disclaimer: i'm sorry for being rude
MY SECRET PAD THAI RECIPE
The ingredients are not set in stone so this is more of a general guide to making pad thai than a specific recipe. Also this is just the way i do it so if it's not authentic enough for you or something... just..
INGREDIENTS FOR TEH SAUCE:
- Tamarind paste: usually come in a jar and you can buy it at a grocery shop that sells Indian or Pakistani food. If you can't find this you can use vinegar instead but it's not as good, and use half as much vinegar as you would tamarind. You can also use both if the tamarind taste is too strong on its own.
- Brown sugar: Tamarind has a fruity but very sour taste so you have to balance it out with sugar (and pad thai sauce should be sweet). You can also use white sugar but use a bit less as it is sweeter.
- Fish sauce: You can usually find this with in the 'east asian' food section or whatever. This is the salty component of the sauce. Actually these days i tend to just use light soy sauce instead of fish sauce cos i find the fishy taste to be a bit much. Use a bit less soy sauce than you would fish sauce as it is saltier.
- Garlic if you want.
- Chilies, chili powder: chop em up, throw em in, make it spicy. fuck off.
- Ginger if you want, jesus christ.
Kinda wish i hadn't started this now.. Oh well anyway.. So to make the sauce you put 1/2 cup of tamarind, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup of fish sauce and whatever else you have in a small sauce pan and get it nice and hot so the sugar melts and mix it up. Adjust ingredient ratios to taste. TASTE IT DICKBAG. Cooking is all about tasting stuff as you go along.
FOR THE NOODLES:
- Best kind of noodles to use are Thai rice sticks, but if you can't find them you can use other kinds of noodles.
If you have Thai rice sticks then soak them in luke warm water for 15-20 minutes or however long it takes them to become 'al dente'. If you soak them too long they will be too soft and will get mushy when you cook them. Make sure your drain the water properly.
If you have different noodles, prepare them in such a way that they are about 90% hydrated if that makes sense.
FOR THE... REST:
Use a wok or a big frying pan. I find it is best with these kinds of dishes to cook all the ingredients separately and then combine them at the end (this is especially true for fried rice).
- Use chicken or pork or tofu or nothing at all. Cook the meat/whatever in some of the sauce with some ground up peanuts. Take it out of the pan.
- Beat some eggs (2 or 3) and add a bit of sugar and a bit of the sauce to it and cook the eggs in the wok (its good if you have some fat from chicken or pork left over in the pan). Make scrambled eggs, i like to fry them real good so they start to brown. Take them out of the pan and clean it.
- If you are putting veggies in there this is a good time to fry those up, i use whatever is around.. Broccoli, snow peas, carrots, whatever. Oh yeah don't forget to boil or steam them first. Fry them up with a bit of sauce and take them out, clean the pan.
NOW IS THE TIME TO COOK THE NOODELS
You will have to stir a lot during this part otherwise the noodles will burn.
Get it very hot, put some oil in, throw the noodles in and fry them a couple of minutes. Now pour in a good amount of sauce and throw in a hand full of crushed peanuts, mix it all together. Don't put too much sauce in or it will get sloppy, add it a little bit at a time if you are not sure.
Continue frying until the noodles start getting crispy (i like to burn them slightly
) and then mix in all the other stuff you cooked and fry it for a few more minutes.
TAKE IT OFF THE HEAT
At this point i like to throw in another hand full of crushed peanuts (i like a lot of peanuts in my pad thai but you may want to use less), and some chopped raw scallions which adds a certain juh nuh say quah
SERVE IT AND EAT IT AND PUSH IT OUT THE OTHER END
You can serve it with a slice of lime if you want. Now get out of my sight.
