Receta Pad Thai, Good and Bad
If there is one type of food easy to get wrong, it’s Thai food. Any North American person of Thai descent can tell you this. For example my friend Victoria from Victoria’s Food Secrets, whose Thai mother is a fantastic cook, finds most Thai restaurants in our fair city lacking, while ethnic Europeans like me happily slurp noodles at Thai House, ignorant of the nuances in the varied ingredients and complex flavors that make Thai one of the most exciting and vibrant cuisines on the planet.
I have never been to Thailand but I think I know a good Pad Thai when I taste one. Or not. The Pad Thai I had on Thursday night was an insult to its namesake cuisine. Now mind you, I did order it a food court in the mall after getting my hair done. I shouldn’t have expected much, though I find a few of the purveyors offer some satisfactory choices. But the plate of greasy rice sticks topped with a couple of prawns was beyond the pale. Where was the egg? The tofu? The peanuts? My plate was all noodles and bean sprouts, slimy with what I assume was really bad quality oil. For the eight bucks I spent on it I could have gotten a nice donair.
I should have asked for my money back. Instead I ate the shrimp and picked out the bits of chicken, fuming, and ended up throwing the rest in the garbage. I hate wasting money and I hate wasting food–though those oily noodles hardly qualified as such.
So it’s no surprise that when I was thinking about what to cook this weekend, I settled on Pad Thai. I wanted the real thing this time and I was going to make it from scratch–not with a bottle of sauce from Thai Kitchen. Not that there’s anything wrong with their products. I just wanted the real thing.
This recipe is loosely adapted from Donna Hay, whose recipes I find simple but produce good results.
Before you go, tell me about a time when you have been disappointed with your food. And I mean bitterly so.
Pad Thai
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 300g (10 oz) thick rice noodles
- 2 1/2 teaspoons peanut oil
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste
- 3 red chillies, chopped
- 2 chicken breasts, sliced
- 100g (4 oz) extra firm tofu, diced
- 12 large prawns
- 3 green onions, sliced fine
- 1/3 cup (2 1/2 fl oz) fish sauce
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
- 1/4 roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
Directions:
1) Place the rice noodles in large pot and cover with boiling water. Soak until soft (al dente). Drain and rinse with cold water. Add 2 teaspoons of the oil and toss to coat.
2) Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or deep frying pan over high heat. Add the eggs, swirl around, and cook until just set. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3) Add the remaining oil. Fry the tofu until lightly golden. Add the shrimp paste to the wok and cook until lightly fragrant, about a minute. Add the chili and chicken. Cook for about 5 minutes.
4) Add the noodles, green onions, fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar and cook for 3 minutes. Chop the eggs and toss through the noodles with the bean sprouts and cilantro.
5) Serve immediately with the sprinkled peanuts.
Donna Hay,
Pad thai,
Thai