Pad Thai

[Beth]

I have tried to make pad thai exactly once, and it was hardly edible. I read the posts about CL's Pad Thai recipe, and I remember them being mixed reviews. At any rate, I have found 2 other pad thai recipes, and I am determined to try again. You may have read on another thread that my MasterCook took the weekend off and may have died. Could someone post the CL recipe? Thanks a million.

I'm just craving Thai food -- pad thai, chili and basil, curry, mint and lime..... I think those peanutty noodles started something. I'm planning a trip to the oriental market later in the week.

[Peggy]

Hi Beth!

Here is the Cooking Light recipe. I tried it and liked it a lot. However, I must admit that I have never ordered it in a Thai restaurant so I'm not sure what authentic Pad Thai tastes like!


Pad Thai

6 3/4 cup water divided
1/2 pound uncooked rice sticks (rice flour noodles) or vermicelli
2 T oil, divided
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup Thai fish sauce
2 T brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 lb skinned, boned chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup (1-inch) sliced green onions
2 teas paprika
2 cups fresh bean sproats
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 T chopped peanuts
6 lime wedges

1. Place 6 cups water in a stir-fry pan or wok; bring to a boil. Add noodles; cook 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well. Place cooked noodles in a large bowl. Add 1 teas oil; toss well. Set aside.

2. Combine 3/4 cup water, soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar; set aside.

3. Heat 1 teas oil in a stir fry pan or wok over medium heat. Add eggs; stir fry 1 minute. Add eggs to noodle mixture. Heat 1 teas oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and garlic; stir-fry 5 minutes. Add to noodle mixture. Heat 1 T oil in pan. Add shrimp, onions, and paprika; stir-fry 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture and noodle mixture to pan; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; toss with sprouts and cilantro. Sprinkle with peanuts. Serve with lime wedges. Yield: 6 servings.

[KateH]

Beth --

I looked around for other recipes for Pad Thai, too, and found a good one in "Thailand: The Beautiful Cookbook." Almost every other recipe I saw had a slightly larger amount of sugar (proportionally) than the CL recipe had, and this I think really corrected the flavor.

Good luck!

[Jeanne G]

KateH-
Can you share your recipe? Especially if it's the vegetarian version of Pad Thai. Thanks!!

[Beth]

Thanks everyone. I must confess that the disaster used a sauce mix, and I had a noodle package different cooking instructions than the recipe (one said soak, the other boil), so both the flavor and the texture were off. We didn't starve, but it's been at least 2 years and I haven't tried again. That's why I'm studying different recipes to see how they compare. Then I'll also have ideas for adjusting the flavor. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[KateH]

Jeanne,

Here's the Pad Thai recipe that I mentioned. It's not vegetarian because of the fish sauce, but I wonder if there's something you could substitute. It seems like a pretty distinct flavor, but vegetarians who love Thai must use something in its place!

Pad Thai (from Thailand: The Beautiful Cookbook)

8oz rice noodles
3 tablespoons oil (I used canola)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dried shrimp/prawns (I used fresh -- well as fresh as they get in Indiana -- these could be omitted for veg)
1/4 cup fish sauce (see note below)
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbls tamarind juice
1 Tbls paprika
1/2 cup fried tofu, cubed (I doubled because we like tofu)
2 Tblsp dried unsalted turnip, cut into small pieces (I omitted)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/4 cup ground roasted peanuts
1 cup bean sprouts

garnish:
1/2 cup bean sprout
1/2 cup chopped chives
1/4 small banana blossom, cut into strips (I couldn't find this)
1/2 lime, cut into wedges (very tasty)
(1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, my addition)

1. Soak the rice noodles in cold water for 30 minutes, or until soft. Drain, and set aside.

2. Heat a large skillet (or wok) until hot, then add oil. Add the garlic and shrimp, and stir-fry. Add the noodles and stir-fry until translucent. It may be necessary to reduce the heat if the mixture is cooking too quickly and the noodles stick.

3. Add the fish sauce*, sugar, tamarind juice and paprika. Stir-fry the mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the tofu, turnip, and egg (be sure to keep stirring as you slowly add the egg).

4. Turn the heat on high and cook until the egg sets, stirring gently. Thoroughly combine the mixture, and continue cooking over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes until most of the liquid is reduced.

5. Mix in the chives, peanuts, and bean sprouts (and cilantro if you used it). Place on a serving dish, and arrange the garnishes.

