Pad Thai Summary

Pad Thai is the national dish of Thailand. It simply means "fried Thai." The dish traditionally has a sweet/savory tamerind and fish sauce base and can be range in spiciness from non-existant to blazingly hot. The authentic Thai version is typically prepared mild and any additional seasoning is left up to the patron as the dish is generally served with a variety of condiments; it is enjoyed with peanuts, green onions, chili paste, lime juice, and an thai iced tea to drink.

Recipe*

Ingredients

2-4 TB of tamarind paste or concentrate (to taste)
3/4 cup boiling or hot water (see direction 1)
3 TB or fish sauce
1 TB rice vinegar
3 TB sugar
3/4-2 tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste)
3 TB peanut or vegetable oil
8 oz. dried rice stick noodles, about 1/8 in. wide (the width of linguine)
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
12 oz. prepared shrimp, beef, chicken, tofu, etc.
3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 medium shallot, minced (about 3TB)
2 TB dried shrimp, chopped fine (optional)
2 TB chopped Thai saled preserved radish (optional)
6 TB chopped roasted unsalted peanuts
3 cups (6 oz.) bean sprouts
6 medium scallions, green parts only, sliced thin on sharp bias
1/4 cup loosly packed cilantro leaves (optional)
Lime wedges

Directions

  1. Preparse tamarind paste in 3/4 cup boiling water or add tamarind concentrate to 3/4 cup of hot water. Stir in fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and 2 TB of oil into tamarind liquid and set aside.
  2. Cover rice sticks with hot tap water in a large bowl; soak until softened, pliable, and limp but not fully tender, about 20 minutes.
  3. Beat eggs and 1/8 tsp. salt in small bowl and set aside.
  4. Heat wok or large skillet to medium heat, add oil and swirl to coat. Add garlic and shallot and cook, stirring constantly until light golden brown, about 1 and 1/2 minutes; add eggs to pan and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until scrambled and barely moist, about 20 seconds. Add noodles, dried shrimp, and salted radish (if using) to eggs; toss with 2 wooden spoons to combine. Pour fish sauce mixture over noodles, increase heat to high, and cook, tossing constantly, until the noodles are evenly coated. Scatter 1/4 cup peanuts, bean sprouts, all but 1/4 cup scallions, and cooked meat over noodles; continue to cook until noodles are tender, about 2 1/2 minutes (if not yet tender, add 2 TB water to pan and continue to cook until tender).
  5. Transfer noodles to serving platter, sprinkle with remaining scallions, 2 TB peanuts, and cilantro; serve immediately, passing lime wedges seperately.
Enjoy!
03/29/2003: Revised to be more accurate and include my favorite recipe.
*: adapted from Cook's Magazine, July & August 2002.