Chef Mik's Pad Thai

Today I’m preparing Pad Thai, which is a super simple dish to make, from Thailand via Vietnam though in some respects it is perhaps closer to Chinese cuisine in so much as it is a fried noodle dish. One of the main differences between Chinese and Thai food however is Thai food tends to be sweeter as Thailand uses a lot of palm sugar or other sweeteners in their food preparation. The dish is typically garnished with shrimp, peanuts, cilantro, scallions, sometimes cucumbers, tomatoes and pickled vegetables

One thing I like about Pad Thai is that you can make the sauce ahead of time, you can also make more then you need as it will keep for at least a week or two in the refrigerator. What I normally do is make at least a liter at a time, then pour enough for a serving into a squeezey bottle, and just refill accordingly. 

You can also prep the main components separately ahead of time such as the chicken, shrimp, egg scramble and noodles then simply assemble a la minute in a pan or wok when need be. When you are working the line in a busy eatery, cooking for a large group or party or simply cooking for family and/or friends on the go this is a great alternative, that said try it this way at least once first to get a good feel for the dish.

This recipe calls for tamarind, which is basically a pod sort of fruit used in many cultures around the world. In the case of Pad Thai instead of going out of your way looking for the pods and processing them you can use ready made paste, concentrate or juice all of which work fine, though you can also substitute simple broth or stock if you like or don’t have access to tamarind. I will be using both stock and tamarind today.

Pad Thai also calls for rice noodles now there is a seemingly endless verity of rice noodles to choose from, if you get lucky like I did at the store they will be labeled “pad Thai noodles” assuming this is not the case then for this dish what you should look for are flat noodles about 1/2cm wide.

Lastly a word about Galangal which is similar to ginger though perhaps with a bit more of a peppery profile first used in the kitchens of Indonesia it is also commonly used in Eastern medicine. Galangal is a wonderful ingredient not used enough in Western cooking. Look for tight vibrant roots, absent blemishes or any sign of either decay (slime and/or mold) or withering (dried out appearance), sometimes it is sold grated prepackaged.

Shopping List

Chicken, I am using thighs but breast are fine

Shrimp, heads and shells removed

Eggs

Limes

Scallions

Thai chili

Cilantro

Galangal, but ginger is fine

Garlic

Sprouts

Peanuts

Tamarind

Chili sauce or paste, I am using sambal oelek

Chicken stock or broth, I am using a prepared Asian stock

Fish sauce

Soy sauce, I am using mushroom soy

Sugar, I am using palm sugar but brown sugar is fine

My Mad Method

Ready to serve!!!!

Take a look at the ingredients so you have a basic idea what to look out for when you go shopping  

Prepare sauce: 2dl chicken stock or broth, 1dl tamarind concentrate, 2 garlic cloves, 3 TBSP fish sauce, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp chili paste, the juice from half a lime and 2 to 3 TBSP sugar place all ingredients in a small pot, bring to boil melt sugar adjust flavor to taste

Portion scant 75 to 100g chicken per serving, season with soy sauce set aside

Boil a pot of water off the heat add rice noodles consider about 75g per serving steep for about 5 to 6 minutes drain, shock in ice bath to stop cooking and prevent sticking

Shell and devein shrimp and consider 4 to 6 per serving depending on size

Heat wok add 2 TBSP peanut, canola or olive oil heat though, add 3 Thai chilies chopped, 1 TBSP galangal grated, 2 garlic cloves minced and a small handful scallions (white parts only stir fry 30 seconds

Add chicken and cook until ¾ finished

Add shrimp continue stir frying about a minute or so longer or until shrimp has turned pink orange and add two eggs beating it as it cooks when cooked through toss with other ingredients in the pan

Add the noodles along with 1 dl sauce stir to combine, as the sauce dissipates (about 2 minutes) add 1 more dl sauce and repeat until that has been absorbed check consistency to determine if the dish requires any additional cooking if so add additional sauce

Add the sprouts continue cooking for about a minute or so longer until the sprouts have softened adjust seasoning to taste