Pad (Pud) Thai

I can still remember the first time I had Pad Thai. I was at Chan's Thai Kitchen in Juneau, Alaska. Chan's is a funny little hole in the wall restaurant which if judged by the decor you do not expect much. However, the smells in the place are divine and the line out the door is a clue to what awaits inside. That first time I was in high school and, while already an adventurous eater, I had never been to a Thai restaurant. I somehow ordered Pad Thai, having no idea what it was, and I was rather suspicious about the heaping pile of orang-ish noodles topped with bean sprouts and peanuts that was placed in front of me. However, my suspicion quickly turned to absolute wonder. The combination of all of the flavors in Pad Thai is what makes this dish so amazing, its something when you look at the recipe you think first "I don't know what all this stuff is" and second "that can't possibly be good together". But it is. It is amazingly delicious, and some days I crave it. My favorite Pad Thai comes from Chan's though there is a place in Reading, England that does it pretty well too. I'm sure its a closely guarded secret, but I would love the Pad Thai recipe from Chan's Thai Kitchen.

Pad Thai is national dish in Thailand. My sister spent a couple of weeks tromping around Thailand last spring, and when she came back I asked her what her favorite dish was while she was traveling. "Pad Thai" she said, though she conceded that banana flower salad is tasty as well. This rice noodle dish is sold in street carts and made by Thai housewives. Pad Thai is something that everyone seems to have their own recipe for and any Thai restaurant you go into will have it, its like fried rice in a Chinese restaurant. It is always the first thing I order when I try a new Thai restaurant, if its not good I won't go back. It is also my most frequent order at Thai restaurants. Not because other Thai dishes are not delicious, but because, as you'll see below, authentic Pad Thai takes a lot more work than a green curry. There are ways to make it easier that what I've written below, but you lose out on taste, and for me the trade off it is not worth it. If you have everything on hand its merely a matter of frying everything up. If you don't the prep is quite the process.

Now the last time I made Pad Thai I felt a little bit like the Little Red Hen. It was a Saturday which meant I was cooking solo as Dennis was at work (this dish is best if you have help), and I spent a couple of hours running around between stores rounding up the ingredients and then a couple of more hours prepping, cooking, and assembling. I did not really eat all through the day as I was so focused on my final product. I would not recommend this! Do your shopping ahead of time as you will need to go to an Asian food store to get the ingredients to make this dish. And if you don't have a sous-chef you may want to do the prep the day before as well.

The recipe I use for Pad Thai is from Epicurious.com and can be found here. I use almost all recipes as guidelines, so I modify this to suit my tastes.

Step 1: Assemble the ingredients

12 ounces dried flat rice noodles (1/4 inch wide; sometimes called pad Thai or banh pho)

Make sure you get rice noodles. Italian style pasta noodles will not work. The rice noodles are not actually cooked, just soaked in water, drained, and then they soak up all of the sauce for the Pad Thai. The rice noodle should look about as wide as a Fettuccine noodle. You may be able to find these at your local grocery store in the international food section, or you may have to go to an Asian market. Get whatever package is closest to 12 oz. I think I had 14 oz. last time, I used all of it and it worked fine.

3 tablespoons tamarind (from a pliable block)

Never cooked with tamarind? Don't know what tamarind is? Neither did I until I started looking into how to make Pad Thai. Tamarind comes from the fruit or pods of the tamarind tree and is widely used in many cuisines (I put it in Lamb Vindaloo last week). It is also called the Indian date, and there is a special type they grow in Thailand and eat raw as a fruit and dip it in chili sauce. I have bought it both in a paste form and in a pliable block form as suggested above. I prefer the block as I believe the flavor is more intense (try to get one with the seeds already taken out as this will save you a step). Tamarind has a strong sweet/sour flavor and is what gives Pad Thai its Pad Thai taste. Without Tamarind there is no Pad Thai. If you find this at your local grocery I will be quite impressed. The only places I have ever gotten it are at Asian or Indian food stores, and even then you might have to ask to be able to find it. Its usually with the pre-made sauces it seems.

4 large shallots

Yes shallots, not onions. I've never tried this with onions and I don't plan to. Shallots have a flavor that is both stronger and more subtle. If your not used to working with shallots beware, chopping them is worse than onions. Shallots at conventional stores can be elusive and pricey, try a farmers market, or pick them up on your trip to the Asian market, as they always seem to have them and the price is more reasonable.

