Adding the Final Touches**

Now that the base is ready, it's time to add the finishing touches. Same oil, over a medium flame, add that reserved garlic from before and fry it for about five minutes, or until they're just barely starting to get golden. Once they're at this point, heat off, and continue to stir-fry for one more minute. Top the Cho Phak Kat with the fried garlic, a nice handful of chopped cilantro, the fried chilis, and optionally a drizzle of that chili/garlic oil all over everything.

**The Yunnan Version: A Simpler yet Still Delectable Alternative**

For those who prefer a more straightforward approach to stir-frying vegetables, the Yunnan version is an excellent alternative. This dish shares many similarities with its Northern Thai counterpart but with some key differences. The ingredients are still fresh and aromatic, featuring a medley of vegetables such as chilies, garlic, cilantro, and bamboo shoots. However, the emphasis lies more in the seasoning and finishing touches.

**Serving Suggestions**

In Northern Thailand, Cho Phak Kat is often served as a main dish, accompanied by sticky rice and a variety of other dishes. The meal is typically eaten family-style with chopsticks, where each person forms a ball or saucer of sticky rice and uses it to grab and consume the main dish. For those who prefer a more substantial meal, Cho Phak Kat can be served alongside deep-fried pork or northern Thai sausage.

**The Yunnan Version: A More Western-Inspired Approach**

In contrast, the Yunnan version is more akin to what you might find in a Chinese restaurant. This dish is often served as part of a larger spread of small dishes, with sticky rice being one of the staple grains. In Yunnan, people love their sticky rice, but rice is cheaper and today at least, that is usually the staple grain. So, Yunnan meals tend to look more like what you'd see elsewhere in China – small dishes served together with a variety of flavors.

**A Sour Vegetable from Myanmar**

Interestingly, there is also a sour vegetable dish found in Myanmar, ranging from North to South. The Myanmar version seems to have its own developed system for eating around it, but the exact methods are still unclear. Fortunately, our friend from Myanmar was kind enough to share with us her recipe and techniques for preparing this dish.

**Recipe Available in the Description Box**

For those who want to try making Cho Phak Kat or its Yunnan counterpart, we have a rough recipe available in the description box below. Please note that recipes may vary depending on personal preference and regional traditions. Feel free to experiment and adjust to your liking!

