Arnold Myint’s Quick Thai Dinners

The Top Chef and Food Network Star contender’s new cookbook, Family Thai, is a tribute to his mother, a longtime Nashville restaurateur.

Oct 06, 2025

Arnold Myint’s parents got married in July of 1975. “And in November of that year, their first baby was born,” says Arnold, “which is International Market and Restaurant.” Back then, it was difficult to find Thai food and ingredients in Nashville.

Arnold’s mother set up a steam table in the market, hoping to demonstrate to customers how various ingredients could be used. “She was really trying to sell her Thai-ness to the community,” he tells me in our recent podcast conversation.

“I was raised in the walls of that restaurant,” Arnold notes, and his new book, Family Thai, is a tribute to his mother and the 50 year-old restaurant. (Find Family Thai on Bookshop here.)

“She was a very giving person,” he says. “There was a lot of love in her message. And even if we didn’t have everything, we still had something. And if you have something, there’s always something to share.”

If employees didn’t have plans for the holidays, they’d get invited home. If someone came in at closing time, looking for any food the restaurant might otherwise throw away, she’d always make a fresh plate to feed them: “It’s never something that’s going in the garbage. You know, it’s always something made for them that is made with intention.” She taught Arnold that food was a beautiful way to connect with others.

Arnold sees himself as continuing that tradition. “I think I’m a good translator and connector of cultures,” he says. His book is full of lessons gleaned from a life in restaurants, but it always keeps home cooks in mind.

For example, Arnold doesn’t think you should bother with buying a wok for home use.

These days, Arnold’s juggling restaurant life with his role as a single dad: “You know, get my child up, get her happy, go to the markets, bring all of my finds at the farmers market to the restaurant, start prepping with my team, get things kind of where they need to be, go pick up my daughter, take her home, go back to the restaurant right before lineup, do the dinner shift, leave a little early.”

When Arnold’s dinner isn’t takeout, it’s often fried rice or a quick Thai omelet. The omelet cooks hot and fast so it’s both fluffy and crisp, and it easily takes on chopped shrimp, ground pork, or whatever vegetables or leftover bits of meat or tofu you might have in your fridge. “It’s high protein. It’s savory,” Arnold says, and served over rice with a little fish sauce and Thai chiles, “it’s perfect.”

You can find both recipes reprinted from Family Thai below. But first, even if you don’t listen to my chat with Arnold right this minute, I’d be so grateful if you’d pop over to whatever podcast listening app you prefer and hit follow on The Dinner Plan.

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Khao Pad / Mom’s Classic Thai Fried Rice

Serves 2 to 4

Fried rice is one of those dishes that’s perfect for clearing out your fridge and it takes less than ten minutes to throw it all together. You can use whatever protein you want—some favorites are shrimp, crab, and thinly sliced pork, but if you want to go full vegetarian, tofu and vegetables are great options, too. Classic Thai fried rice has to have tomatoes, which provide an acidic hit; thinly sliced onions that are cooked until translucent and soft; and a pinch of Magic Powder (aka chicken bouillon powder). To spruce it up further, I love to add preserved radish, which melts into the ingredients and provides a subtle sweetness that bolsters the other flavors of this dish. It’s simple food, but don’t let that fool you—you’ll be coming back to this recipe again and again.

¼ cup (60 ml) neutral oil, such as sunflower
1 large egg
4 ounces (115 g) large shrimp, shelled and deveined
½ cup (55 g) sliced white onion
½ cup (25 g) sliced gai lan (Chinese broccoli), leaves and stems
1 tablespoon chopped sweet preserved radish
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 cups (280 g) day-old steamed rice
1 Roma tomato (about 5½ ounces / 155 g), cut into 8 wedges
1 scallion, green and white parts, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
2 tablespoons Thai seasoning sauce, such as Golden Mountain
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Magic Powder (aka Asian chicken bouillon)
½ teaspoon ground white pepper

For serving:
Sliced cucumber
Lime cheeks
Prik Nam Pla (Chile Fish Sauce, see below.)

