Pad Thai with Shrimp

Pad Thai is a well known and popular dish in Thailand and the world, from street vendors to high end restaurants food. Pad Thai in Thailand uses shrimp the most, for street vendors they use dry shrimp, and for more expensive and high end restaurants use fresh shrimp. Here my recipe is from real and original Pad Thai so there are some ingredients you might not be familiar with for example, garlic chives (Chinese chives) and salty radish. There are available at Asian grocery stores. Thai restaurants in North America use green onion instead of garlic chives and they skip the salty radish but if you would like to try the original favor then here it is.

35 cm. or almost 14 inch, and or family size of a wok is the maximum capacity for frying 1 pkg(450g) of Rice stick noodles which is one batch of this recipe. The noodles get enough heat properly will produce the better texture (try not to have the noodles stick on the bottom of the wok).

For the ingredients like Fish sauce, Soya sauce, Oil and Tamarind sauce are adjustable by your own taste. In my culture we learn to cook by estimating the amount of ingredients in mind not by measurement. Often it’s hard for me when I have to follow the recipes with measurements except for making the Western cakes.

Pad Thai with Shrimp (makes approx. 4-6 servings)

Ingredients

1 pkg. (450 g)              dry Rice stick noodles

2/3lb (or 300g) Shrimp

½ pkg (250 g)              pressed Tofu – cubed

3                                  eggs

½ - 1 cup                     chopped Salty Radish (optional)

3 – 4 cloves                  chopped Garlic

2-21/2cups                   Tamarind sauce (see recipe below)

9 -10 tbsp                    Vegetable oil (if it’s too dry you can add more)

2-3tbsp                        Fish sauce (you can adjust your taste by adding small amount each time until suit your taste)

1tbsp.                           Soya sauce

¼ tsp                            Fresh ground white pepper.       

1bl                               Bean sprouts

1bunch                         Garlic chives (Chinese chives) (cut into 1 inch long)

Ground chili pepper

1-2                                                            Limes

  (Room-temperature water depending on how wet the noodles are after adding Tamarind sauce and the noodle are still too dry and you don’t want the noodles are too sour from tamarind sauce then you can add some water.)

Instructions

◦         Place noodles in bowl and cover in room-temperature water.  Soak approx. 1 hr. and drain.

◦         Marinated shrimp in soya sauce and garlic.

◦         Stir-fry tofu cubes with 2-3 tbsp oil until golden., remove tofu from wok

◦         Fry eggs with 2-3 tbsp oil and cut the eggs in the wok with a spade of frying pan.

◦         Add shrimp in eggs. Stir-fry shrimp until nearly cooked and remove shrimp and eggs from the wok. Because this recipe is pretty big it will take a while before everything is cooked, some ingredients need less time and some need longer time so I cook them separately and mix them later but if you make a small batch just for 1 or 2 servings you can stir-fry tofu and then add an egg and then add shrimp and then add noodles and mix well with the sauces.

◦         Add radish and garlic with 2-3 tbsp oil, stir-fry until well mixed.

◦         Add noodles and continue to stir-fry.  Add shrimp, tofu, and eggs, and mix well.  Pour Pad Thai sauce gradually until the noodles absorb the sauce. In the same add fish sauce and stir-fry until noodles are soft and fully cooked.

◦         Add fresh ground white pepper and mix well.

◦         Have a taste if the favors just what you want or need more Fish sauce or Tamarind sauce as your favor.

◦         Remove from heat. Serve.

Garnish with

• Bean sprouts
• Chopped Chinese chives ( cut 1 inch long or you can substitute with green onion)
• Chopped peanuts
• Ground Chili pepper
• A piece of Lime (if you need more sour favor beside from Tamarind)

Pad Thai Sauce (makes 2 batches) you can make this sauce in advance, it can be kept in the fridge for 4 – 6 weeks.

200g.             Tamarind (cake of dried fruit, see picture of Tamarind this blog)

41/2 cakes     Palm Sugar ( 8 cakes in a pkg = 454g) (see the picture of Palm Sugar this blog)

5 cups            Warm Water

Tamarind becomes thick liquid

Instructions

◦         Soak tamarind in water, break and knead tamarind with hand until water becomes thick liquid.

◦         Discard the seeds and pods.

◦         Dissolve palm sugar into tamarind mixture of heat.   Heat to boiling for 10 - 15 minutes.

◦         Set aside.