2 tablespoons Sriracha (Southeast Asian chili sauce)

This is delicious Thai style chili sauce, and if you don't have it you should. Even if you don't want to make Pad Thai. You can put it on anything you want to give a kick to. Any grocery with a decent international food section should have it (or just put it on the list for the Asian market.)

1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 bunch scallions (green onions)
1 (14- to 16-ounce) package firm tofu

Even if your planning on adding meat to your Pad Thai I recommend keeping the tofu in the recipe, the fried tofu cubes are delicious.

1 1/2 cups peanut or vegetable oil

I prefer peanut oil because of its higher smoke point and flavor. It can be difficult to find at some groceries, again, the an oriental market is your friend.

6 large eggs

Leave the eggs out or substitute with silky tofu if cooking Vegan.

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups bean sprouts (1/4 pound)

I love bean sprouts, so I often double this. Another thing you can find at an Asian market if all else fails

1/2 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

2 limes
Chopped cilantro to garnish

If you do not want to make this vegetarian friendly, add

Fish Sauce (Buy at the Asian market of course)
1/2 to 1 lb Shrimp, Pork chopped in small (1/2 pieces), or Chicken (chopped the same way)

If you have not figured out by now, I like my Asia Mart. Find a good oriental grocery and make friends, it makes Pad Thai (an many other dishes) much easier. I'm in mine at least once a month.


Once all of the ingredients are collected then its time to start preping. Get out your all of your prep bowls, and some of your soup bowls.

1. Put your rice noodles in a large bowl and cover well with water. Set a timer for 25 to 30 mins. And then drain and wrap noodles in damp paper towels.

While noodles are soaking:

2. Make Sauce. In a bowl mix: 1 cup boiling water and 3 tablespoons seedless tamarind pulp (if you do not have seedless pulp soak pulp in water until soft and press through a sieve to remove seeds and fibers), the water will soften up and dissolve the pulp. Add 1/2 cup soy sauce and/or fish sauce --if using fish sauce you can replace the soy entirely, or use 1/4 cup soy sauce and 1/4 cup fish sauce-- fish sauce is more authentic, but not vegetarian friendly. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar (I'd think coconut palm sugar would be more authentic and healthier, use this if you have it) and 2 tablespoons (or more, I like my Pad Thai spicy) sriracha. I also often add finely minced dried red peppers from my parents garden, or red pepper flakes to the sauce. Spicy is the name of the game. Stir ingredients until sugar dissolves and set aside. This is your Pad Thai sauce, you could make this up ahead of time and store in the fridge.

3. Prep, this step will make cooking much easier as you will be able to focus on cooking and not still trying to chop scallions and beat eggs.

a. Thinly slice (don't mince) 4 shallots, divide in half and place in two separate empty bowls.
b. Mince or press 4 (or more, I always add extra) garlic cloves and add to one of the shallot bowls.
c. Slice the bunch of scallions (green onions) into 2 inch pieces, for the thicker pieces at the bottom of the green onion (the white and light green pieces) cut them in half length wise. Use the whole green onion, including the green tops. For some reason some people throw these out, and they are the best part of the scallion. Put the scallions in the bowl with the shallots and the garlic.
d. Crack 6 eggs into a separate bowl, add 1/4 teaspoon salt, and lightly beat.
e. Drain the 14-16 oz pack of tofu and rinse it under cold water, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and pat very dry. Usually I place the tofu cubes on a big plate covered in paper towels and then pat them dry with more paper towels. When they are done drying leave them on the plate with the paper towel.
f. Make sure bean sprouts are on hand. Rinse with water and place in a bowl.
g. If adding pork or chicken, slice into small 1/2 inch pieces and place in a bowl, or placed peeled shrimp in a bowl.
h. Chopped cilantro, and peanuts to garnish. Mince 1/2 bunch of cilantro and place in bowl for the table, chop 1/2 cup peanuts and place on the table.

The chopping is now done! (Whew) There should be 4 or 5 prep bowls, a plate of tofu, and 2 garnishes for the table. The soak on the rice noodles should be about done now, drain them, wrap in damp paper towels, and place back in the bowl.

Take a deep breath, get out a Wok or Wok-like frying pan. If you do not have a Wok use a large stock pot. The Wok-like frying pan I use to make this is 5 quarts, and I need every bit of that room to assemble the Pad Thai. Rice noodles take up a lot of space.

