Seafood Pad Cha from 'Rosa's Thai Cafe: The Cookbook'

'Pad Cha' in Thai means getting your wok as hot as possible so that ingredients explode when added! The flavours of this dish explode when you taste them, especially the chilli, which gives a real kick. It's both hot from the heat and the aromatics.

• 1 tsp of black peppercorns, crushed
• 1 tbsp of coriander root, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 hot chillies
• 2 tbsp of lesser galangal
• 3 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 150g of squid, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 5 mussels
• 5 scallops, sliced into bite-sized pieces if large
• 5 prawns, shelled, veined and heads removed, but with the tails intact
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup of water
• 2 tbsp of oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp of galangal, chopped very finely
• 2 tbsp of lemon grass, chopped very finely

• Fresh coriander leaves
• Crushed hot chillies

1. Pound the coriander root, garlic, galangal, lemon grass and chillies in a pestle and mortar until you have a paste (you could use a blender if you prefer)
2. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the paste until it is fragrant. Add the squid, prawns, mussels and scallops, tossing to combine. Season with fish sauce, sugar, lesser galangal and oyster sauce, then add the water and combine well. Cover and continue cooking for a few minutes until everything is done.
3. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and crushed hot chillies. Serve hot with jasmine rice.