Pad Thai
Pad Thai
Noodles:
8oz rice noodles (thin, but not really thin, ones)
1 medium size head of garlic, coarsely chopped
one whole chicken breast, sliced (substitute tofu if desired)
dozen or so large shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)
4 tablespoons fish sauce
4 teaspoons brown sugar (or palm sugar if you can get it)
2 limes
4 tablespoons vegetable oil (peanut, preferably)
4 oz or so of tamarind
1 red bell pepper, sliced very thinly
handful of bean sprouts for each serving
Toppings:
dry roasted peanuts, very coarsely ground
limes, quartered lengthwise
green onions, cut very thinly
sambal oelek (chile paste, optional)
dried shrimp, flossed (optional)
a generous amount of fresh coriander
bird's eye chilies, cut coarsely (optional)
fish sauce
You'll probably have to get the tamarind (a type of fruit, preserved as a
semi-dry pulp), rice noodles, sambal, and fish sauce at an Asian food
store. This recipe makes three generous servings, it scales easily
(eg, just double everything if you want more).
Put the tamarind in a bowl and cover with boiling water, mash with a fork,
strain off liquid (you should get about a cup). Soak the noodles in warm
water for at least twenty minutes. Prepare everything else -- slice the
chicken, coriander, etc -- as once you start cooking there's no time to
finish chopping and so on. Put oil in wok on high heat. Add all the
garlic and stir fry, briefly until light golden (optionally, add some
chili paste at this step for a hotter dish). Add the chicken and stir fry
until cooked. Toss in the shrimp and stir fry for a few seconds. Combine
the tamarind liquid, fish sauce, brown sugar, and the juice from two limes
and toss it in (you may need to add water too, the finished dish should be
quite moist). Dump the noodles in and toss over and over until they are
very hot and most of the liquid has been absorbed. On each plate, spread
a handful of bean sprouts to make a "base," and serve the noodles. Let
everyone add toppings to their own taste.
This sounds pretty complicated but it's actually fairly simple, although
you do need to make it a couple of times before you grasp how the flavours
interact. Basically, it should be simultaneously hot, sour, and sweet,
with the bean sprouts providing a cool, crisp counterpoint to the spicy
noodles. Fish sauce is used in Thai cooking much like we use salt, start
with small amounts and add to taste.
Careful with those chilies!
Cheers, Chris.
Chris Auld Department of Economics
Internet: auld@qed.econ.queensu.ca Queen's University
Office: (613)533-2264 Kingston, ON K7L 3N6