Pad Thai

Pad Thai is a Thai dish made out of stir fried rice noodles flavoured with fish sauce, tamarind juice, chilli peppers garnished with bean sprouts, shrimps, chopped peanuts, eggs and lime juice. This dish is the national dish of Thailand and is listed at number 5 on CNN’s World’s 50 most delicious foods readers’ poll in 2011. Pad Thai in English means “fried Thai Style” which truly defines its cooking process where noodles, meat and vegetables are stir fried in common Thai spices and herbs like tamarind, chilli, coriander and fish sauce.

This dish already existed in the ancient Siam for centuries where a variant of the rice noodle brought over by Vietnamese traders was made into this lovely dish. Though it was existing for centuries it was just recently popularized when it was made the national dish of Thailand by the 1930s Prime Minister Luang Phibunsongkhram. This was in line with the Prime Ministers campaign for Thai nationalism as well as to reduce rice consumption due to the rice shortage available for export during that period.

A very uniquely flavoured dish where sweet, sour, spicy and savoury elements mix well and accentuated by hints of peanuts and seafood. A real good noodle dish specially paired with garlic soy chicken or spring rolls, I guess the CNN readers’ poll can attest to it.

Ingredients (Pad Thai Sauce)

• 1 1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1/2 cup Chicken stock
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• ground white pepper
• Ingredients (Pad Thai)
• 400 g Pad Thai noodles
• 300 g shrimps, deveined
• 2 cups chopped chicken thighs
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• oil
• Ingredients (Garnishes)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped roasted peanuts
• 2 stalks spring onions, chopped
• 3 eggs, scrambled and sliced
• lime wedges

chillies, sliced

Method

1. In a large bowl pour enough boiling water to soak your rice noodles, soak them until it is just soft ready for stir frying. Drain then rinse with cold water then set aside.

2. Combine all Pad Thai Sauce ingredients in a bowl, stir well until you achieve a smooth consistency.

3. Dissolve cornstarch in soy sauce in a separate bowl then add the chicken.

4. In a wok add oil then sauté garlic.

5. Add the chicken then stir fry until cooked.

6. Add the noodles, Pad Thai sauce and prawns, gently toss while cooking for 3 minutes.

7. Add the bean sprouts then cook for 1 more minute or until noodles are cooked (Al dente texture)

8. Place noodles in a serving plate, then garnish with chopped roasted peanuts, spring onions, scrambled eggs and lime wedges.

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