Cooking Corner - Pad Thai

In years gone by my wife worked in a restaurant with Thai cooks whose “go to” staff meal was Pad Thai. So, Stasy researched it and this is what she landed on that best replicated the culinary delight she experienced all those years ago. She’s been making it to my great satisfaction for many decades. She allowed me to make it by myself just this once for the column.

This is an authentic Thai dish, created to promote Nationalism in the 1930’s. It’s served around the world and especially as a street food in Thailand. You can easily make it your own. Adjust, add, subtract, research - to make you happy.

PAD THAI

4 Dinner Portions (See Photo) or 8 Pasta Course

Ingredients:

4 Dimes Vermicelli or Spaghetti or Linguini– Amount you would normally make for 4 people. Or Rice Noodles if you prefer. Amount is up to your appetite.

1 Cup Fish Sauce (Traditional) OR 6 Tbsp Soy Sauce – Careful with Fish Sauce – It’s brand dependent. We used “Thai Kitchen” found in the Asian section of the local store.

4 Tsp Rice Wine Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar

½ Cup Dry White Wine

2 Tbsp Sugar

4 Tsp Paprika

2 Tsp Chili Flakes

¼ Tsp Cayenne – More, Less, None? Up to you. Spicy hot.

½ Cup oil – Olive or Veg – I used Avocado oil (High smoke point) – you may need more as you go

8 Oz chicken boneless cut into bite size pieces

8 Oz Any Size Shrimp shelled and deveined – tails on or off your choice – I used 16/20 count shrimp – 4 per person – tails are painful – I take them off – no one complains

4 Eggs lightly beaten

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

10 oz fresh Bean Sprouts

3 Green Onions thinly sliced – green and white parts

¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped

½ cup unsalted peanuts dry-roasted - chopped

Method:

1. Fish Sauce Mixture - In a bowl, combine the Fish sauce, Vinegar, White wine, Sugar, Chili Flakes, Cayenne, and Paprika. Set aside.

2. Cook the pasta al dente, 90% cooked - drain and have ready to add. Do not rinse pasta. Traditionally this dish would call for rice noodles. If you do, simply follow the instructions on the package to al dente. We’ve tried Rice noodles, but prefer linguini. This recipe goes fast, so you want the noodles ready just before you start. They will heat up again when added.

3. Heat a wok or large sauté pan – medium high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the chicken and sear – half cooked.

4. Add the shrimp in the same pan and cook until just cooked pink on both sides. The chicken and shrimp should be slightly undercooked at this point.

5. Push Shrimp and Chicken aside in the pan. Add eggs in the same pan until slightly set – break them up with a spatula. 1 minute or so. You want good sized chunks of egg.

6. Add 3/4 of the Bean Sprouts and all the Garlic – 1 to 2 minutes or so until the sprouts are warmed and the garlic is fragrant – Stir Fry and Mix

7. Add the Fish Sauce Mixture – allow to heat up – Stir Fry and Mix

8. Add the Noodles and half of the Peanuts. Mix it all up until hot and serve.

9. Garnish and Presentation – Plate the contents of the Wok / Pan evenly on plates. Sprinkle Green Onion, remaining Peanuts and Cilantro on top of each plate. Bean Sprouts in the centre of plate. Lemon or Lime wedges placed where you think best. Sprig of Cilantro if you like. I like to place the Shrimp where they can be seen and show each plate gets an equal amount. The chicken is mixed in so there will be winners and losers. Nothing’s perfect.

It is important to have prep ready to go. Everything cut, chopped and measured before you start. Then it’s fun. The cooking process goes very quickly and you don’t want to over-cook because you forgot something.

I halved the recipe for 2