I have heard about it. Pad Thai. Traditionally it’s a street food. I’ve seen it in restaurants. I’ve eaten what seemed to be it, but was more of a sweet, brown, gloppy mess of it. Pad Thai. So I wondered, what does this dish really taste like. Is it a brown sugar, sour, gloppy mess of noodles and seafood or chicken? Actually after reading about it at Chez Pim’s blog, I thought better of this crappy dish that I had eaten at the cheap franchised restaurant. This dish can be elegant and quite the thing of beauty. Although, after I read Pim’s method and recipe, I again, got a bit intimidated. How was I going to do this.

You see, I have a wok, yes. My baby sister(well grown now, but still a baby to me), gave me a wok for Christmas several years ago and I was determined to use the thing. It isn’t that large, only a 12 incher, and I had to make at least two servings of the Pad Thai. I have never stir-fried anything, believe it or not. I tried to make fried rice once and that’s when I learned that the rice is better the next day; I can’t just make white rice and then throw it in the wok with an egg, NO! I mean, it can be done, but it is better the next day.

With this dish, I had to hunt down tamarind paste. WOW! I have no idea what it would have been like to hunt down actual tamarind! I found the paste at Whole Foods where I also found palm sugar. It was coconut palm sugar, but that was just fine. The sauce turned out perfectly. I also embellished on the proteins, I used tofu, shrimp, and chicken. I cannot express how impressed I was with myself with the end result. Beck and I were discussing buying a pizza as the sauce was simmering because it really didn’t taste like anything that we wanted to eat. So we pondered the pizza and the sauce simmered. Beck said, “give it a try, see what happens.” I concurred and proceeded to make the Pad Thai. What turned out was a new family favorite and is now in the regular rotation. I give you my version of Pad Thai.

Follow up:

As I said, I used my work for this, but a good skillet could be used. I wouldn’t recommend it though. The work has properties like heat distribution and quick heating that make it perfect for preparing Pad Thai as the ingredients need to cook quickly and at high heat.

I also suggest that you keep all the ingredients prepped and close at hand. Once you start to stir-frying, there isn’t time to prep anything else.

This made 4 servings.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup palm sugar
1 8 oz box of rice sticks (noodles)
2 large eggs
1 lb medium shrimp shelled and deveined
1/2 cup extra firm tofu cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium sized boneless skinless chicken breast - bite sized pieces
4 scallions sliced
2 cups bean sprouts
1 shallot diced
4-5 cloves garlic finely diced
handful unsalted roasted peanuts - broken up with a mortar and pestle
2 hot chilies finely diced
peanut oil
salt to taste (you won’t need much as the fish sauce brings enough)

Method:

Make sauce:

Soak tamarind paste in the boiling water for about 10 minutes. If the paste has pulp, mine didn’t, you’ll need to strain it.

In a sauce pan, combine tamarind sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar.

Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer whisking until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to low and cover.

Prep other ingredients.

Soak rice sticks until soft and pliable but not fully tender.

Heat wok on medium high heat. You want the wok hot.

Add about 2 tablespoons peanut oil.

Add chicken, a pinch of salt, and cook until browned and cooked through.

Remove chicken and set aside.

Add oil if necessary.

Add shrimp, a pinch of salt, and cook until pink. Remove and set aside.

Add tofu and cook until brown.

To the tofu, add shallots, chilies, and garlic. Turn heat to medium and cook until shallots are soft.

Add noodles and a ladle of the sauce and toss so everything is coated.

Keep food moving around.

Turn heat up to medium high.

Create some room on one side of the wok.

Crack in the eggs and stir vigorously to combine with other ingredients.

Add another ladle of the sauce and then add chicken and toss.

Check the noodles. They should be tender after about 2-2 1/2 minutes.

Add shrimp, scallions, sprouts, and peanuts to the wok along with another ladle of the sauce. Toss to combine and heat through, just until the sprouts begin to wilt.

Garnish with a lime wedge and cilantro of you like.