Pad Thai

[Zandy595]

I had it at a restaurant for the first time last week. Now I want to try making it at home. Does anyone have a recipe that they've tried and liked?

 

[TigerKat]

Sandy - I saw a pretty easy recipe on the Food network recently. Maybe try a search on their site.

 

[Zandy595]

Hi, Kathy. I haven't checked Food Network yet. I was hoping someone had a tried and true recipe I could start with. I should jump over to the WFD thread and ask. I'm finding it harder and harder to keep up with that thread.

 

[TigerKat]

Hi, Kathy. I haven't checked Food Network yet. I was hoping someone had a tried and true recipe I could start with. I should jump over to the WFD thread and ask. I'm finding it harder and harder to keep up with that thread.

I know.

 

[piratesmate]

Please let us know if you find & try a recipe! I love Pad Thai!! I've collected a few recipes - even some Disney ones - but haven't tried any yet.

I don't know if you checked the WFD thread, but I just tried. What a nightmare since it was broken up! The index was for the monster thread and figuring out which section & then which page was...well...what I'd like to say would be filtered out.

Anyway, I thought the Thai Peanut Chicken recipe posted by Glynis might be close, but it wasn't...at least not close to the recipes I have & it used rice, not noodles.

 

[TigerKat]

Please let us know if you find & try a recipe! I love Pad Thai!! I've collected a few recipes - even some Disney ones - but haven't tried any yet.

I don't know if you checked the WFD thread, but I just tried. What a nightmare since it was broken up! The index was for the monster thread and figuring out which section & then which page was...well...what I'd like to say would be filtered out.

Anyway, I thought the Thai Peanut Chicken recipe posted by Glynis might be close, but it wasn't...at least not close to the recipes I have & it used rice, not noodles.

It's a huge nightmare.......

 

[Zandy595]

I ended up making a combination of Tyler Florence's recipe and a recipe I found on RecipeZaar. I would have stuck to Tyler's recipe, but I couldn't find the tamarind paste/juice. It turned out good, but I couldn't find the wide noodles and there wasn't nearly enough sauce. OMG, fish sauce smells so BAD! I guess I shouldn't have expected fermented anchovies to smell good.

If I can remember what I did, I'll come back and post the recipe.

 

[TigerKat]

The fish sauce is stinky, isn't it? But it definitely adds a lot of flavor. I use it in my thai curry recipes.

I miss you on the WFD thread.

 

[Zandy595]

OK, this is Tyler's recipe, but I didn't have some of the ingredients and I didn't want to use others. I'll post his actual recipe and put in parenthesis what I substituted or omitted.

8 oz. dried wide rice noodles (couldn't find wide, but will use next time)
1/4 c. fish sauce (used 1/8 cup because it smelled so bad )
3 T. tamarind juice (omitted because I couldn't find)
2 T. sugar (used brown sugar)
3 T. peanut oil (used olive oil)
1 1/2 lbs. large shrimp, peeled with tails on (used 1 lb medium, tails off)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 shallots, sliced (used 6 green onions)
1 fresh red chile, sliced (omitted)
1 large egg, lightly beaten (will use 2 next time)
1 c. fresh bean sprouts
1/2 c. chopped unsalted roasted peanuts (used dry roasted)
1 lime, cut into small wedges (forgot the lime)
1/4 c. fresh cilantro leaves (omitted, DH and DS don't like it)

I added (to the sauce):
2 T. ketchup
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. rice wine vinegar

There was no where near enough sauce so I would double everything that goes into it.

Soak the dried rice noodles in cool or lukewarm water for 30 minutes, or until they're limp but still firm to the touch; later cooking in the wok will soften them more. Drain the noodles thoroughly in a colander and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.
In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, tamarind juice, and sugar; stir well to melt the sugar. Taste and adjust flavors to the desired combination of salty, sour, and sweet.

Heat a wok over medium-high heat until it is smoking hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and quickly stir-fry the shrimp until they turn pink and are almost cooked through; 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Add the remaining oil to the wok and toss in the garlic, shallots, and chile; stir-fry for 30 seconds. Push the garlic and shallots to 1 side of the wok and pour the egg into the center. Scramble the egg lightly until set, breaking it up into pieces with a spatula. Add the drained noodles to the wok, stirring and tossing quickly with 2 spatulas to separate the strands. Pour in the fish sauce mixture, tossing well to coat the noodles and keep them from sticking (if the noodles are still too firm, drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to help them cook.)

When the noodles are in good shape, toss in 1/2 of the bean sprouts and peanuts; save the remaining for garnish. Continue to stir-fry, to combine. Return the shrimp to the wok and toss the pad thai together to warm everything through. Serve the pad thai on a platter, pile the remaining bean sprouts and peanuts on 1 side of the dish and garnish with the lime wedges and cilantro. Squeeze lime juice over each portion before eating.