Add 1 1/2 cups peanut oil to Wok and heat. When hot (test with water or a small slice of shallot) add the shallots that are in the separate bowl by themselves and fry until golden brown (8-12 mins). When they are brown, take off the heat and scoop shallots out with a slotted spoon. Spread fried shallots thinly on paper towels (I place mine on another plate) and let dry. They will get very crispy. The purpose of this step is two fold, one your making delicious shallot flavored oil, two, your making a crispy shallot topping for the Pad Thai. I could do without the topping, but I think the shallot oil is an important flavor step. However, if your in a hurry, skip this step and just add the rest of the shallots to the shallot/garlic/green onion bowl. If you decide to do this know that you will not use the whole 1 1/2 cup of oil in cooking, so you will have some left over shallot infused for other projects. The shallot frying could also be done a day or so ahead.

After scoping out the shallots, place the Wok with the oil in it back on burner and reheat. When hot-test with a drop of water, if the oil crackles and spits its ready-- add tofu cubes (take the old paper towel off the tofu plate and place a dry one back on it, the tofu will go back on the plate when your done). Fry the tofu over medium heat until the cubes are brown. Patience as this takes time. You might want to get a drink. Tofu properly fried (especially in shallot oil) is delicious, however, it will take about 10 minutes for the cubes to brown. Turn them gently (tofu can be fragile) as they cook to try to get all sides toasty. When they are brown, take the Wok off the heat, use the slotted spoon, scoop the cubes out, and place them on the plate with the dry paper towels.

Pour the frying oil from the Wok into a heat proof dish.

Put Wok back on heat an add 2 Tablespoons of the hot reserved oil. When hot add beaten eggs, swirl to coat the sides of the Wok and then as they start to cook break up into small pieces. They should look a little bit like dried bits of scrambled egg. When done place the Eggs in a clean dish. If using silken tofu instead of egg, scramble tofu in shallot oil and place in clean dish.

If you are adding meat or raw shrimp put 1 or 2 Tablespoons of shallot oil in the wok and fry the chopped meat until done. This should take 2 to 3 minutes for shrimp (depending on the size of the shrimp) and about 5 minutes for small slices/cubes of pork or chicken. When done reserve and place in a clean bowl.

Ok, almost there, about ready to put it all together.

Place Wok back on heat until very hot (water should evaporate if a drop is flicked into the pan). Add 6 Tablespoons shallot oil and swirl to coat the sides of the Wok. Add the ingredients in the shallot/garlic/onion bowl and stir-fry until shallots start to soften, about 1 minute.

When Shallots are soft add soaked rice noodles and stir-fry over medium heat for 3 minutes. You may need two spatulas to move the rice noodles around. Add tofu, bean sprouts, any meat product, and Pad Thai sauce and simmer while turning noodles. The noodles will absorb the sauce. This will take about 2 minutes.

Toss in egg peices or scrambled tofu until well mixed. Take off heat.

Done.

Put a generous serving of Pad Thai on a plate. Cut a lime into wedges and place 2 wedges on plate. Top with chopped cilantro, peanuts, crisped shallots, and sriracha. Squeeze lime over noodles. Eat.

The kitchen will be a mess, you will have used up every prep bowl you have and more paper towels that you thought possible. Keep any shallot oil you have left, put it in a jar or bottle and store it. You can use this to add flavor to any dish you fry or saute, or save it for the next time you make Pad Thai. There will probably be left over Pad Thai, I usually just add all the garnishes to it, toss and store in the fridge.

The Pad Thai will be delicious, I promise. If you have the ingredients on hand and do not have to make a special shopping trip its not as much work. And I've never done it, but skipping the shallot oil step would make it easier as well. However, I quite like this version, and I've been playing the tamarind/fish sauce ratio trying to replicate my favorite Pad Thai. (Call me Chan's Thai Kitchen)

But yes, hopefully, that explains how, at the end of my day making Pad Thai, I felt like the Little Red Hen. And then I ate ate it and it was amazing. It always is.

Writing this makes me crave Pad Thai, maybe I'll cook it again tonight. Hmm... I think I have everything but shallots, and I have shallot oil from last time... Tasty, tasty. Or maybe I'll just go out and get Pad Thai at a restaurant. This is a dish where paying to have someone else make it for you sometimes is totally worth it. Though it is really hard to find a restaurant with a Pad Thai this good. Hmmm....