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Pad Thai

A traditional Thai dish made with flat rice noodles. Known for its tart, sweet and spicy notes derived from palm sugar, tamarind, and Thai chili.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings: 1 person
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 tbsp light cooking oil such as avocado, canola, peanut, corn, whatever your preference.
  • 7 cloves garlic rough chopped I used Asian garlic for this version. It is very small and the paper skin is incredibly thin. Traditionally the skin is not removed in Thai cooking. But if you are using a larger standard garlic clove, use 2 or 3, and peel them first.
  • 3 oz Chicken Any part will do, just make sure it is boneless and skinless and cut into medium sized strips.
  • 2 oz Firm Tofu cut into medium sized cubes.
  • 1 ea egg need I say more?
  • 4 tbsp water nothing to see here, just water.
  • 2 oz dry flat rice noodles you may find them in the grocery store labeled as Pho noodles, Pad Thai noodles, or flat rice.
  • 1 tbsp Tamarind Paste You can usually find this as a paste or pulp in most grocery stores these days. If all you can find is whole tamarind, you can make your own paste by boiling the pods in water until all the pulp has dissolved. press through a strainer. If you can't find any of these options you can substitute lime juice.
  • .5 tbsp Palm sugar Palm sugar is relatively easy to find these days. If you absolutely can't find it brown sugar will suffice.
  • .5 tbsp Fish sauce This is one that you will have to just read the label for gluten free. The traditional ones are almost always gluten free. Avoid the cheap mass produced varieties, they will almost certainly have some sort of wheat extender.
  • 1 tbsp Oyster sauce Again, look for a quality brand. They will almost always be gluten free and labeled as so.
  • 2 each green onions or garlic chives Cut into 1 inch pieces.
  • 1/4 cup bean sprouts washed and reserved. Always use fresh, never canned.
  • 1 tsp Dark soy sauce This is not sweet dark soy, just a dark soy sauce. Also the higher quality brands are usually pure soy and gluten free.
Garnish
  • 1 each lime wedge
  • 1 tbsp Thai chili flake any red chili flake will work
  • 2 tbsp roasted peanuts
  • 3 sprigs cilantro

Equipment

  • Wok
  • Stove top preferrably gas

Method
 

  1. Pour the cold oil into a hot wok and let come to temperature.
  2. Add garlic and stir until it becomes fragrant.
  3. Add the chicken and tofu and stir briefly.
  4. push the wok's contents to one side and crack the egg into the wok.
  5. break the yolk and scramble the egg to one side and let cook for 30 seconds.
  6. Mix contents and again push up to the edge of the wok.
  7. Add water and noodles to the middle of the wok and cook until the noodles become tender, only a few minutes.
  8. Add tamarind, sugar, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and dark soy sauce
  9. stir everything together.
  10. Add chives and sprouts and toss
  11. arrange on a plate and garnish with cilantro, a lime wedge, a sprinkle of chili, and roasted peanuts. serve with the additional chili and peanuts on the side.

Notes

In this variation we substituted shrimp and pork and garnished it with basil.