* with the fish sauce I recommend a few things: not measuring it out until right before you use it (to keep it from overly perfuming your kitchen with its powerful smell, unless you like it straight), as some else mentioned on another thread, pour it in the furthest away from you possible, and also don't put in the full 1/4 cup initially. I would add just a tablespoon or so less than 1/4 cup, mix in with the sugar, etc, and taste it, and add more until it's to your liking. I was going for a particular flavor level that I remembered from a restaurant, and the first time when I did the straight 1/4 cup it was just a tad too fishy.

[KateH]

For people who don't like bean sprouts, adding in snow peas to the stir-fry would provide a substitute for the crunchy element.

[Jeanne G]

KateH,
Thank you so much! I'm not a vegetarian, although I love veggies. I've just gotten the vegetarian version at a Thai restaurant. I will just omit the seafood, keep the fish sauce and add lots of veggies. It looks really delicious, thanks again!!

[Beth]

Thanks, Kate. I've noticed some recipes using paprika, others chili powder; some brown sugar, others plain, another palm sugar. The tamarind sauce in yours is different. I've gotten to the point where my kitchen is already stocked with fish sauce, chili pasts and chili sauce, a few different curries, and I'm now keeping a can of light coconut milk on the shelf, but it will be fun to check out some of these other ingrdients. I found a great oriental market Sunday, but was on the way to a baby shower, so I'm looking forward to going back soon.

[JJ40]

Beth, I have a Thai cookbook at home which has produced an excellent Pad Thai. I'll bring it to work tomorrow so I can post the recipe. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Julie

[JJ40]

Here's a Pad Thai recipe from the cookbook 'Simply Thai Cooking'--I've had it and it tastes just like in thai restaurants!

It calls for a lot of oil, but you have to use enough so that the noodles won't stick.
A note on this recipe says: I've gotten away with 5 tbsp of oil instead of the full 1/2 cup, but had to work awfully fast to avoid sticking.

8 oz Thai rice noodles
1/4 cup tamarind paste
1/4 cup warm water
4 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast
4 oz fried tofu
6 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts
3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp chopped garlic
8 large shrimps, shelled and deveined
2 eggs
1 cup bean sprouts
2 stems green onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 tsp roasted chilies

1. Soak noodles in plenty of cold water for
at least one hour.

2. Combine tamarind paste with 1/4 cup warm
water in a small bowl and let soak for
at least 15 minutes.

3. Slice the chicken into 1/4 inch strips.
If you find it difficult to cut thinly
through fresh meat, leave it in the
freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden
slightly and then slice.

4. Slice the fried tofu into 3/4 inch cubes.

5. Blend or process peanuts into coarse
meal.

6. Return to your reserved tamarind paste in
its water. Mash it and transfer the
mud-like mixture to a strainer set into a
bowl. Mash and push with a spoon,
forcing liquid to strain into the bowl.
Scrape off the juice that clings to the
underside of the strainer. You will
have about 5 tbsp of tamarind juice.
Add it to the fish sauce, sugar, and lime
juice. Beat to thoroughly mix.
Discard the solids left in the strainer.

7. Heat oil in a wok until it is just about
to smoke. Add garlic and stir, letting
it cook for about 30 seconds. Add
chicken and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add
tofu and shrimps and stir-fry for 1
more minute. Break eggs into wok and
let them fry without breaking them up
for 1-2 minutes.

8. While eggs cook, quickly drain the
noodles and then add to the work, giving
them a quick fold, stir-frying for 1
minute from the bottom up. Add the
reserved tamarind juice, etc. (from
step 6) and continue stir-frying, mixing
everything together for 1-2 minutes.
Your noodles will have subsided to half
their original volume and softened up
to al dente.

9. Add about 2/3 of the ground peanuts and
stir. Add about 2/3 of the bean sprouts
and all the green onion pieces. Stir-fry
for about 30 seconds and take off heat.

10. Transfer noodles to a serving dish and
sprinkle roasted chilies. Top with the
rest of the ground peanuts and sprouts,
some strips of red pepper and fresh
cilanto. Stick a couple of lime
wedges on the side and serve
immediately.

Enjoy! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Beth]

Originally posted by JJ40:
Here's a Pad Thai recipe from the cookbook 'Simply Thai Cooking'--I've had it and it tastes just like in thai restaurants!
....Enjoy! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif


Thanks for the recipe. I notice these last 2 use tamarind, and I wonder if that gives the red color and part of the sweet/spicy flavor that I'm used to in restaurants. I'm not sure if my 4-yr old can handle the oriental market, so my trip may have to wait until he can stay with his grandmother or is in school. I'm on a mission now. Reminds me of a time about 9 yrs ago when I was determined to bake bread and not bricks!