Pad Thai is stir-fried noodle dish from Thailand. It might be the most famous Thai dish in the western world. Yet Thais usually don't cook it at home but rather eat it as street food on the go. During a trip to Thailand, I learned how to cook Pad Thai at the Siamese Cookery House in Bangkok. This is my take on their recipe.
INGREDIENTS (2-3 servings)
200g flat rice noodles
10-12 shrimp
150g tofu
150g bean sprouts
2 eggs
2 tbsp. tamarind paste
2 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. pickled radish
2 tbsp. palm sugar
2 tbsp. chopped chives
Half a cup of water
2 tbsp. chili flakes
2 tbsp. crushed peanuts
1 lime
HOW TO MAKE TAMARIND PASTE
I prefer to do the tamarind paste from scratch. If your local Asian shop doesn't sell raw tamarind fruits, you can also just buy the pre-made paste. The whole pods don't spoil easily and can be stored at room temperature over several months.
First crack the tamarind pods to remove shells and fibers. Put the tamarind pulps in a little bowl. Bring water to boil and pour it into the bowl until all tamarind pulps are covered. Let it soak for about 20 Minutes. Give it a bit of a stir every now and then.
Lastly, press the tamarind mix through a strainer to remove the stones and other unwanted parts.
PREPERATION
Start by cleaning the shrimp and removing the shell. You can leave some of the heads on. The fat at the base will give your Pad Thai some extra flavour. Afterwards, slice the tofu, chop the chives into small pieces and cut the bean sprouts in half.
Quickly boil some water and let the flat rice noodles soak in it for a couple of minutes.
Heat oil in a wok. Fry the shrimp and tofu shortly. The shrimp should turn into a nice opaque white colour with some pink accents. Then add the eggs until the eggs are firm yet still moist.
Add the flat rice noodles to the wok. Top it up with bean sprouts, pickled radish, chopped chives, and palm sugar. Eventually also pour the fish sauce, tamarind paste and half a cup of water into the wok. Once it's all in there, give it a good stir. Fry everything briefly.
That's it. Fast and furious like almost everything else in the Thai cuisine. Garnish the Pad Thai with crushed peanuts, chili flakes and lime on a plate.
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