The most famous Thai dish in the world! Making a good pad Thai takes time. There’s a delicate dance with the noodles because they cook in three stages. First you soak them in warm water and they begin to absorb water and soften. In the pan, they first get pan-fried with all the ingredients. Be patient in this stage. Allow them to begin to yield and marry with the hot oil and other ingredients. Once they look soft enough to eat right out of the pan but are slightly al dente, add the sauce to finish their cooking.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Pad Thai Sauce
4 tbsp (60 ml) Thai fish sauce
3 tbsp (45 ml) bottled tamarind paste
1 tbsp (15 ml) lime juice
1 tbsp (15 ml) rice vinegar
4 tbsp (50 g) sugar
Pad Thai
2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp (30 g) packaged shredded sweetened radish
1 tsp dried shrimp
½ cup (95 g) sliced baked tofu
2 eggs
½ cup (95 g) thin strips of chicken breast or thigh
10 large shrimp, peeled and cleaned
3 cups (750 g) medium rice sticks, soaked
2 tsp (10 g) paprika
3 green onions cut into 3" (8-cm) julienne
¼ cup (50 g) chopped dry-roasted unsalted peanuts, divided
1 cup (240 g) bean sprouts
For the Pad Thai Sauce
To make the sauce, combine the fish sauce, tamarind paste, lime juice, vinegar and sugar in a small bowl. Make sure to stir well until the sugar dissolves, then reserve.
For the Pad Thai
Heat a skillet or wok over high heat for about 1 minute or until the pan gets pretty hot. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan completely. When the pan just starts to smoke, add garlic and stir about 5 seconds. Add radish, dried shrimp and tofu and stir-fry until they begin to get fragrant, about 1 minute.
Push the ingredients in the wok to one side and let the oil settle in the center of the pan. Crack the eggs into the pan and add the chicken. As the eggs start to fry, just pierce the yolks to let them ooze. Fold the chicken and eggs over for about 30 seconds or until the eggs begin to set and scrape any bits that are starting to stick. Now stir together to combine all the ingredients in the pan.
Add the shrimp and allow to cook for about 30 seconds until they just start to turn color and become opaque. Add the soaked (and drained) rice noodles and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Add the reserved sauce mixture and paprika and fold together until the paprika evenly colors the noodles and all the liquid is absorbed, about 2 minutes.
Place the green onions in the center of the noodles, and then spoon some noodles over the green onions to cover and let steam for 30 seconds. Stir in 3 tablespoons (38 g) of the peanuts. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with bean sprouts and the remaining peanuts.