Pad Thai will be more delicious with little lime juice on top
Pad Thai
Anyone can make Pad Thai with this simple instruction version. But, one thing to remember: The key to perfect Pad Thai is in the cooking (or “not” cooking) of the noodles – learn how to get them chewy-perfect with this recipe. Included is a simple, but authentic pad thai sauce which is tangy and a little spicy.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 27 minutes
Yield: SERVES 2
INGREDIENTS
- 8 oz. Thai rice noodles (or enough for 2 people) (it can be substituted by Vietnamese vermicelli)
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups raw chicken breast or thigh meat, sliced
- Marinade for Chicken: 1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- optional: 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced
- 3 cups fresh bean sprouts
- 3 spring (green) onions, sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander/cilantro
- 1/3 cup crushed or roughly chopped peanuts (or other nuts, such as cashews)
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
- vegetable oil for stir-frying, and wedges of lime
To make Pad Thai sauce
- 3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (look for tamarind at Asian/Chinese or Indian food stores)
- 2 Tbsp. fish sauce, + more to taste
- 1-3 tsp. chili sauce, or substitute 1/2 tsp. or more dried crushed chili or cayenne, to taste
- 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
PREPARATION
1. Boil a large pot of water and remove from heat when it’s boiled. Dunk in your rice noodles. Allow noodles to soak while you prepare the other ingredients.
Note: you will be frying the noodles later, so you don’t want to over-soften them now. Noodles are ready to be drained when they are soft enough to be eaten, but are still firm and a little “crunchy”. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
2. Make the Pad Thai Sauce by combining the sauce ingredients together in a cup. Stir well to dissolve the tamarind paste and brown sugar. Set aside. Note: this may seem like a lot of sugar, but you need it to balance out the sourness of the tamarind – this balance is what makes Pad Thai taste so amazing!
3. Place chicken slices in a small bowl. Stir together the marinade and pour over chicken. Stir well and set aside.
4. Warm up a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. oil plus garlic and minced chili, if using. Stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds).
5. Add chicken together with the marinade. Stir-fry 30 seconds to 1 minute. When wok/pan becomes dry, add a little chicken stock, 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, to keep the chicken frying nicely. Continue stir-frying in this way until the chicken is cooked (5-8 minutes).
6. Add the noodles, and pour the Pad Thai sauce over. Using two spatulas, wooden spoons, or other utensils, immediately stir-fry the noodles. Use a gentle “lift and turn” method (like tossing a salad) to prevent noodles from breaking. Stir-fry in this way 1-2 minutes. If you find your wok/frying pan too dry, push noodles aside and add a little more oil to the bottom (but no more broth, or the noodles will become soggy).
7. Add the bean sprouts and sprinkle over the pepper. Continue “tossing” 1 more minute, or until noodles are cooked. Noodles are done to perfection when they are no longer “hard” or crunchy, but chewy-sticky wonderful!
8. Taste-test for seasoning, adding more fish sauce until desired flavor is reached (I usually add at least 1 more Tbsp. fish sauce). Toss well to incorporate.
9. Lift noodles onto a serving plate. Top with generous amounts of fresh coriander, spring onion, and crushed/chopped nuts. Add fresh lime wedges (lime is great squeezed overtop), and if desired. ENJOY!
Yummy Shimp Pad Thai
(Translated into English and edited by What The Food Team)
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