Pad Thai is a classic that hits on all taste levels. It's sweet, sour, salty and bitter all in one. Making it at home takes a little effort, but once you do, it will become part of your repertoire. You can experiment, as I did, with different ingredient combinations and learn to adjust the sauce to your own taste.
A traditional pad Thai dish -- pad is Thai for stir-fry -- consists of rice noodles, tofu, shrimp, crushed peanuts, fish sauce, bean sprouts, eggs, garlic and chiles. But you can substitute chicken or pork for the tofu and shrimp or use a variety.
The sauce in today's recipe is adapted from a pad Thai recipe at www.foodnetwork.com.
Look for tamarind nectar at Asian or Hispanic specialty stores. Tamarind nectar also can be found in the ethnic aisle at some grocery stores.
If you're not familiar with fish sauce, or nam pla, it's a condiment used in many southeast Asian dishes. It resembles soy sauce in color and consistency and is made from fermented fish. Take a whiff and you'll find it really stinks, but that aroma goes away once cooked. Thai Kitchen fish sauce is a common brand sold at most grocery stores. A 7-ounce bottle is about $3.49.
Rice stick noodles, made from rice flour and water, are the go-to noodle for pad Thai. They need to be soaked in warm water to soften before using. Once cooked, they have a chewy texture.
Chicken Pad Thai
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
The sauce makes more than you use in the recipe but it keeps refrigerated for several days or can be frozen.
Sauce
1 can (12 ounces) tamarind juice
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 tablespoon chili paste, optional
Juice of 1 lime
Pad Thai
12 ounces dried flat rice noodles
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups cooked and shredded chicken
2 large eggs
1/2 cup pad Thai sauce (or more as desired)
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 green onions, washed, sliced
Lime wedges for garnish
In a medium saucepan, stir together all the sauce ingredients and cook over medium heat until slightly syrupy and reduced by about half; about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Remove from the heat. It will continue to get syrupy. You should have at least 1 cup.
Meanwhile, cover the noodles with hot tap water and soak until softened but not fully tender, about 30 minutes.
Drain and set aside.
In a large wok or skillet, heat the canola and sesame oils (you can use all canola oil if you don't have sesame oil) over medium heat.
Add the garlic and stir-fry 1 minute. Add the chicken and stir-fry 2 minutes. Push the chicken aside and add the eggs and quickly stir-fry so you get little pieces of cooked eggs. Add the drained noodles, pad Thai sauce and bean sprouts.
Stir-fry, tossing constantly, until noodles are fully done and coated with the sauce, about 3 minutes.
Stir in cilantro and green onions. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Garnish with lime wedges and more green onion if desired.
Adapted from www.foodnetwork.com.
Tested by Susan M. Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen.
700 calories (18 percent from fat ), 14 grams fat (3 grams sat. fat ), 78 grams carbohydrates, 42 grams protein, 1,671 mg sodium, 195 mg cholesterol, 3 grams fiber.
Leftovers
Lettuce wraps: Have ready butter lettuce leaves. Place leftover pad Thai on lettuce leaves and add thinly sliced radish and cucumber. Top with a little more sauce or a simple drizzle of reduced-sodium soy sauce and wrap in the leaves.
Food
November 25, 2009
Experiment for tasty pad Thai
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