Eat & Drink
Originally published on Tuesday, 18th March 2008
Pad Thai
Serves 2
I think the secret to a good pad thai is the sauce which needs to be thick and slightly tart. My sister in Toronto told me that a number of 'Thai' restaurants there use ketchup instead of tamarind in their pad thai sauce as a shortcut which is rather unfortunate since the sauce is so simple to make.
I'd suggest making double the amount of the tamarind sauce so that you have enough left over in your fridge to make a second batch of pad thai when you are in a hurry. It also makes a great dipping sauce for any kind of vegetables, dumplings or spring rolls.
Ingredients
150 grams dried rice noodles or 250 grams fresh rice noodles
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
A 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 cake of firm tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 eggs, lightly beaten
A handful of medium-sized prawns, peeled and deveined
A handful of bean sprouts
25 grams Chinese pickled white radish, minced
A handful of roasted peanuts, coarsely ground in a mortar and pestle
2 spring onions, finely sliced
A handful of coriander, coarsely chopped
Wedges of lime for serving
Tamarind Sauce
60 grams tamarind pulp
185 mls boiling water
6 tbsp palm sugar, finely grated or chopped
4 tbsp fish sauce
2-3 tbsp chili paste or chili sauce
Instructions
To make the tamarind sauce, place the tamarind pulp in a small bowl and pour over the boiling water. Set aside for 20 minutes, then rub the pulp between your fingers until the texture of the water is thick – similar to ketchup.
Pour the tamarind and water through a fine mesh strainer with a bowl underneath to catch the liquid. Press down on the tamarind fibres to extract as much flavour and liquid as
possible, then discard the tamarind pulp.
Combine the tamarind water, palm sugar, fish sauce and chili paste in a small, heavy based saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally until all the palm sugar has dissolved. Continue to simmer for a further 3-5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside.
If using dried rice noodles, soak them in warm water for approximately 15 minutes or until pliable but not overly soft. Ideally with the texture of a rubber band. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and tofu and stir-fry for 2 minutes until the tofu is crispy and lightly browned.
Add the noodles and a ladleful of the tamarind sauce. Stir the noodles vigorously around in your wok to keep them from sticking together. Add a splash of water if necessary.
When the noodles are tender, push them to one side and add the eggs. Allow them to set slightly and then mix them through the noodles. Make a well in the centre of the noodles and add the prawns, bean sprouts, radish and peanuts. Stir vigourously for 1-2 minutes until the prawns have turned pink and are cooked through. Add a little more tamarind sauce if the noodles are too dry.
Turn off the heat and add the spring onion and coriander. Toss well to combine.
Serve the noodles in large wide bowls with the lime wedges.
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