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, Cho Phak Kat and its Yunnan variation are two delicious stir-fry dishes that showcase the vibrant flavors of Northern Thailand and Yunnan, China. Whether you're a seasoned foodie or an adventurous cook, these recipes offer a glimpse into the rich culinary traditions of these regions. So go ahead, try making Cho Phak Kat and its Yunnan counterpart – your taste buds will thank you!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enThis is a recipe about what borders can doto food.The dish here on the left is from Yunnan,China’s Southwest corner… and the dishon the right is from Lanna, Thailand’s mountainousnorth.Centuries past, borders in this whole regionused to be a lot more…abstract…than they are today but times, of course,change.As an analogy, take one species of animal,and then add some sort of barrier to splitthe population.As we all learn in school, after some timefrom that division new species can end upforming.Question is, does the same happen to foodstoo?Well, in Thailand this dish is called ChoPhak Kat.It’s a staple in the North of the country,an everyday dish that’s got the same sortof cultural resonance as like a Pad Krapowin Bangkok or maybe Spaghetti and Tomato saucein the USA.In China, meanwhile this is a dish calledSuanpacai.It’s a Yunnan specialty tucked on menustogether with stuff like Grandma’s MashedPotatoes or Grilled Goat Cheese.It’s common to find in old school Dai banquetsdown in Banna but it’s particularly great,in my opinion, to go along with some latenight Yunnan barbecue downed with maybe onetoo many Snow.Now I wanna try to be clear here, neitherof us know the history of this specific dish,it’s the type of thing that’s probablylost to time.But the similarities between Cho Phak Katand Suanpacai are kind of hard to ignore.You boil some pork bones or ribs to make abit of a base, then you stew some greens init.Then, you add in some sort of intense sourcomponent and serve it together along withgarlic and chili pepper – in Yunnan, freshfor both; in Thailand, fried for both.And like… sometimes they’re even madewith the same exact vegetable, and practicallyalways some kind of brassica.So.Today, we’ll let you see the two approachesfor yourself, show you the cultural context,and let you draw your own conclusions.But because this is a cooking channel, andunfortunately both versions have some regionalingredients that can be a little difficultto find outside of this corner of the world…we also decided to get a little creative anduse the same cross-border fundamentals towhip up a third, western-supermarket versionto be enjoyed within a Western-food, or atleast American I guess, cultural context.So, for all of these, to be clear the essenceof this dish is to use whatever stewing vegetableyou have.Don’t go to the end of the earth mimicingthe exact vegetable… that’s not the point.Use what’s local and cheap.In Northern Thailand, that’s something calledPhak Kat John…it’s known in the rest of the country as‘Guangdong vegetable’.Called that way because it really kind oflooks like a Choy Sum but is.. totally nota Choy Sum, and it’s a vegetable that reallydoes want to be stewed.In Yunnan, however, there’s a diversity.You can actually also see the same Pak GatJohn sometimes, but the most common sightwould probably be something called xiaokucai,which I think might actually be rapini?We unfortunately can’t get either in Bangkokthough, so today we went with Chuncai, a typeof hearty lettuce that’s another commonstewing green in Yunnan.Then.For our western supermarket version, our choicetoday was… kale.If I was back in the US I’d probably gowith something cheaper?Collard greens… maybe the aforementionedrapini… but this is the western stewinggreen that we personally can get.It actually is a really nice vegetable forthis dish, albeit obviously overpriced.Now, as we said, both of these vegetable dishesare sour at their core.For the Thai version, it leans on what’sprobably the sour flavoring agent in Thaicooking and that’s… tamarind.Here we’ve got half a stick or about 20grams of pulp mixed with a quarter cup ofhot boiled water and… you can just let thatsit until you’re at the final seasoning.For the Yunnan version, there’s a coupleways that people’ll get there – sometimesfermented bamboo shoots, sometimes somethingcalled Nansuanzao – but most common is withthis ingredient – suanmugua a.k.a.Chinese quince.It’s a very sour fruit with a nice mellowfruitiness that’s probably not internationallyavailable, but you might be able to find itat, of all places, a Korean grocer.Then… for our Western supermarket version,after some internal debate the direction wedecided to go here was with citrus.Whether lemon or lime however it is a lotsharper, so we decided to supplement thatwith a quarter cup of sauerkraut for a littlefermented depth.Now for all these versions we’re going tobe working from a base of pork bones.You can also use pork ribs if those’re easierto get.We’ll start them all exactly the same – take1.75L of cool water, toss in about 350 gramsof pork, and get it up to a boil.Skim, and once you’re content that the foamis mostly gone, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.Now, at this point for the Thai version we’llbe breaking out the mortar.This was just forty grams of garlic, thisstuff is that really cool tiny flavorful Thaigarlic but garlic garlic’s obviously oktoo, pounded until roughly this consistency.Reserve half of that for later… and thenadd in four shallots cut in half, one tablespoonof shrimp paste and a half teaspoon salt andpound those all together.Once pasty, add all that to the soup togetherwith your Guangdong vegetable.Cover, and let that boil for about 30 to 40minutes.Then, as that’s going, thing number twoto