Chicken, pork, or tofu stir-fried with julienned fresh ginger, dried black wood ear mushrooms (hed hunu), spring onions, and oyster sauce — a Thai-Chinese preparation where the fresh ginger is a primary ingredient rather than a background flavouring. Pad khing is the preparation that demonstrates ginger's identity as a prominent stir-fry vegetable in Thai-Chinese cooking — a different use of the rhizome than its curry-paste role, where it appears in the background of northern Thai preparations (Entry TH-61).
**The ginger:** Young ginger (khing orn): less fibrous and less pungent than mature ginger, suitable for eating in quantity in a stir-fry. Peeled and cut into thin julienne matchsticks approximately 4cm long. A generous amount — this is a ginger-forward preparation. If only mature ginger is available: use smaller quantity, or blanch the julienned ginger in boiling water for 30 seconds before the wok to moderate its aggressive pungency. **The wood ear mushrooms (hed hunu):** Dried black wood ear (Auricularia auricula-judae — cloud ear fungus): soaked in cold water for 15–20 minutes until fully rehydrated and softened. Trim any tough base sections. These provide texture (slightly crunchy, resilient) and a clean mushroom flavour that does not compete with the ginger. **The preparation:** 1. Wok at maximum heat. Oil. 2. Add the protein. Stir-fry until nearly cooked. Push to side. 3. Add the julienned ginger. Fry for 30–45 seconds — the ginger's gingerol and shogaol compounds release quickly into the hot oil. 4. Add rehydrated wood ear mushrooms. 5. Add spring onion whites. 6. Oyster sauce, fish sauce. Toss. 7. Add spring onion greens. 8. Serve. Decisive moment: The ginger frying — 30–45 seconds in the hot oil before anything else is added. This brief, intense frying transforms the ginger's raw, sharp pungency into a cooked, slightly sweet, more rounded aromatic. Under-fried ginger (added directly to the sauce without the pre-frying step) produces a harsher, sharper result.
David Thompson, *Thai Food* (2002); *Thai Street Food* (2010)