Back in 1998, for several months I was a "metapelet" - a nanny and housekeeper - for a family with newborn triplets, Shahar, Niv and Peleg. I learned a "ptai" (Thai) dish from this family. They lived in a suburb of Netanya called Zoran (pronounced tsoran), so I've called this Zoran Ptai ever since. It's cheap, easy and quick, and good for you. It keeps well; in fact it's even better the next day.
Ingredients
- 1 or 2 teaspoon cooking oil
- About 6 cups shredded cabbage
- About 2 cups shredded carrots
- Half a package of rice sticks (very thin noodles)
- 4 eggs
- Soy Sauce
You can slice and shred the cabbage and carrots yourself, or use a bag of pre-shredded "coleslaw mix".
Preparation
- Put the rice sticks in a bowl and cover with boiling water to soak. You may want to break them up into shorter lengths.
- Lightly beat the eggs with a little soy sauce, pour into a small microwaveable bowl with a little oil. Cover with a paper towel, and nuke for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between times, until done.
- Put the carrots and cabbage into a large microwaveable dish, and nuke for 1-2 minutes at a time, depending on your microwave's power. Stir between times, repeating until the cabbage is nearly tender.
- Drain the rice sticks, squeezing out excess water, and mix into the cabbage and carrots. Nuke again for 1-2 minutes, once or twice, until the cabbage is still just a little crunchy.
- Stir in the scrambled egg, breaking it up into small chunks.
- Add soy sauce to taste, and nuke for a final 1-2 minutes.
If you prefer, you can do all the cooking in a wok, with a teaspoon or so of oil. Cook the cabbage and carrots first, add the rice sticks, then push the mixture aside to cook the eggs. Mix it well, and add the soy sauce. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes.
Take care not to overcook the cabbage. Nothing is worse than scorched or overcooked cabbage!