Pad Thai

Earlier in the week, my friend Jen and I talked about getting together to cook. We both like Thai food so we decided to make one of her favorite dishes: the ubiquitous Pad Thai. We both were a bit nervous because we had never cooked Thai food before. To me, Thai food appeared too exotic and outside my realm of comfort.  But, our worries were misplaced. Nothing about the recipe was difficult, not even finding the ingredients. Furthermore, making Pad Thai was a great excuse to use my mostly forgotten wok (T fal Specialty 14-Inch Nonstick Jumbo Wok, Black) and chopsticks .

If you like Thai food and you don’t feel like spending too much time in the kitchen making dinner, make this recipe tonight. You won’t regret it. Dinner was delicious and it was ready in approximately 25 minutes, max.

Pad-Thai
Adapted from Tahitable.com
Servings: 3

Ingredients:
1 lime
1 egg
2 teaspoons Clam Base
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
½ teaspoon ground dried chili pepper
1/2 onion minced
1 1/2 tablespoons Tamicon Tamarind Paste 16oz
½ package Thai rice noodles Thai Kitchen Thin Rice Noodles, 8.8-Ounce Unit (Pack of 12)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ lb. Shrimp
2 tablespoons crushed peanuts
1 1/3 cup bean sprouts
2 tablespoons Marukan Rice Vinegar 24 Oz.
Salt and pepper to taste
Water as needed

Directions:

1. Soak the dry noodles in lukewarm water while preparing the other ingredients, for 5-10 minutes. 

2. Rinse the bean sprouts and save half for serving fresh. Mince shallot and garlic together.  

3. Use a wok. If you do not have a wok, any big pot will do. Heat it up on medium-high heat and pour oil in the wok. Fry the peanuts until toasted and remove them from the wok.  

4. Add shallot and garlic and stir them until they start to brown.  

5. The noodles should be flexible but not expanded at this point. Drain the noodles and add to the wok. Stir quickly to keep things from sticking. Add tamarind, clam base, vinegar, and chili pepper. Stir. If the wok is too dry add a few tablespoons of water.

6. Make room for the egg by pushing all noodles to the side of the wok. Crack the egg onto the wok and scramble it until it is almost all cooked. Fold the egg into the noodles.

7. Add shrimp and bean sprouts. Stir a few more times. Add salt and pepper as needed. The noodles should be soft and very tangled.

8. Pour onto the serving plate and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve hot with a wedge of lime on the side and raw bean sprouts on top.

If you have any questions, email me at goodsazon@gmail.com