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
Crack the egg into the oil and allow the white to coagulate, about 30 seconds. Using a flat spatula, break the egg yolk and lightly scramble the egg until it is fully cooked. Push the cooked egg to one side of the pan.
Add the shrimp and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp just begins to turn opaque, about 45 seconds. Add the gai lan, preserved radish, and garlic and cook, stirring, until the broccoli lightly wilts, about another 45 seconds. Add the rice, breaking up any large clumps, and fold the egg back into the mixture, along with the tomatoes and scallions. Stir in the seasoning sauce, sugar, magic powder, and white pepper and continue cooking until the rice is hot and the shrimp is fully cooked, about another 2 minutes.
TO SERVE: Transfer the rice into a large serving bowl and gently press down to lightly pack the rice. Place a plate on top of the bowl, flip the plate and bowl together so the plate ends up on your work surface, and remove the bowl to create a dome of rice. Serve with cucumber slices, lime cheeks, and prik nam pla. Store any leftover rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Prik Nam Pla / Chile Fish Sauce

Makes about ⅓ cup (75 ml)

This is the lifeblood of Thailand. If you cut me open, I’d probably leak prik nam pla. The name directly translates to chile fish sauce, and that’s essentially what this is—a sauce of fish sauce, chiles, a hit of sugar and lime, and some garlic. You’ll find prik nam pla in every condiment caddy in Thailand right next to the sugar, dried chiles, and chile vinegar. Use it for fried eggs, noodles—pretty much everything goes.

3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh red Thai chiles (about 10 chiles)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar

In an 8-ounce (240 ml) lidded glass jar, combine the fish sauce, Thai chiles, garlic, lime juice, and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Serve at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Kai Jeaow / Thai Omelet

Makes 1 (8-inch / 20 cm) omelet; serves 2

If you’re searching for a recipe with the best ratio of ease of preparation to delicious payoff, you’ve found it. The Thai omelet is a kid-friendly classic, a midnight meal, and a welcome side dish all in one. Yes, you can eat this at breakfast, but it’s also the perfect accompaniment to a midnight bowl of jhok or a fiery plate of stir-fried morning glory. In almost every family sit-down meal in Thailand, you’ll find kai jeaow.

The key here is hot oil, which sounds scary but is pretty easy as long as you’re careful. You want to lower the beaten eggs gently into the hot oil, which causes the eggs to puff up. You are looking for crunchy edges and a fluffy center. The fun part about this recipe is that it’s incredible as written, but you can also add ground pork with white pepper, crab meat, and/or Thai chiles.

3 large eggs
1 teaspoon fish sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon Magic Powder (aka Asian chicken bouillon)
Pinch of ground white pepper
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as sunflower
¼ cup (55 g) chopped shrimp
8 slices white onion
1 tablespoon chopped preserved sweet radish
4 slices Roma tomato
1 scallion, white and green parts, thinly sliced

For serving:
Fried garlic, storebought or homemade
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Cucumber slices
Lime cheeks
Sriracha
Prik Nam Pla (Chile Fish Sauce, see above.)
Steamed rice

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, fish sauce, sugar, magic powder, and white pepper with a wire whisk.
In an oven-safe nonstick 8-inch (20 cm) skillet, heat the 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp begins to turn opaque, about 1 minute. Remove and set aside.
To the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Gently pour in the omelet batter. As the egg begins to set, use the spatula to pull the edges of the omelet toward the center and let the eggs run underneath. Sprinkle in the sweet radish and continue pulling until the bottom of the eggs are set but the surface is still runny, about 2 minutes.
Evenly place the tomatoes, the scallions, and the reserved shrimp in the omelet and cook until eggs are no longer runny and the edges begin to release from the skillet, another 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook until deep brown and crispy, about 5 minutes.
TO SERVE: Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with the fried garlic. Serve with cilantro, cucumber slices, lime cheeks, sriracha, prik nam pla, and steamed rice on the side.

Hillary Dixler Canavan

Oct 6Edited

I love when professional chefs get real about what they actually do at home. Arnold has an electric range and a small kitchen!! Of course he can't cook like he would in a restaurant -- and neither can we!

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