pound up is this – an awesome ingredientcalled tuanao.What it is is a sort of quick fermented soybeanthat’s then pounded, formed into sheetsand then dried.It’s the type of thing that you generallyhave to toast before using, but a nice trickactually is to do so in the microwave…90 seconds, medium power.Then just toss that into a mortar and poundthat it a powder.Now, sub wise, there’s no perfect sub here,but to be super frank the dominant flavorI think is mostly toasted nuttiness, so outsideThailand I might try reaching for roastedsoybean flour.Either way, once the vegetable is good andsoft then, season it with one teaspoon MSG,half teaspoon sugar, optional half teaspoonof Rotdee, Thai seasoning powder… then addin the pounded tuanao, strain in the tamarindjuice… and heat off.So.Now let’s back up to the Yunnan version.Now there’s a lot less moving pieces here,so once our pork was cooked we’ll just tossin a quarter teaspoon salt, a hunk of smashedginger, seven pieces or ten grams of the suanmugua,four small tomatoes cut in half and, of course,the vegetable.Then just boil that until it’s soft, whichfor Chuncai takes about 45 minutes.Then season with another quarter teaspoonsalt, quarter teaspoon MSG, half teaspoonchicken bouillon powder, and then this isgood to serve.Then, for the western version, we decidedto hue kinda close to the Yunnan approach,more on why in just a second.Either way just toss in a quarter teaspoonsalt, a hunk of smashed ginger, four tomatoescut in half, a quarter cup of sourkraut, twosprigs of cilantro, and then all your choppedkale.Then boil that until soft, which for kaletakes about one hour.Then season with a half teaspoon MSG and finallyhit it with the juice from half a lemon.And then this is also good to serve.Now.At this point, the Thai version usually finishesthings off with some fried garlic and chilis.So, over a low flame quickly fry about sixor seven dried chilis until crisp, about fourminutes, and then scoop them out.Then, same oil, over a medium flame now addthat reserved garlic from before and fry itfor about five minutes, or until they’rejust barely starting to get golden.Once they’re at this point, heat off, andcontinue to stir fry for one more minute.Then top the Cho Phak Kat with the fried garlic,a nice handful of chopped cilantro, the friedchilis and optionally a drizzle of that chili/garlicoil all over everything.Then, for the Yunnan version, again this’salso is a little simpler.Just it top with some cilantro, some mincedraw garlic, and some chopped spicy chilis.That said, something that you can also seein Yunnan is a simple Yunnan-style dippingsauce to along with this.. so… let’s justwhip one up just in case that speaks to you.To a small bowl, just toss in one teaspoonroasted chili flakes, half teaspoon mincedgarlic, half teaspoon minced spicy chili,about one and a half tablespoons of choppedcilantro, same amount of chopped culantro,a teaspoon of soy sauce, eighth teaspoon salt,eighth teaspoon MSG, a quarter cup of yoursoup, mix well, and serve that on the side.And again, for our Western supermarket onewe again decided to hue reasonably close tothe Yunnan version, so… same topping butwe’ll slightly alter the dipping sauce withthese components instead, again, just in caseyou did wanna go that route.So in Northern Thailand, this is a… send-the-sticky-ricedown sort of dish.Now, if you’re unfamiliar with what I meanby that, in North Thailand, Isaan, Shan StateMyanmar, Laos… sticky rice is the staplegrain.Now the way you eat a meal around sticky riceis a ton of fun, for me it’s right up therewith “family-style with chopsticks” and“stuff stuff inside of tortillas” as oneof the world’s great eating systems.Basically, you take some sticky rice, formit into a ball or saucer in your hand, anduse it to grab and consume the main dish.In the grand scheme of things I’d rate itroughly burger/roti level on the eating-systemdryness scale… and for this dish it canbasically be a one person meal in and of itself– you’ll have some sticky rice, the vegetable,and you can also eat some bites with thatspicy fried chili, and maybe enjoy everythingthat alongside some deep fried pork or northernThai sausage.The Yunnan version, meanwhile, is kind of…on the other side?? of the rice-sticky riceline.In Yunnan people love their sticky rice, ofcourse, but rice is cheaper and today at least,that is usually the staple grain.So Yunnan meals’ll usually look a good bitcloser to what you’d see elsewhere in China…small dishes, sending down some rice, a vegetablebeing among them.So in Yunnan, this tends to exist as… onevegetable dish among an assortment of dishes,just like Shousibaocai is a vegetable dishin Sichuan just like Furu Ong Choy is a vegetabledish in Guangdong.It’s often paired with richer or meatierstuff, like, as we said, barbecue.So then… we were thinking the western version??could also maybe exist in a similar way.Maybe you’ve got a potuck or cookout, andthe mains are meaty and rich.So this vegetable, I think, could slot innicely right next to some fried chicken, rightnext to some biscuits, cut a bit of richness…that sort of deal.So!Besides the Chinese and the Thai versions,there also seems to be this sour vegetablein Myanmar… from North to South.And they seem to have like a whole developedsystem of how to eat around it in Myanmar.But we are not sure about it, any people fromMyanmar let us know in the comment section…But!We did manage to nab our friend who’s fromMyanmar to teach us how to make the versionfrom her hometown…so if you’re curious, you can check outour substack post… we have a rough recipethere.So right!As always, recipe’s in the description box,a big thank you for everyone that’s supportingus on Patreon, and of course, subscribe formore Chinese cooking videos.\n"