J and I have made several attempts at making Pad Thai over the years - all of which have ended up turning into noodles with some sort of peanut sauce. We were pleasantly surprised to stumble across this recipe and found the results to be even better then eating out! Pad Thai
Begin by preparing the sauce
3/4 cup tamarind pulp*
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup white sugar
Thai chili sauce
Melt all these together in a small pot over a low flame. Taste and adjust the flavor balance until it suits you. Then add the chilli sauce, begin with a teaspoon or two, depending on your taste, and keep adding until it tastes the way you like it. By the time you're done flavouring the pot should be simmering happily. Turn off the heat and let the sauce rest while you get to the other ingredients.
The sauce should lead with a salty flavor, follow by a mild sourness, then just a gentle sweetness and a soft caress from the chilli at the back of your throat at the very end. A finished plate of Pad Thai will be served with a sliver of lime and extra chilli sauce to be mixed in at the table, so you could keep these two flavors in the sauce mild for now.
Prep Ingredients
Rice noodles
Place one package of rice noodles into a bowl and cover with warm water. Soak noodles until they are pliable and almost edible, like very al dente pasta, then drain well. You will need about 1-2 loosely packed cups per portion.
Shrimp or Chicken
Use about 7 pieces of medium size shrimps per portion, peeled of course. You can also easily substitute chicken, about 2oz of chicken meat (cut into bite-size pieces) per portion will be plenty.
Extra Firm Tofu
Cut the tofu into thin, bite-size pieces, and use about a small handful in each carnivorous portion. For a vegetarian portion, with only tofu and no other meat, you will have to use more.
Eggs Crack one small egg into the wok while cooking each serving.
Ground Peanuts Use roasted and unsalted peanuts (you can roast your own) for this. Ground the peanuts roughly, beware not to overdo it as you will end up with peanut butter and not ground peanuts. You will need 1-2 tablespoons per portion, depending on how much you like peanuts.
Garlic
Chop up several garlic cloves. Allow for one garlic clove per portion.
Bean Sprouts
One to to handfulls per portion - put on top or on the side of each serving
Putting it all together...
Follow these steps carefully and the best Pad Thai you've ever had will be the one you've just made! Keep the sauce pot warm on another burner next to your wok. Keep a bowl of water handy too, if things get to hot in the wok you can sprinkle the water on it to slow it down.
1) Heat a large wok over high heat until very hot, to the point of smoky.
Add a splash of oil, about 3-4 tablespoons. Don't be shy, this ain't no diet food.
2) If you are making chicken Pad Thai, add the chicken first, cook, stirring vigorously, until it's half way done, about 1-2 minutes, then add the tofu, a tablespoon or two of the sauce to flavor the chicken, and a pinch of garlic if you're using it. If you are making tofu or shrimp and tofu Pad Thai, then only add the tofu (and garlic) for now. Cook for another minute until the tofu is crisp and slightly brown at the edges.
3) Add the noodles, about 2 loosely packed cups for one portion, and then a ladle (about ¼ cup) of warm sauce. Stir rigorously, keep everything moving in the wok, and cook the noodle until soft. Remember to break up the noodle and don't let it lump together. If the sauce evaporates too quickly and your noodle isn't quite ready, sprinkle a bit of water and keep stirring. Add a bit of oil if the noodle still stubbornly sticks together. As I said, this ain't no diet food.
4) When the noodles are ready (taste it to be sure), push it up to one side of the wok and crack an egg into the middle. Let it set for 10-15 seconds and toss everything all together.
5) Add the shrimp meat. Keep things moving. Add more sauce if it looks a little pale.
6) When the shrimps are done, shouldn't take more than a minute. Turn the heat off, and quickly give the wok a good stirring to mix everything together.
7) Add the finished Pad Thai to a plate and serve. Give the used wok a quick rinse with warm water, wipe off any excess bits of food with a warm towel, then put the wok back on to the fire.
As soon as it heats back up to a smoking point, you're ready to do another portion. Repeat this process until all your dinner guests are fed.
You can buy tamarind in blocks or readymade pulp that comes in plastic or glass containers. If you buy readymade pulp, check to make sure that the ingredients only contain tamarind and water, no sugar or anything else. If you buy block tamarind, soak the block in 4 cups of hot water in a large bowl. Mash the tamarind and water together and let sit until the water cool down enough not to burn your hands. Stick your hands -your impeccably clean hands as Julia Child would say- into the bowl and work the tamarind and water together until the consistency is a bit looser than room-temperature ketchup. Add more warm water if needed. Then, strain the mixture to remove the pits and tough membranes from the tamarind pulp. The consistency will be thick enough that you'd need to press it through the strainer. Use as much as you need for the Pad Thai sauce and keep the rest in a glass jar in your fridge. You'll have tamarind pulp handy for a long time.
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