Thai Stir-Fried Pumpkin With Egg (Fuk-Tong Pad Khai)

I discovered this dish, Fuk-Tong Pad Khai, at one of the food stall in Chatuchak Market, Bangkok. As it was a short working trip, I had to grab a quick bite and nothing is faster than a mixed rice stall. I have to say, the 3 dishes that I took were all yummy but this one, Stir-Fried Pumpkin With Egg, was especially memorable.

So when I came back, I checked out the recipes online and found many versions to it but they uses Japanese pumpkin (kabocha). I guess the reason must be kabocha is much tender and has a crunchy texture. I managed to get a kabocha and I think I've nailed it on my first try testing out the recipe. If you love stir fry pumpkin, you'll love this.

Thai Stir-Fried Pumpkin With Egg (Fuk-Tong Pad Khai)

(A)
150 g minced meat (can be chicken or pork)
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cornstarch
A dash of ground white pepper

400 g Japanese pumkin (kabocha)
2 eggs
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 - 2 Tbsp chopped spring onion

(B)
100 ml water
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
Dash of ground white pepper

Mix (A) evenly together to marinade the minced meat.

Mix (B) together and set aside as the sauce.

To prepare the pumpkin, remove the skin but you can keep some on as this variety of pumpkin is pretty young and tender. Should you use the local pumpkin, remove all the hardy skin. Cut into wedges and remove the seeds. Then slice diagonally into 1 - 1.5 cm thickness.

Heat oil and fry garlic till fragrant. Add in the minced meat and stir fry till cooked. Next, stir in the pumpkin slices.

Spread and leave a well in the centre of the pan. Crack in the eggs and break up the yolks. Leave it to cook, do not scramble the eggs. Once the eggs cooked up, stir in the pumpkin slices.

Stir mixture (B) before pouring into the pumpkin and egg. Cook until most of the liquid dries up. Scatter in some chopped spring onion and dish up. Serve with steamed white rice.