Pad Thai

After living in Thailand for 6 years you can be sure I've eaten my fill of pad thai, that quintessential Thai street food dish. The combination of flavors found in what appears to be a simple noodle dish is astounding, ranging from sweet and sour, to spicy and salty. Added to the firm bite of the noodles is the velvety softness of egg and tofu, along with the crunch of bean sprouts and crushed peanuts.

If you've never tried pad thai you have no idea what you're missing, but with the recipe below you can find out - without the need to travel to Bangkok (although you certainly could do that if you want - I highly recommend it as a vacation destination, especially for foodies).

That’s Pad Thai, the famous street food that can be found everywhere in Thailand, but is especially prevalent in areas frequented by tourists. To be honest, the Thais will usually prefer the noodle dish called Kuay Tiaw which is also rice noodles, but is not stir fried and can be served either dry (heng) or wet (nahm). Neither pad thai, nor kuay tiaw are typically made at home by Thais as they are both so readily available from street vendors.

In fact, in the ten years we’ve been married, and numerous trips back to my wife's hometown in rural Thailand to visit her family and friends, no one has ever cooked Pad Thai or kuay tiaw, though they will head off on a motocy to pick some up and bring it home. I guess you could consider Pad Thai to be the McDonald’s of Thailand, without the lack of nutrition and franchise fees.

While the ingredient list might look intimidating, you can find everything you need at an Asian grocery (assuming you have one nearby). The real upside to making Pad Thai following this recipe is that you will get FAR LESS oil than you would get if you order it from a street vendor in Thailand. I have had pad thai in Bangkok, that is nearly swimming in oil by the time it is served. It’s still delicious, but not so nutritious. Our recipe has just a touch of oil at the beginning, and the resulting pad thai is fresh, vibrant and flavorful without being greasy or heavy.

Originally posted on my personal food blog CoolCatHotFood. Reposted here to ensure the recipe lives forever on the blockchain.

Cuisine: Thai
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 40 mins
Serves: 3 servings

Ingredients

1½ tablespoons Vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
12 Medium Shrimp - cleaned, peeled (leave tail on) and deveined
2 eggs
1 tablespoons Yellow Bean Curd, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Salted turnip, finely chopped
4 ounces Sen Chan Noodles (Rice Noodles)
2 tablespoons small dried red shrimps
6 tablespoons Fish Sauce
6 tablespoons Oyster sauce
3 tablespoons Tamarind juice
2 tablespoons Sugar
2 tablespoons Ground Roasted Peanut + more to serve on the side
1 tablespoon Ground chili (less or more as you prefer) + more to serve on the side
2 ounces Bean Sprouts + more for garnish
3 tablespoons Garlic chives, washed and cut about 1 inch in length + more for garnish
½ small lime (to squeeze over finished Pad Thai)
A little water

Instructions

1. If using the dried rice noodles, please make sure to soak the noodles in room temperature water for about 30 minutes. Also soak salted turnip in the water to reduce the saltiness (salted turnip doesn’t take as long as noodles – about 15 minutes). Drain the noodles and salted turnip. Set them aside.

2. Set the wok on medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add garlic and stir until it fragrant. Add shrimps and stir until they turn a little pink, and then crack the eggs into the wok right away. Use spatula to break the yolks and stir to scramble the eggs.

3. Add the bean curd, salted turnip, dried shrimps and rice noodles

4. Add a little bit of water to give an extra liquid so the noodles will get softer. Stir all ingredients well.

5. Season with fish sauce, oyster sauce, tamarind juice, peanut, sugar, and chili. Stir all ingredients well and thoroughly.

6. Add bean sprouts and garlic chives. Quickly stir for couple minutes or until the vegetables are lightly cooked. Remove from the heat.

7. Start plating Pad Thai on the plate. Garnish with fresh bean sprouts and fresh garlic chives. Add chili powder, lime juice, and a little more grounded roasted peanut on top. Serve hot.

Definitely try this recipe when you get a chance, and if you ever make it to Bangkok you can head off the Thip Samai - the most famous pad thai restaurant in Thailand - for some legendary pad thai. Seriously, we would drive an hour and wait in line for 30 minutes to get the Thip Samai pad thai.

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