Pad Thai – it’s a perennial favourite from Thai cuisine. With that in mind, we thought we would share an easy-to-cook pad Thai recipe with you here on the blog. Once you’ve returned home from Bangkok, you can make your own pad Thai at home and reminisce about what a good time you had whilst travelling in Bangkok.
It’s worth noting that pad Thai is best prepared in relatively small portions. In fact, you may have noticed that even the busiest street food vendors in Bangkok prefer to cook it one or servings at a time. That’s because cooking in large batches tends to result in overcooked noodles. For that reason, the recipe we’re providing serves two.
Pad Thai Ingredients (serves 2-3)
- 120g flat rice noodle sticks (2 to 3 mm wide)
- 4 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
- 8 large prawns
- 100g of extra-firm tofu (chopped into small cubes)
- 4 tablespoons of tamarind water*
- 60g of palm sugar
- Pinch of chilli powder (to taste)
- 5 ½ tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon of small dried shrimp
- 25g of preserved, salted radish (chopped)
- 100g of beansprouts
- 4 stalks Chinese chives, chopped
- 50g roasted peanuts (chopped)
- Lime wedges, fish sauce, chilli flakes and sugar (garnish and final seasoning)
* Instructions for making tamarind water are found here.
How to Make Pad Thai
Begin by soaking the rice sticks in cold water. You want to let them soak until they become lightly pliable (comparable to Italian-style al dente), then drain them.
Whilst the rice sticks are soaking, it’s time to make the sauce. Combine the tamarind water, fish sauce and palm sugar in either a wok or a broad, flat pan. Heat them gently until the sugar dissolves, and then taste the mixture. Add chilli flakes to taste, then set it aside.
From here, it’s a good idea to set all of the remaining ingredients out within easy reach, as cooking pad Thai is a rapid process. Place your wok over high heat and add half of the oil, then add the garlic and stir-fry it for a few seconds before adding the noodles and just a splash of water.
Stir-fry the noodle mixture until it begins to dry out. Add the pre-prepared sauce and continue to fry the noodle mixture until the noodles are still slightly chewy. At this point, you’ll need to push the noodles to the side and then add the remainder of the oil along with the prawns and tofu.
When the tofu begins to show colour, push that and the prawns aside. Then break and add both eggs. Break the yolks and slightly scramble them as the yolks begin to settle. Mix the eggs with noodles and other ingredients, then add the chives, dried shrimp, peanuts and radish.
Continue stir-frying until it’s well-mixed, then turn off the heat and serve. The remaining garnishes can be placed on the side of the plate.
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