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Pad Thai

Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook

Pad Thai is may be one of the dishes that I can eat on a daily basis. It is so good; it is impossible to resist.

This Pad Thai has been in the works for some time now. It was back in March this year when I made my first Pad Thai. The issues I had was in the sauce and the slight “dryness” of the dish after I added the eggs. Other than those issues, everything was perfect. And of course, all was gone; nothing went to waste.

The first attempt: I put a lot of fish sauce. You can really say “something smells fishy”, like, literally.

The second attempt: I toned down the fish sauce a bit – perfect this time, but I had an issue with the sweetness – it was not enough.

The third attempt: everything was perfect.

The fourth attempt: I had to make sure the recipe was perfect (at least for me) so I had to make it again using the measurements I used during the third attempt.

Just so you know, no Pad Thai went to waste during the four attempts. Everything was well enjoyed and our tummies were happy.

Pad Thai is a very famous dish in Thailand. It is made up with rice noodles, eggs, peanuts, Pad Thai sauce, choice of meat, tofu, mung bean sprouts, and other veggies. It is sweet, savory, and tangy.

Some Pad Thai has sweet preserved daikon radish, but it was not available when I made this. I just added more sugar to make up for the sweetness. Will try someday when I get my hands on sweet preserved daikon radish.

IS PAD THAI COMPLICATED TO MAKE?

No, it isn’t. However, it is time consuming as you have to gather all the ingredients before cooking because the cooking itself can be done quickly.

After many attempts, I was more than happy with the result. The noodles are chewy. The whole dish is sweet, savory, tangy, and oh so good! One serving is not enough, and I am not even kidding. Well, I am only speaking based on my experience. Can’t wait to make this again!

NOTES:

WANNA SEE HOW I MADE THIS?

I’ve shared a recipe video on our YouTube channel. I hope you can check it out. While you are there, maybe you’d see something you’d like. If you do, please don’t forget to share, like and subscribe. Hope to see you there!

I am bringing this to Fiesta Friday #394 where I will be co-hosting this week. Please come and join us.

Also sharing at Full Plate Thursday, 550 | WEEKEND POTLUCK #493 | What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link up #329 | Happiness is Homemade | LOU LOU GIRLS FABULOUS PARTY 387 |

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Pad Thai

The noodles are chewy. The whole dish is sweet, savory, tangy, and oh so good!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 5
Author Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook

Ingredients

Pad Thai Sauce:

  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 6 tbsp hot water
  • ½ cup tamarind paste
  • 2-3 tbsp fish sauce (see notes)

Others:

  • Cooking oi
  • 10-15 large shrimps, shelled and deveined
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • 8 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 5 tbsp dried shrimps
  • 1 tsp bird’s eye chili flakes
  • 150 g tofu cutlet, sliced (see notes)
  • 200 g rice noodles, size: 5 mm and cooked according to package instructions (see notes)
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups bean sprouts + more for garnish
  • 5 garlic chives, cut into 3 inches long + more for garnish
  • 1/3 cup roasted peanuts + more for garnish, chopped
  • Lime, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

  2. In a bowl, add brown sugar and hot water; mix until sugar is dissolved. Add tamarind paste and fish sauce. Mix everything. Set aside. (If you are not used to fish sauce, start with 2 tbsp. You can always add a drop or two after doing the taste test.)

  3. Add oil to a pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot enough, add shrimps and cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside.

  4. Using the same pan, add more oil if necessary. When the oil is hot enough, add onion and garlic; cook for about 2 minutes. Add dried shrimps (if using large dried shrimps, you can chop them into smaller pieces) tofu and bird’s eye chili flakes. Mix and cook for about 1 minute. Add the cooked rice noodles and add the Pad Thai sauce (you may not need to add all the sauce, I saved some for “drizzling”). Mix until noodles are well-coated.

  5. Remove the noodles from the pan and transfer to a plate. Using the same pan, add more oil. When the oil is hot enough, add eggs. Scramble the eggs according to your desired doneness, then crumble the cooked eggs. Return back the noodles to the pan and mix. (I removed the noodles from the pan because the pan I used is not big enough to set the noodles aside and cook the eggs on the same pan. If the pan you are using is big enough, no need to remove the noodles when cooking the eggs >> you can just set the noodles aside, add more oil to the “vacant” space to cook the eggs, then add the eggs and cook according to your desired doneness. After that, just mix the eggs and noodles together.)

  6. You can turfn off the heat at this time. Add bean sprouts, garlic chives, and roasted peanuts. Mix everything.

  7. To serve: put the Pad Thai on your plate, top with shrimps, tofu, then add bean sprouts, garlic chives, roasted peanuts, bird’s eye chili flakes and lime on the side.

  8. Squeeze lime on top and drizzle with the remaining Pad Thai sauce! Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

  • I used X.O. Rice Stick (M) 5mm Noodles and followed the package instructions on how to cook it. After soaking the rice in hot water, I drained the noodles and proceeded with the preparation of the other ingredients.
  • For the tamarind paste, I used a Thai brand.
  • If you don’t have tofu cutlet, you can use pressed tofu. Otherwise, you can also fry firm tofu that are cut into cubes.
  • If you are not used to fish sauce, start with 2 tbsp. You can always add a drop or two after doing the taste test.
  • As for the sugar, I tried palm sugar, coconut sugar, and brown sugar. I prefer the brown sugar more.
  • Because the pan I used is small, I removed the cooked Pad Thai and transferred it to a plate, then I cooked the eggs on the same pan, and added the cooked noodles when I got my desired doneness of the eggs.
  • I saved some sauce, just in case I needed to add more just before serving.
  • This is good up to 5 servings. Leftovers can be reheated in a microwave oven. However, noodles will not be as soft on the 3rd If cooking for 2 persons, you may half the recipe.
 
If you make this recipe, please send me a photo on my Instagram account (@thenotsocreativecook).

Thanks a bunch for spending your precious time with me!

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