My Thai Fave 🥢
Oh Pad Thai! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways! 💕❤️ This recipe is so delicious, it’s completely irresistible! I really, insanely, love Thai food. Pad Thai is the one dish I must have whenever I have Thai food. This and Thai Coconut Soup.
This Pad Thai recipe is as close to what I get at my favorite Thai restaurant. It’s Asian comfort food and it’s not as tricky to make at home 🏡 as you might think. Once you gather just a few of the must-have-staples you can put this together anytime you get a “han-karen” 🤣for delicious Pad Thai. I’m making this one with chicken 🐓, but you can substitute and change it up any way you like best. You can make your favorite version, with shrimp 🍤, tofu, all veggie🥗 or any combination.
There are as many versions of Pad Thai as there are any cherished family favorite recipes. This is my go to! It comes from the best of many different versions. I try to keep it authentic as possible yet easy enough to make at home 🏡.
By the way, You can get my recipe for Thai Coconut Soup 🍜 here https://wp.me/p9KEfL-1ve
The Recipe, Pad Thai
Soak the rice noodles in cold water for 60 minutes. Drain and set aside. (I have to admit that I did not have the rice noodles for this version and I used Udon noodles instead and it was still super delish! Just cook them as per the package directions, drain and then let them cool and proceed as per the recipe.)
For the Sauce
Into a medium sized bowl, add 3 tablespoons of tamarind paste (see notes in the recipe for how to prepare paste from pods if you cannot find tamarind paste in your store).
Add 1/4 cup hot chicken stock and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar or palm sugar. Mix well, and let the mixture sit about 15 minutes to dissolve the sugar and the tamarind paste. Add 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce. I used about 2 tablespoons of mild Thai chili sauce.
The sauce is loaded with flavor, but not too hot🌡 If you like your sauce hot 🥵 , substitute the mild Thai chili paste for 2 teaspoons of either hot Thai chili paste 🌶 or sriracha sauce to taste. Test for the flavors. The sauce should be strong, but also a bit sweet, then spicy-salty, followed by sour. If it’s too sour from the tamarind, add a bit more sugar to taste.
Set aside while you make the Pad Tai.
For the Garnish
Prepare your garnishes first. I like to use roasted peanuts, cilantro, and green onions.
Clean and chop 1 small bunch of green onions. Chop all the white parts and most of the green. Chop 1/4 cup fresh cilantro.
Put the dry roasted peanuts into a sealed plastic bag and crush them. Leave some variety of size and texture. Set all the garnish aside.
For the Pad Thai
Trim the second bunch of green onions to about 3 onches the slice in half.
Clean and seed 1 large red bell pepper and slice into thin strips.
Mince 4 cloves of garlic.
Rinse 2 cups of bean sprouts and pat dry.
Cut two boneless skinless breasts of chicken into small cubes, about 1 inch.
Into a wok or large saute pan, add 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Once hot, add 4 minced cloves of garlic until very fragrant, but not too long that it starts to burn. Quickly, add the chicken and stir to cook through, about 4 minutes.
Next, add the bell pepper and the trimmed green onions, cooking about 2 minutes. Add the bean sprouts and cook just about 30 seconds.
While continuously stirring, add the drained noodles with a little water, about 1/4 cup to keep the noodles from sticking together. Add the Pad Thai sauce, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.
Move the noodles and chicken to the side, creating a space in the center of the pan or wok. Add the 🥚🥚 eggs quickly, then top the cooking eggs with the noodles.
Once the eggs are cooked, about 2 minutes, mix the eggs with the noodles/chicken until everything is well combined, just about 1 more minute.
To Serve 🍲
Put the Pad Thai onto a serving platter and top with ground chopped peanuts, chopped green onion and sprinkle with fresh cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
Notes
*Tamarind Paste can be difficult to find in some areas. I make my own by soaking dried tamarind pods in hot water for 30 minutes. Tamarind is a pod that grows on shrub. The pod is covered in a crispy shell that breaks off easily. The fruit inside is full of large seeds and fibers. It's very easy to work with. After soaking, all you do is remove the shells, which is very easy to do, they just come right off. Next, they have sort of a cage of fiber. You can pull the fiber right off and remove the seeds. Using your hands, you just push the fruit through the sieve and the seeds and the fiber are left in the mesh. Discard the fiber and seeds and the tamarind is left and ready to use.
You can find the dried pods in the international spices section of most markets.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless breasts of chicken (8 ounces)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 lb medium sized dried rice noodles (soaked for 1 hour in cold water, drained)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons mild Thai chili sauce (or 1-2 teaspoons hot chili sauce, to taste)
- 1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts
- 2 bunches green onion (divided)
- 2 cups fresh bean sprouts
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 2 limes cut into quarters
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- Pad Thai Sauce
For the Pad Thai Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Tamarind Paste (see notes below)
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3-4 tablespoons brown sugar or palm sugar
- 2 tablespoons mild Thai chili sauce/paste
- Optional: 1-2 teaspoons Thai chili sauce/paste, hot or sriracha sauce to taste
Instructions
For the Pad Thai Sauce
- Into a medium sized bowl, add 3 tablespoons of tamarind paste (see notes in the recipe for how to prepare paste from pods if you cannot find tamarind paste in your store).
- Add 1/4 cup hot chicken stock and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar or palm sugar. Mix well, and let the mixture sit about 15 minutes to dissolve the sugar and the tamarind paste. Add 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Add 2 tablespoons of mild Thai chili sauce/paste. If you like your sauce hot substitute the mild Thai chili paste with 1-2 teaspoons of either hot Thai chili sauce or sriracha sauce to taste. Test for the flavors. The sauce should be strong, but also a bit sweet, then spicy-salty, followed by sour. If it's too sour from the tamarind, add a bit more sugar to taste.
Prepare garnishes
- Clean and chop 1 bunch of green onions. Use all the white parts and most of the green. Chop 1/4 cup fresh cilantro and Put the dry, roasted and salted peanuts into a sealed plastic bag and crush most of them. Leave a bit of variance in size. Set all the garnish aside.
For the Pad Thai
- Soak rice noodles for 1 hour before preparing the dish, then drain.
- Trim the second bunch of green onions to about 3 inches the slice in half.
- Clean and seed 1 large red bell pepper and slice into thin strips.
- Mince 4 cloves of garlic.
- Rinse 2 cups of bean sprouts and pat dry.
- Cut two boneless skinless breasts of chicken into small cubes, about 1 inch.
- Set burner to medium high to high heat. Into a wok or large saute pan, add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Once hot, add 4 minced cloves of garlic until very fragrant, but not too long that it starts to burn. Quickly, add the cut chicken breast pieces and stir to cook through, about 4 minutes.
- Add the bell pepper and the trimmed green onions, cook about 1-2 minutes. Add the bean sprouts and cook about 30 more seconds, stirring to combine.
- While continuously stirring, add the drained noodles with a little water, about 1/4 cup to keep the noodles from sticking together. Add the Pad Thai sauce, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.
- Move the noodles and chicken to the side, creating a space in the pan or wok. Add the eggs quickly, then top the cooking eggs with the noodles.
- Once the eggs are cooked, about 2 minutes, continue to mix the eggs with the noodles/chicken until everything is well combined, just about 1 more minute.
To Serve
- Put the Pad Thai onto a serving platter and top with ground chopped peanuts, chopped green onion, lime wedges and sprinkle with fresh cilantro.
