It is probably safe to call Pad Thai the ultimate Thai street food. This stir-fried rice noodle dish is not only commonly found in Thailand, it is also served most of Thai restaurants and food courts worldwide.
One reason why I like pad Thai is that the dish has a rather complex, yet balanced flavor, thanks to those Asian seasoning ingredients. Another good thing about the dish is that you can use pretty much any protein you like when making the dish. Most importantly, it is so damn easy to make restaurant-quality pad Thai at home! !
Ingredients (serves 1):
- 1 serving rice noodles
- ~6 shrimps
- 1 large egg
- handful each : sliced onion & scallions
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tbs dried shrimps
- crushed peanuts
For the sauce
- 1tbs tamarind paste (10g)
- 1 tbs oyster sauce
- 2 tsb palm sugar
- 1/2 tbs fish sauce
Notes:
- Do not substitute tamarind because it’s essential to pad Thai. I recommend tamarind paste made with 100% tamarind instead of those made with additional ingredients such as sugar
- Normally pad Thai recipes call for palm sugar, but regular sugar/brown sugar works just fine
- I used 50g dry rice noodles, adjust ingredients accordingly
Instructions:
Prep: Dissolve tamarind paste with ~1 tbs hot water, then add other ingredients for Pad Thai sauce, stir and mix well. Soak the rice noodles in hot/warm water until they’re softened (but not mushy). Soak dry shrimps in some cooking wine (optional).
Heat 1 tsb oil in a non stick pan, add sliced onions, scallions, minced garlic, dry shrimps, saute over medium heat for a couple minutes till onion is transparent
Add shrimps, continue stir frying
Push ingredients to the side of pan when shrimps are almost cooked, to make room for the egg. Scramble the egg once the bottom is set, stir and mix with other ingredients.
Add drained rice noodles and pad Thai sauce, toss until the sauce is absorbed (Add bean sprouts if desire).
Remove from heat once rice noodles reach doneness you prefer, toss in crushed peanuts and mix. (You can taste the pad Thai and adjust seasoning before turning off heat)
Serve immediately with more crushed peanuts and a wedge of lime. The pad Thai has a nice balanced sweet- savory flavor. It makes me feel like being in a Thai restaurant!
You can replace shrimp with chicken and tofu. I guess beef and pork will work too even though they are less common.
Some recipes use store bought sauce, but I mean, where do you find fun from cooking then?