 

[piratesmate]

Thanks for sharing Sandy!

Was your end product spicy? I can't imagine Pad Thai that isn't, although I know they offer that option at the restaurant. I'm not big on actual spicy peppers in my mouth, but I'm starting to like the heat in the dish. So I started to add some Tabasco sauce when a recipe calls for pobleno, chili, jalapeño or other hot peppers. Do you think that would work in this?

Can I ask why you added the ketchup? Was that part of the RecipeZaar version or just something you added? It's not something I would have thought was in the Pad Thai we get here so I'm curious. It makes me think of a recipe I tried once for Bourbon Chicken like we get at the mall. I'll start a different thread with that instead of hijacking this one though...

 

[Zandy595]

Thanks for sharing Sandy!

Was your end product spicy? I can't imagine Pad Thai that isn't, although I know they offer that option at the restaurant. I'm not big on actual spicy peppers in my mouth, but I'm starting to like the heat in the dish. So I started to add some Tabasco sauce when a recipe calls for pobleno, chili, jalapeño or other hot peppers. Do you think that would work in this?

Can I ask why you added the ketchup? Was that part of the RecipeZaar version or just something you added? It's not something I would have thought was in the Pad Thai we get here so I'm curious. It makes me think of a recipe I tried once for Bourbon Chicken like we get at the mall. I'll start a different thread with that instead of hijacking this one though...

No, it wasn't spicy at all, probably because I left out the fresh red chile. I don't like hot-spicy dishes. You could probably use Tabasco, but I think red pepper flakes might be a better option.

Yes, I used ketchup and Worcestershire because the RecipeZaar version called for it. Since I didn't use tamarind juice I thought this was a good substitute. I added the vinegar because I remembered reading that tamarind is kind of sour.

I have a recipe for Bourbon Chicken that has ketchup in it also, but it isn't really similar to this recipe.


ETA: I'll post the RecipeZaar Pad Thai recipe later. I'm having trouble with that site right now.

 

[Zandy595]

This is the highest rated Pad Thai recipe on RecipeZaar. 4 1/2 stars out of 5, 26 reviews.


1 (1/2 lb) package rice noodles
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce (sambal oelek)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons peanut oil
6 cloves garlic
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 lb fresh shrimp
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (hot)
2 eggs
2 cups bean sprouts
5 green onions
1 cup chopped cilantro (coriander)
3 limes
1/4 cup coarsely chopped roasted peanuts

Place noodles in large bowl and cover with boiling water for about 10 minutes.
Drain.
Set aside.
Mix together fish sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, chili-garlic sauce and sugar.
Set aside.
Cut chicken into 1" cubes.
Peel and de-vein raw shrimp and chop coarsely.
Finely chop garlic.
Heat peanut oil in large frying pan or wok.
Add garlic, chicken, shrimp and red pepper flakes.
Stir until shrimp turns pink.
Add sauce mixture and stir for 3 more minutes.
Add beaten eggs and stir constantly for one minute.
Add drained rice noodles and toss until coated.
Stir in bean sprouts, onions and 1/2 cup cilantro.
Stir and toss for a minute or so, until heated.
Spoon out onto large serving platter.
Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and remaining cilantro.
Top with slices or wedges of lime, which will be used to squeeze over noodles upon serving.

 

[piratesmate]

No, it wasn't spicy at all, probably because I left out the fresh red chile. I don't like hot-spicy dishes. You could probably use Tabasco, but I think red pepper flakes might be a better option.

Yes, I used ketchup and Worcestershire because the RecipeZaar version called for it. Since I didn't use tamarind juice I thought this was a good substitute. I added the vinegar because I remembered reading that tamarind is kind of sour.

I have a recipe for Bourbon Chicken that has ketchup in it also, but it isn't really similar to this recipe.


ETA: I'll post the RecipeZaar Pad Thai recipe later. I'm having trouble with that site right now.

Thanks for the info. Yeah - I use red pepper flakes too. I forgot to mention those.

I didn't think this recipe was similar to the Bourbon chicken...just that the ketchup was an unexpected (to me at least) ingredient in both of them.

 

[Zandy595]

Thanks for the info. Yeah - I use red pepper flakes too. I forgot to mention those.

I didn't think this recipe was similar to the Bourbon chicken...just that the ketchup was an unexpected (to me at least) ingredient in both of them.

Oh, ok, gotcha.

 

[Zandy595]

I made the Pad Thai again last night. Don't double the sauce, it was way too much. One day I'll get this recipe just right.