Pad Thai

I feel that I haven't shared enough Asian recipes on this blog but hopefully that will change over the future.  I have to admit that since moving out of my Asian parents' house I haven't made Asian food on a regular basis.  Sometimes the Asian food I made doesn't really require a recipe and it would be things such as stir-frys and fried rice.  But there are other times that Asian cooking requires a lot of time and prep work and sometimes I don't always think it's practical to pull off those recipes on a weeknight.  Pad thai happens to be one of those "weekend" recipes for me.  At least the version that I make because there's a lot of prep work to be done and lots of dishes to be washed.  

I made this recipe a while back when I had old friends visiting from out of town.  One of my very good friends offered to help cook with me and it was extremely fun.  There are just some people that you really enjoy cooking with and the dynamics work so well that it makes it a real joy to cook. And because I had help from my wonderful friend, the pad thai came together in no time.  In fact, I made it again for myself and packed some for my boyfriend for his lunch and he texted me saying that it was the best pad thai he had ever had.  Plus he microwaved it, so it wasn't even fresh!  He also ended up sharing nearly half of it because his colleagues kept asking for more.  So really, I can't get enough of this pad thai!  It reminds me of a great evening with old friends and the rave review I received from my boyfriend. 

NB: The ideal is to cook 1-2 servings at a time.  I also added and tofu to my pad thai, so pick the proteins that you like the most.

Pad Thai

Vegetable oil (for frying)

12 oz. chicken (2 oz. per serving)

4 cloves (10g) minced garlic (about 1/2 + clove per serving)

Sauce (see below) (about 1/4 cup per serving)

1 lb. (500 g) rice noodles, soaked in warm water to soften (but not too soft)

6 eggs (1 egg per serving)

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined (4-6 shrimp per serving)

1 cup (155g) ground peanuts (1-2 tablespoons per serving)

3-4 cups bean sprouts (1/2 cup per serving)

1/2 cup (75g) pickled turnips, chopped (1+ tablespoon per serving)

1 cup garlic chives or green onions, chopped (2 tablespoons per serving)

More sprouts (garnish)

Fresh limes (garnish)

Sauce

1/2 cup (130g) tamarind paste

1/2 cup (120g) fish sauce

1/3 cup (75g) brown sugar

1 tablespoon (9g) chili powder (to taste)

Make the Sauce:

Over a low flame, heat the tamarind, fish sauce, and brown sugar together until the sugar is dissolved.  Stir in the chili powder a teaspoon at a time to desired spiciness.  Bring the sauce to a simmer.  Turn off the heat (keep sauce warm).

Make the Pad Thai:

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in wok or large frying pan over high heat.  Add 2 ounces of chicken and stir-fry until it is half cooked.  Add1-2 tablespoons of sauce, and a pinch of garlic.  Stir around and add about 2 cups of loosely packed of rice noodles plus 1/4 cup of sauce to the pan and stir vigorously until the noodles soften.  If it dries out, you can add some water.  Push the noodles to the side and crack an egg into the pan.  Let the egg cook for 10 seconds and then toss the noodles and egg together in the pan.  Drop 4-6 shrimp, a couple of tablespoons of ground peanuts, a heaping tablespoon of turnip, and 1/2 cup of sprouts into the pan.  Stir fry until the shrimp are just cooked (very fast - about a minute).  Toss in the green onions or garlic chives and remove from heat.  Serve hot with more sprouts, ground peanuts, and lime wedges for garnish.

Source: Use Real Butter, originally from Chez Pim