Pad Thai

Pad Thai, a Thai style, stir-fried rice noodle dish. Phat Thai or Phad Thai is often called the signature dish of Thai cuisine. This flavourful Thai dish puts crispy bean sprouts, crunchy roasted peanuts and spring onions over soft rice noodles cooked in a sweet and sour sauce.

INGREDIENTS

1. Pad Thai Rice Noodles – 100 gm
2. Garlic cloves – 2 (1 tsp finely chopped)
3. Shallots – 3-4 (2 tbsp thinly sliced)
4. Frozen or fresh shrimp – 10 pieces
5. Egg – 1 whisked
6. Green Spring onion – 50 gm (1 cup) cut in 2” length
7. Bean Sprouts – 50 gm (1 cup)
8. Fish sauce  or Soy Sauce – 2 tbsp
9. Peanut oil or vegetable oil – 2 tbsp (6tsp)
10. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
11. Chilli flakes – 1 tsp

PHAD THAI SAUCE

1. Tamarind – ¼ cup (light colored tamarind)
2. Coconut palm sugar – 2 tbsp
3. Water – ½ cup

GARNISH

1. Peanuts – ¼ cup
2. Lime – 1
3. Chilli flakes – 2 tsp

DIRECTIONS

1. Pad Thai Sauce : Mix tamarind with water and strain the pulp in a pot. Add palm sugar and heat over low heat. This will help to soften the palm sugar. Bring to boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Check salt and add salt if necessary. If the Thai tamarind is salted, no need to add salt. The right sauce is a balanced mixture of salty, sour and sweet. Mix turmeric powder (or 2 drops of yellow color) with this sauce just before adding to the noodles. Turmeric powder is added to give light yellow colour to the noodles.
2. Presoak Noodles : Soak the rice noodles (thin rice sticks) in cold water for at least one hour, until the noodles are limp but still firm to touch. When the noodles have softened, drain and set aside. While the noodles are soaking prepare the rest of the ingredients.
3. Prepping : Peel and devein shrimp. Drain, pat dry and set aside. Prepare garlic, shallot and green spring onion and lime and set aside. Roast raw peanuts for 3 to 5 minutes, remove from the pan and cool slightly, rub between fingers to remove skins. Crush peanuts with a mortar and pestle lightly to break up. Set aside. In a pan, add one tsp oil and fry shrimp and cook until pink and almost cooked through. Remove from wok and set aside.
4. Prepare Pad Thai Noodles : Heat a large wok over high heat and add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil. Add garlic, shallot and stir quickly for about 30 seconds. Do not let the garlic and shallot turn brown. Add the noodles, the prepared Pad Thai Sauce (mixed with turmeric powder) and stir well to coat noodles. Toss them quickly for 1-2 minutes until softened. If noodles are too firm, sprinkle with 1-2 tbsp water to help cook. Taste and adjust flavors if desired. Push noodles to one side of the wok, add a tbsp of oil, pour in the whisked egg and wait a while for the egg to get set and cook. Scramble it and toss with the noodles.  Add the fried shrimp and toss everything together. Turn off the heat and add in spring onion and bean sprouts. Stir well to combine till the vegetables are partly wilted and soft.
5. Garnish : Transfer Pad Thai to a serving platter and serve with some crushed peanuts and some chilli flakes. Garnish with lime.

GUTTANS TIPS

• VEGETARIAN PAD THAI : Pad Thai is another perfect vegetarian dish. Just omit shrimp, egg and substitute soy sauce for fish sauce.
• MEASURING TOOLS USED : 240 ml cup, 15 ml tablespoon and 5 ml teaspoon.

This savoury combination of stir-fried rice noodles is Thailand’s most well-known noodle dish.  This recipe is adapted from Dining Inspirations Cookery School, Singapore.  This is a fun filled and friendly cookery school for food enthusiasts. I attended their Thai Cooking Class and I was truly satisfied.