Pad thai

1. Pad Thai ­ ผัดไทยกุ้งสด
4.7/5 1855 Votes
1/2 package Thai
rice noodles
1­1/3 cup bean
sprouts Optional
1/2 banana flower
Optional
1­1/2 cup Chinese
chives Optional
2 tablespoon
cooking oil
2 tablespoons
tamarind paste
2 tablespoon sugar1 minced shallots
1 tablespoon
preserved turnip
Optional
1/3 cup extra firm
tofu
1/2 lime
2 tablespoons
peanuts Optional
1/2­1/4 lb shrimp
Optional
ground pepper 1/2 teaspoon
ground dried chili
pepper
3 cloves minced
garlic
4 teaspoons fish
sauce
1 egg
Pad Thai ­ This Pad Thai recipe is how you actually find it in Bangkok
and comes from testing hundreds of different variations from food carts
all over the city. Pad Thai is the ultimate street food. While "street food"
may sound bad, food cart cooks are in such a competitive situation, with
such limited space, ingredients and tools they need to specialize in a dish
or two just to stay in business. The best of these cooks have cooked the
same dish day­after­day, year­after­year, constantly perfecting it.
Great Pad Thai is dry and light bodied, with a fresh, complex, balanced
flavor. It should be reddish and brownish in color. Not bright red and oily
like I've seen in the US. The ingredients listed below can be somewhat intimidating but many are optional.
If you would like to make authentic Pad Thai, just like in Thailand, use all the ingredients.
Pad Thai is another perfect vegetarian dish, just omit shrimp and substitute soy sauce for fish sauce. Add
more tofu if you like.
From street carts, you can also often find an older, more traditional version of Pad Thai made with dried
shrimp.
2­3 Servings, Prep Time: 40 Minutes, Total Time: 40 Minutes
Tips and Techniques
By far, the trickiest part is the soaked
noodles. Noodles should be somewhat
flexible and solid, not completely expanded
and soft. When in doubt, undersoak. You can

2. always add more water in the pan, but you
can't take it out.
Shrimp can be substituted or omitted.
In this recipe, pre­ground pepper, particularly
pre­ground white pepper is better than fresh
ground pepper. For kids, omit the ground
dried chili pepper.
Tamarind adds some flavor and acidity, but
you can substitute white vinegar.
The type of super firm tofu or pressed called
for this recipe can be found at most oriental
groceries in a plastic bag, not in water. Some
might be brown from soy sauce, but some
white ones are also available. Pick whatever
you like.
If you decide to include banana flower, cut
lengthwise into sections (like orange
sections). Rub any open cut with lime or
lemon juice to prevent it from turning dark.
The original Pad Thai recipe calls for
crushed roasted peanuts. Thailand is hot and
humid and storage conditions are often sub­
optimal, so a certain fungus can grow on
peanuts. This fungus is linked to cancer, so
many people in Thailand avoid eating
peanuts.
One of the big challenges with Pad Thai's
measurements is that the flavor densities and
characteristics of the 3 core flavor
ingredients: fish sauce, tamarind and lime
juice vary greatly from brand to brand and
purchase to purchase. Plus the salt content
of your fish sauce, dried shrimp and
preserved turnips will likely differ from ours.
You will need to taste this as you're making it
and keep the 3 flavors, salty, sweet and sour,
in balance to your liking.
Method
Prepping
Start with soaking the dry noodles in lukewarm or room temperature water while preparing the other
ingredients. Getting the noodles just right is the trickiest part of making Pad Thai. Make sure that the
noodles are submerged in plenty of water. Check out Tips and Substitutions for in depth explanations. By
the time you are ready to put ingredients in the pan, the noodles should be flexible but not mushy.
Julienne tofu and cut into 1 inch long matchsticks. When cut, the super firm tofu/pressed tofu should have
a mozzarella cheese consistency. You can fry the tofu separately until golden brown and hard, or you can
fry with other ingredients below.
Cut the Chinese chives into 1 inch long pieces. Set aside a few fresh chives for a garnish. Rinse the bean
sprouts and save half for serving fresh. Mince shallot and garlic together.
Cooking
Use a wok. If you do not have a wok, any big pot will do. Heat it up on high heat and pour oil in the wok.
Fry the peanuts until toasted and remove them from the wok. The peanuts can be toasted in the pan
without oil as well. Add shallot, preserved turnip, garlic and tofu and stir them until they start to brown.
The noodles should be flexible but not expanded at this point.

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Drain the noodles and add to the wok. Stir quickly to keep things from sticking. Add tamarind, sugar, fish
sauce and chili pepper. Stir. The heat should remain high. If your wok is not hot enough, you will see a lot
of juice in the wok at this point. Turn up the heat, if it is the case.
Make room for the egg by pushing all noodles to the side of the wok. Crack the egg onto the wok and
scramble it until it is almost all cooked. Fold the egg into the noodles. The noodles should soft and chewy.
Pull a strand out and taste. If the noodles are too hard (not cooked), add a little bit of water. When you get
the right taste, add shrimp and stir. Sprinkle white pepper around. Add bean sprouts and chives. Stir a
few more times. The noodles should be soft, dry and very tangled.
Pour onto the serving plate and sprinkle with ground pepper and peanuts. Serve hot with the banana
flower slice, a wedge of lime on the side, raw Chinese chives and raw bean sprouts on top.
As always, in Thailand, condiments such as sugar, chili pepper, vinegar and fish sauce are available at
your table for your personal taste. Some people add more chili pepper or sugar at the table.
See recipe for Pad Thai with dried shrimp.
Author: Natty Netsuwan