"Pad Thai"

I'm trying to be better about food budgeting.  In the past few months, when our pantry runs low, I am more likely to suggest that we go out to eat, than spend the small amount of time needed to figure out what I can make at home.  Sometimes, the desire to have someone else cook for a change is strong, and I long for some of our favorite restaurant dishes.  The two restaurants we frequent most are Cha Cha Cha (Mexican food) and Mee Sen (Thai food).  Instead of impulsively going out to dinner, I've decided to bring some of those flavors into my kitchen.  One dish, in particular, that I've been wanting to make from scratch is Pad Thai.  

I have this tiny little Thai Cookbook called The Best of Thailand that I found in a used bookstore years ago.  

I rarely use it, however, because it is REAL Thai food, meaning there are many ingredients that are plentiful in Thailand, but are hard to find in the states...like galangal, tamarind, or dried shrimp.  Groceries are getting better at stocking a wide variety of ethnic foods such as Thai, Mexican, and Indian, but some of the more exotic ingredients are still only sold at specialty stores.  I couldn't even find green papaya (for Thai Papaya Salad), even though papaya is in season right now.  The cookbook contains great recipes for curry pastes, which I really wanted to make, but I just was unable to find all the ingredients.  So, I broke down and bought some. The store bought kind is made up of all the ingredients that I couldn't find, so it's not a bad trade off.  It has all the things I was looking for...galangal, lemongrass, garlic, kaffir lime, and chilis.

Pad Thai doesn't even call for curry paste, but I also couldn't find dried shrimp which are essential to the recipe in the book, so I decided to make my own version of Pad Thai...hence the quotations.

I will include the original recipe because I do believe it has merit.  However, I also don't own a proper wok, which is nearly essential to making great Pad Thai.  I say 'nearly' because I made a dish that tasted a whole lot like Pad Thai, but it didn't have the nice fry on it that you get from a really hot wok.  Since woks are much thinner than typical skillets, they heat very quickly and evenly, so you can get a nice sear on the food you're cooking.  I had trouble with my noodles because my skillet was not hot enough, so they stuck to the bottom of the pan instead of frying.  I recommend using a very hot pan for this recipe.  A very hot skillet means that you have to work very quickly (so your food doesn't burn!) and use a little bit more fat/oil that you might feel you need.  It is also important to have all your "mise en place" or prepped ingredients ready, so that you can throw them in the pan when needed.  Because your working quickly, prep time is the longest part of this recipe.  The actual cooking will only take a few minutes.

The original recipe also gives you an idea of where classic Pad Thai gets its flavors.  It contains dried shrimp, preserved radish (for spicy and sour), and a surprising amount of sugar.  It is a good example of many Asian foods that try to include all flavors in one dish: sweet, sour, bitter, hot, and salty.  I tried to achieve the same balance with red curry paste, some fish sauce, serrano chilis (I couldn't find Thai chilies which are much smaller and hotter than serranos), a little soy sauce, and fresh veggies and herbs.  I would say I was pretty successful, and managed to make something that is very easy to recreate with the ingredients available in most grocery stores.  

Original Pad Thai Recipe from The Best of Thailand
6 servings

1/2 pound rice noodles (about 1/4" wide)
12 small dried shrimp
3 TB vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
8 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 cake spiced tofu, sliced 1/4" thick
1 TB minced preserved radish
2 large eggs
2 TB distilled vinegar
2 TB nam pla (fish sauce)
3-4 TB sugar
2 tsp paprika
2 cups bean sprouts 
1/2 cup skinless roasted, unsalted peanuts, crushed

Garnish:

scallions
slivered red chili peppers
coriander (cilantro) sprigs

1. Soak dried noodles in warm water and cover 30 minutes to 1 hour until just softened.  Do not let noodles become mushy.  Drain and set aside.
2. In a food processor, pulse dried shrimp until finely chopped and set aside.
3. In a wok, heat oil over medium high heat until hot and beginning to smoke.  Add garlic and fry 20 seconds or until fragrant and just beginning to brown.  Add fresh shrimp and fry 2-3 minutes or until just orange.  Add tofu and cook stirring constantly until lightly coated with oil.  
4. Push shrimp and tofu to one side of the wok, and add 1 egg stirring constantly, about 1 minute.  Push the egg to the side, add the next egg and repeat.
5.  Add radish and push all ingredients to the side of the wok.  Add noodles, ground shrimp, vinegar, fish sauce, 3 TB sugar, and paprika and toss gently for 1-2 minutes until well combined.  Add scallions and bean sprouts and toss gently.  Add in remaining sugar if more sweetness is desired.
6. Place mixture on a large platter and sprinkle with peanuts.  Garnish with scallions, chilis, and coriander. 


T.E.A.'s "Pad Thai"
makes 2 portions

NOTE: I decided not to add meat to this dish, and instead added more egg, but it would be easy to add in some cooked chicken, shrimp, beef, or tofu.  

1/4 pound rice noodles (about 1 handful)
4 large eggs
2-3 TB coconut or vegetable oil
1-2 serrano chilies, minced

Sauce: (there might be a little left over, or pour a little over the top to garnish)

2 TB red curry paste
1 TB soy sauce
1-2 tsp fish sauce
1-2 TB peanut butter (in place of raw peanuts)
a touch of sugar or molasses for sweetness (about 1 tsp)

Garnish:

scallions, chopped
cilantro, rough chop
green cabbage, shredded
carrots, sliced thin
broccoli, lightly steamed

1.  Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt and rice noodles.  Cook for about 5-7 minutes until just al dente.  Watch these because they can get mushy quickly.  Drain them immediately and rinse under cold water to stop them from cooking.  Set aside.
2.  While your pasta boils, you can put a steamer on top of the pot (if you have one) and steam your broccoli.  Steaming broccoli should only take about 4-5 minutes...just until it is bright green and slightly tender.  

3.  Heat oil in a large skillet on high heat until very shiny and almost smoking.  Add in serrano chilis and saute 1-2 minutes.  Add in drained noodles and 3 TB sauce.  Stir until noodles are well coated.  Fry for 3-5 minutes.  At this point you can add in your garnishes and saute for about 1-2 minutes to slightly wilt and warm them.  I just put them on top of my noodles as a raw salad garnish.  Taste and add more sauce if needed.

4.  Pour Pad Thai onto plates.  In the hot skillet, add eggs and stir until scrambled and cooked through.  Add them to the Pad Thai.  Garnish with veggies and Enjoy!