Pad Thai is my number ONE, drool over it, can’t live without it, dish and when I realized that, due to the sugar, I would not longer be able to eat it, I was…well…at first I was okay with that. Just figured, like everything else, I’d have to make it myself. Then I actually tried and had a very large noodley disaster on my hands. Not to be defeated, I tried a different recipe, with much better results. Literally, this recipe tastes just like the pad thai I’d order at my local Thai place.
Ingredients.
1 package rice “stick” noodles- I use Royal Blossom brand. Just make sure they aren’t the WIDE rice noodles.
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup tamarind concentrate (its important, get the concentrate, not the sauce. May need to make a trip to a local asian market)
1/2 cup palm, coconut or beet sugar (if using palm sugar, make certain it is PURE palm sugar)
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 chicken breasts, diced
1 red onion, sliced thin
3 more cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1-2 eggs
bean sprouts
chopped peanuts, toasted
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 lime or a bit of lime juice
A bit of olive oil
1. Put the palm sugar, tamarind, fish sauce and 1st round of garlic in a saucepan and heat on medium-low, stirring, until the palm sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool a bit before putting it into a tupperware or bowl and getting it out of your way.
2. In a large pot, heat water to boiling and add the rice noodles. Cook for 3-4 minutes (don’t overcook) and drain. Rinse the noodles for a minute under cold water and then leave them to continue draining in the sink.
3. In a wok or large frying pan (and I mean large) add the oil and heat on med-high. Add the chicken and cook until just about done, 3-4 minutes per side. It will finish cooking in the next bit. Remove the chicken from the heat and set aside.
4. In the same pan, heat up more oil and sautee the rest of your garlic and red onions. Don’t brown, just soften them. Add the noodles and fry for about 1 minute, but keep them moving in the pan, so they don’t literally fry.
5. Add the sauce, a few tablespoons at a time, mixing into the noodles after each addition. Remember, pad thai isn’t soupy, so don’t overadd. Plus, the sauce is pungent and it is easy to overdo it. You can always keep the sauce separate and add more when you need it later.
6. Add the chicken back in along with the green onions and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Move everything in the pan to one side and crack the eggs in the bare spot. Let cook for 1 minute, then scramble until fully cooked and mix back in with the remaining ingredients.
8. FInally, remove from heat and serve with the bean sprouts, cilantro, lime wedge and peanuts for garnish.
This recipe didn’t actually call for adaptation, since many Thai recipes use palm sugar anyway, but it was a simple recipe that actually worked for me and I was so delighted, I had to share it!
original recipe found at http://savorysweetlife.com/2009/06/a-favorite-thai-stir-fry-noodle-dish-at-home-pad-thai-recipe/
HoneyBee 