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Cooking Thai Food: PAD THAI
Probably the most famous of the Thai dishes is this one called simply "Pad Thai". Its status as a top favourite everywhere in the Kingdom makes it worth learning to cook, and it is not hard. It is relatively easy to prepare. Originally developed in Bangkok to serve busy office workers with fast, nutritious and delicious food to eat in their breaks, today some vendors in Bangkok food stalls have been preparing nothing but the same Pad Thai dish for over 25 years! Pad Thai can be eaten as a light meal at any time, and is such a popular dish, that it is worth taking the time to master it properly.
Street Food stall; Old-style kitchen & prep of ingredients; vendor
Flavours & Balance
The best Pad Thai is a contrast of soft noodles flavored with salty, sweet, sour, and spicy flavors accented by pickled sweet radish, crisp beansprouts, toasted peanuts, firm fried tofu, crunchy scallions and zippy lime. Served at home, Pad Thai could be part of a party menu, with most of the preparation done in advance and a few minutes of last minute stir-frying. Or cook up Pad Thai as a quick weekend mid-day one plate dish, with the help of our
Pad Thai Sauce recipe.
Other simpler Pad Thai versions add fish sauce, sugar, vinegar and chilies directly to the noodle stir fry to create the unique flavor profile. In our version here a seasoning sauce is prepared by boiling tamarind water, fish sauce and palm sugar together.
No Pad Thai dish is complete without the addition of pickled radish, ground peanuts, ground chilies and garnished with lime halves and scallions.
To insure success soak rice noodles in cool tap water for 40 minutes before stir-frying for tender but not sticky noodles.
Prepare this Pad Thai Sauce to keep on hand so that you can whip up Pad Thai Noodles any time. |
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Ingredients for Pad Thai Sauce:
1 cup tamarind juice/water (use 6Tbsp TAMARIND PASTE – without seeds – and a cup of warm water. Soak paste in warm water 5 minutes, then squeeze fibers with fingers to extract as much tamarind into the water as possible)
1/2 cup Thai Fish Sauce
1 cup palm sugar
1 cup water
Now prepare Pad Thai Sauce: Prepare tamarind water (as above). Mix prepared tamarind water with fish sauce, and palm sugar. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Cook over low heat and stir, cook for 45 minutes until syrupy. Set aside. |
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Ingredients for Pad Thai Noodles:
8 oz. medium Asian Rice Noodles (Thai Farmer Brand)
approximately 4 tbsp. peanut oil or other vegetable oil
1/3 lb. frozen shrimp or pork
3/4 cup firm tofu, cut into 1 1/2" x 1" x 1/4" pieces
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Dried Shrimp, soaked in warm water
1/4 cup chopped Pickled Radish/Turnip
2-3 tsp. Dried Whole Red Chili Peppers
3 eggs
3 cups bean sprouts
1 cup garlic chives, cut into 1 inch lengths (or scallions)
8 tbsp. of the Perfect Pad Thai Sauce from above |
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Garnish:
2/3 cup Peanuts with Skin, roasted and crushed
1 lime, cut into wedges
4 scallions
Presoak noodles: Soak the rice noodles in cool or lukewarm water for at least 40 minutes, until the noodles are limp but still firm to touch. When the noodles have softened, drain and set aside. While the noodles are soaking prepare the rest of the ingredients.
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Prepare Pad Thai ingredients:
Peel shrimp leaving the tails on if desired. Brine the shrimp if desired for moister and tastier shrimp by dissolving 1/4 cup sea salt in 4-8 cups of water. To dissolve the sea salt, boil one cup of water first and stir in salt. Then add cool water and ice if needed to bring down the temperature. Submerge shrimp in a salt and water solution in a refrigerated container for 30 minutes. Drain, pat dry and set aside. If using pork, slice into 1x1/2x1/4 inch slices. Set aside.
Prepare tofu, garlic, shallot and dried shrimp, garlic chives, scallions and lime and set aside.
Roast raw peanuts in a 350 F oven for 3 to 5 min.; remove from oven and cool slightly; rub between fingers to remove skins. Crush peanuts with a mortar and pestle lightly to break up. Set aside.
Prepare Pad Thai: Heat a large wok or 12" skillet over high heat and add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil. Cook shrimp until pink or pork until brown and almost cooked through. Remove from wok and set aside.
Add 2 tbsp. of oil to the wok, and let the wok heat up again. Add the tofu and stir fry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, shallots, dried shrimp, sweetened radish and ground dried chilies. (Important Note: unless your wok is very large, it is best to stir fry noodles in 2 batches by removing half of the tofu-dried shrimp mixture and setting aside.)
Add the noodles and combine with other ingredients. Stir fry 1-2 minutes until softened. Push up along one side of the wok. Add a teaspoon of oil, pour in the eggs and cook to set. Cut eggs into small chunks with a spatula and toss with the noodles.
Add the prepared Pad Thai Sauce and stir well to coat noodles. If noodles are too firm for your liking sprinkle with 1-2 tbsp. water to help cook. Taste and adjust flavors if desired.
When noodles are cooked to your liking, toss in bean sprouts and garlic chives. Sprinkle wtih half of the choppped peanuts and add cooked shrimp or pork. Stir and when vegetables are partly wilted transfer to serving dishes.
Garnish with lime, bean sprouts, scallions, dried ground chilies and chopped peanuts.
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This will serve 4 people….. Bon appetite!
Notes on Serving Pad Thai:
Pad Thai is usually served with a wedge of lime and sliced banana flower or cucumber rounds. When eating in Thailand, you will always find a selection of condiments at your table and most people will add white vinegar spiked with sliced hot green chilies, white sugar, fish sauce, and dried ground chili in amounts according to their personal taste. In Thai restaurants in the US, the addition of ketchup has become common, but this is not the usual way it is made in Thailand.
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