Pad thai-blogging

united colors of thai food, originally uploaded by colodio.

Amanda's pad thai recipe sounds delicious.

One good pad thai recipe deserves another. Mine is based on the version developed in the Cooks' Illustrated test kitchen.

I haven't made pad thai in ages. I'm inspired to get some tamarind paste tomorrow and make it again. If I do, I'll post pictures.

Pad Thai
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
3/4 cup tap water
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or the juice of half a lime)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons peanut oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (or to taste)
8 ounces rice noodles
2 large eggs (beaten)
As many big shrimp as you want, peeled
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 medium shallots (minced)
1 teaspoon dried shrimp (chopped fine, optional)
6 tablespoons salted roasted peanuts (chopped coarsely)
5 medium scallions (green parts only, cut on the bias)

1. Put the tamarind paste and the 3/4 of tap water in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave on high until the water starts to bubble. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes.
2. Add the fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and 2 tablespoons of oil to the tamarind water. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cover the rice noodles with hot tap water, set aside. It takes about 20 minutes to soften them properly, so figure out how long it's going to take you to do the other steps and time the immersion accordingly.
4. Heat a big skillet on high, add 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is just about smoking add the shrimp, sprinkle with salt. Turn the shrimp occasionally and cook until opaque and browned. This should take about 3 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside.
5. Take the skillet off the heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil.
6. Reduce the heat to medium, return the skillet to the heat.
7. Add the garlic and shallots. Saute until they are browned.
8. Pour the egg mixture over the browned garlic and onions. Scramble with a fork until dry.
9. Drain the rice noodles. They should be pliant, but not completely soft.
10. Add the noodles and the dried shrimp to the egg mixture. Toss with wooden spoons.
11. Pour in the pad thai water. Increase the heat to high. And cook, tossing, until the noodles are well coated with the sauce.
12. Sprinkle in 4 tablespoons of chopped peanuts.
13. Add the shrimp and 1/4 cup of scallions. Keep tossing gently until all the ingredients are well-mixed and the noodles are done. You may need to add an extra tablespoon of water, or two if the noodles don't soften right away.
14. Transfer the mixture to a serving plate. Sprinkle with the remaining peanuts and scallions. Garnish with cilantro, if desired. Serve with lime wedges.

Don't be intimidated by the large number of steps. When I write out recipes, I like to break everything down into the simplest possible tasks.

Some people get put off when they see a recipe with more than a couple of steps in it, but ironically, the more explicit breakdown makes the recipe simpler to follow.

Try this recipe at home. It tastes exactly like the best restaurant pad thai--only better because you can fine-tune the seasonings and load up on fresh shrimp.

Pointers for success:

Have all the garnishes and additions chopped up and organized in custard cups before you start the actual cooking.

Tamarind paste and fish sauce are not optional!!

Be careful with the dried shrimps. Brands vary dramatically in their fishiness. I often use less dried shrimp than the recipe calls for if the dried shrimp smells especially fishy. You can always sprinkle more on top as a garnish.

Sometimes, I'll add sauteed tofu and/or bite-sized strips of chicken breast. If you're adding chicken or firm tofu, saute it at the stage you would have cooked the shrimp. If you're using both chicken and shrimp, add the chicken to the hot pan first to give it a bit of a head start on cooking.