I have enjoyed Pad Thai for years. From a restaurant. Taken home in a Styrofoam container. Well, no mo’! I have found THE recipe for pretty decent non-restaurant Pad Thai. You don’t think that trip to the Asian market was for naught, did you?? Enjoy! And, if you make it, please send me a pic! People have been sending me pictures from my recipes they’ve tried, and I’d love to start including them in my blog!!
And, Uncle Dave, I hope your Pad Thai turned out well this weekend. I was cracking up when I read your email about “Thai Jones-ing” because I have a similar issue quite frequently. I wonder if it’s genetic…
Pad Thai – The “Good” Recipe
2 tablespoons tamarind paste or substitute (now, don’t freak out and stop reading right here… I have some suggestions about this below, even though I DO use real tamarind)
3/4 cup water (boiling)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar (I use Splenda – I know, gross, but I try to watch the sugar where I can)
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons peanut or veggie oil (I usually use Canola, if I don’t have peanut on hand)
8 ounces dried rice stick noodles, about 1/8 inch wide (the width of linguine) – In the grocery store, in the Asian section
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon table salt
12 ounces medium shrimp (31/35 count), peeled and deveined (COSTCO, baby! Already cooked, tail off, 50/70)
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)
1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons) (I use jarred shallots, b/c it bugs me that I don’t know if ONE shallot is one CLOVE of the shallot, or one whole shallot. Boy would I love someone to shed the light on THIS mystery…Standardization for God’s sake)
6 tablespoons chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
3 cups bean sprouts (6 ounces)
5 medium scallions, green parts only, sliced thin on sharp bias
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (Optional, but why WOULDN’T you??)
lime wedges
1. Combine tamarind paste with fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, cayenne and 2 tablespoons of oil and set aside. **(NOTE: I actually buy the tamarind seed pods at an Asian market and soak them in hot water so that you can remove the paste from the seeds. Then, I freeze a ton of the stuff in ice cube trays, so I have fresh tamarind paste whenever I want it. But, I would feel fine buying the stuff at the link I just posted. That site also gives substitutions – I would guess Worcestershire sauce isn’t the BEST of all substitutes, but it probably won’t ruin the Pad Thai)
2. Cover rice sticks with hot tap water in large bowl. Soak until softened, pliable, and limp, but not fully tender, about 20 minutes. Drain noodles and set aside. Beat eggs (just whisk them) and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl; set aside.
3. Add 2 tablespoons oil to skillet and swirl to coat. (If you have a wok, all the better…) Add garlic and shallot, set skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add eggs to skillet and stir with wooden spoon until scrambled and barely moist. Add noodles and shrimp, and toss to combine. Pour sauce mixture over noodles, increase heat to high and cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are evenly coated. Scatter 1/4 cup peanuts, bean sprouts, all but 1/4 cup scallions, over noodles; continue to cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are tender, about 2 1/2 minutes (if not yet tender, add 2 tablespoons water or chicken broth and continue to cook until tender.
4. Transfer noodles to serving platter, sprinkle with remaining scallions, 2 tablespoons peanuts, and cilantro; serve immediately, passing lime wedges separately.
**The ONLY thing I might change…I might double the sauce part next time. It felt like too many noodles per sauce ratio. Not sure if it’s because I just used too many noodles ( I didn’t weigh or measure), or if I just like things saucier.
by Kim Porter
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