Pad Thai
Traditional pad thai is not an easy dish - not something that I would recommend beginners start with. First-timers often end up with mushy, clumpy, broken, or undercooked noodles.
Keys:
Make sure you follow the directions on the noodles you choose to use. That is the key to this dish. Traditional pad thai uses rice noodles. Glass noodles work well and are almost error-proof. Other Asian noodles work as well.
Make the sauce first and have it ready.
Have all ingredients prepped ahead of time. The recipes comes together quickly.
You can garnish with Chinese parsley (also known as cilantro and coriander leaves) and/or lime wedges.
Ingredients
Pad Thai Sauce (Thai Kitchen makes a decent ready-made) Pad Thai sauce
3 ½ tablespoon palm sugar, finely chopped
3 tablespoon water
4 tablespoons tamarind paste, (Thailand or Vietnam)
2 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
Pad Thai Woon Sen
12 medium shrimp, (shelled and deveined)
⅓ cup neutral or shrimp oil
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 package of extra-firm tofu, cut into small pieces
½ teaspoon chili flakes
6 oz Asian noodles of your choice
¼ cup water
2 large eggs
4 oz bean sprouts, about 2.5 cups
6 - 8 green onions, cut into 2” pieces
¼ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
Preparation
Sauce
Add the palm sugar into a small pot and cook over medium heat until the sugar is melted, then keep going until it caramelizes into a darker brown color. If the edges are browning faster, stir it to even out the browning.
Once the sugar is caramelized, turn off the heat and add the water - it will bubble aggressively. Once the bubbling subsides, add the fish sauce and the tamarind paste and swirl it around to mix. The sugar will not be completely dissolved yet, but it will be by the time you need it.
Noodles
Cook or soak according to package instructions.
pad thai
Place the wok over high heat and add just enough of the oil to coat the bottom of the wok. Once the oil is very hot, add the shrimp in one layer and sear without moving them until at least halfway cooked. Flip and cook the other side just until done; remove them from the pan, leaving the oil behind, and turn off the heat.
With the heat still off, add more oil as needed so there's enough to coat the bottom, then add the shallots, garlic, tofu, and chili flakes. Turn the heat back on to medium-high and cook for about 2 minutes until the shallots are translucent.
Turn the heat up to high then add the noodles, sauce, and water and keep stirring until all the liquid has been absorbed.
Push the noodles to one side of the pan, add another tablespoon of oil to the space, then add the eggs and scramble them slightly. Put the noodles on top of the eggs and let it all cook undisturbed for about 30 seconds or until the eggs are mostly done. Toss to break up the eggs and mix everything into the noodles (using tongs from this step onward is very helpful). You can taste the noodles at this point to see if they’re done to your liking. If you want them more tender, add a splash of water and keep cooking until the water has been absorbed.
Turn off the heat then add the shrimp (and any associated liquid), beansprouts, garlic chives, and half of the peanuts and toss until well mixed. Plate and add more chopped peanuts on top.
