This dish is originally from the Central Plain and is yet another favorite Thai street food, a favorite in America as well. Pad Thai takes minutes to prepare and is simply delicious.
There are many different recipes for this dish because of the many variations you can use while preparing it. This is a favorite that I learned while in Thailand ??
Ingredients:
3 Tbs vegetable or stir fry oil
1/2 cup firm tofu diced into about 1in x 1/8in pieces
2 small shallots, finely sliced
1/2 tsp crushed red Thai chilis or cayenne pepper
6-8 ounces sliced chicken thigh or fresh prawns (you can also use a combination of both)
2 Tbs sweet pickled radish, finely chopped
5 ounces rice-stick noodles (soak in a bowl in hot water for 4 or so minutes to soften, do not over soften or they will be mushy). They will be cooked more later.
2/3 cup vegetable stock or chicken stock + 1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 egg, beaten well
1 Tbs dried Thai shrimps (traditional in Thailand but not needed)
1 1/8 cup bean sprouts (reserve some for garnish)
1/8-1/4 cup roasted crushed peanuts (reserve some for garnish)
1/8 cup fresh garlic chives, cut into about 1 1/2 inch lengths (reserve some for garnish)
2 juicy limes cut into wedges for garnish
Ground white pepper to taste
Precook your seasoning
Seasoning:
2 Tbs fish sauce
2 1/2 Tbs tamarind juice
2 Tbs coconut palm sugar
1 Tbs of your stock
A bit of sweet Thai chili paste to taste (only a small amount), if you desire some extra heat as it is spicy and sweet.
In a saucepan, cook seasoning on medium heat for 2 minutes to dissolve sugar and set aside.
Prepare your Pad Thai:
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet until hot but not smoking.
Stir-fry tofu, shallots, radish, chicken meat and or prawns, continue to stir-fry for about 2 minutes stiring constantly. Remove from pan and set aside.
In same pan cook noodles and stock + vinegar, stirring constantly, until the noodles have absorbed the liquid. Add your pre-cooked seasoning mixture and stir until absorbed.
Push the mixture onto one side of the pan and scramble the egg on the other side of pan then add your dried shrimps, peanuts and chili powder. Mix well.
Place most of the bean sprouts and garlic chives on top of the noodles. Add the reserved ingredients (tofu, shallots, meat/shrimps, radish). Stir these through the noodles/egg mixture well.
Transfer to a serving plate or individual plates and garnish with the garlic chives, beansprouts, crushed peanuts and lime wedges.
Serve with Thai spicy chili sauce (on my website) and or crushed red chili’s and crushed peanuts.
Notes:
1. Garlic chives are similar to green onion chives but have a garlicky taste to them. I was so excited to find them right here at our very own farmers’ market in Coronado! I’m sure you can find them at your local farmers’ market as well.
2. Tamarind is a fruit in Thailand, it gives Pad Thai that sweet and salty taste. It comes in a paste or juice concentrate. I bought my paste at Whole Foods. Mix one teaspoon paste with 2 1/2 Tablespoons warm water to create the juice needed.
http://coronadopersonalchef.com/
