Beginner's Pad Thai (Stir fried noodles with prawns and tamarind sauce)

Nov 11, 2015
4 min read

It's my fourth attempt to create Pad Thai and I won't forget this time. Once, many moons ago, my first foray into authentic Thai cuisine was a trip to Bangkok, where I had the chance to learn how to cook this stir fried noodle dish. It was at a cooking school, located at the banks of Chao Phraya River; an antique Thai-style house run by an old lady, who was kind enough to share her recipe. You can only reach the school by a water taxi or a fishing boat.

She had a mini garden, filled with wonderful aromatic Thai herbs—kaffir lime, Thai basil, guinea, and pepper to mention a few. She simply snips the right amount of herb for cooking. I remember she told the class, that the key to great Thai cooking is by balancing the salty-sour-sweet-spicy flavor. And that every family had their own version, or recipe for every kind of Thai dish, especially the Pad Thai. They only differ in the sauce—the secret ingredient.

Every so often, I would revisit my love for Thai food by going to a Thai resto (People's Palace, Level 1, Greenbelt, Ayala Center, Makati City; tel. no. 729-2888 and Benjarong Royal Thai Restaurant at Dusit Thani Manila, corner Edsa and A. Arnaiz Ave., Ayala Center, Makati City; tel. no. 867-3333) with my hubby or by cooking.

Unfortunatley, changing houses every so often, made me lose a lot of things, including the recipe from class. There's no way to "google," because the cooking school is no longer existing. It closed its doors to the public. I believe, we were the last batch of students the old lady taught.

So, what to do? I got this recipe from Chef Jet Tila of Food Network's Iron Chef America. I wouldn't say it's close to the original Pad Thai from years back, but it's tasty enough, and it's easy to make. My husband ate the entire dish. That's a good sign, right? As I struggle my way to the kitchen, here's the labor of love. Enjoy!

P.S. Where do you go for your Pad Thai fix? What are your top tips for getting it right?

INGREDIENTS

Sauce

4 tbsp. Sugar

1 tbsp. Lime juice

4 tbsp. Tamarind paste

1 tbsp. Rice vinegar (white vinegar)

4 tbsp. Thai fish sauce (or any type of fish sauce)

1 tbsp. Sriracha chili sauce (which you can buy at your local grocery store or if you can''t find it, you can skip it all together)

1 tbsp. paprika / dried crushed chili

Main ingredients

2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil

4 Garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp. Dried shrimp

1 1/2 tbsp. Picked radish, minced (Optional)

(For your proteins)

1/2 cup Tofu, chopped into small cubes

(NOTE: I made a mistake of getting the Silken Tofu, but it's okay still. The consistency and texture was softer, similar to the egg. Although, they fell apart when handling. Opt for the Regular Tofu instead (or extra-firm tofu) for a firmer bite, like meat. They are less likely to crumble when stir frying.)

1/2 cup Chicken breast

(NOTE: I have this horrible phobia for raw chicken, so with this recipe, I boiled it until cooked, instead of placing it in the wok directly mixed with the rest of the ingredients.)

8 Fresh large shrimps, peeled and cleaned

2 Eggs

Noodles

3 to 4 cups BKM Chantaboon Rice Stick Noodles

Soak in warm water, until aldente.

(NOTE: In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Turn the heat to low and dunk the rice noodles. Don't overcook the noodles because you'll be frying them later on. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent from sticking. Set aside.)

Garnish

1 cup Fresh bean sprouts

4 Green Onions cut into 2-inch strips

1/4 cup Dry roasted peanuts, chopped

Lime wedges

Fresh cilantro (as desired)

Dried crushed chili (as desired)

Fresh Thai basil (Optional)

WHAT TO DO?

1. Prepare the sauce, combine ingredients in a cup/ bowl. Stir well.

2. Warm up the wok or a large frying pan. Make sure it's hot, hot, hot! Place all ingredients starting with the vegetable oil. Then, sauté garlic for a few seconds, followed by the dried shrimp and pickeled radish. Fry the chicken, shimp, tofu, and eggs. When the eggs are starting to set on the bottom, scramble.

3. Once everything is cooked, add the noodles and pour the Pad Thai sauce over. Stir fry until well combined.

5. Add the fresh bean sprouts and green onins to the mix.

6. Garnish generously and serve.