Pad Cha Plaa

"Pad Cha Plaa" ( ผัดฉ่าปลา ) is a wok dish with fish and various vegetables based on a spicy paste made from chilies, garlic and galangal. It is seasoned with Chinese keys, kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil and fresh green pepper as well as fish sauce, soy sauce and rice wine.

The name component “Cha” onomatopoetically describes the sound the dish makes when frying. The first part “Pad” means “stir-fry” and at the end is “Plaa” for “fish”. The whole thing can thus be translated as “Sizzling stir-fried fish”.

The dish is also known under the reversed name “Plaa Pad Cha” ( ปลาผัดฉ่า ). According to the book “Thailand: The Cookbook”, there is also a variant from Northern Thailand that uses a simpler paste but more vegetables.

Recipes

• hot-thai-kitchen.com
• Thailand: The Cookbook P. 330
• Thailand: The Cookbook P. 330
• Thailand: The Cookbook P. 498

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