Pad Thai Recipe

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About Pad Thai

Pad Thai (Kua Mee in Lao). Pad means stir fry. When we’re not eating rice, we are eating noodles. It's a comfort food. It’s a quick and easy dish to prepare. It’s a common street food in Thailand and Laos. When eating this dish, it brings back the memories of celebrating Thai, Lao, and Cambodian New Years at the temples in the month of April.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• ⅓ cup of water
• ⅓ cup of sweet soy sauce
• ⅓ cup of fish sauce
• ⅓ cup of palm sugar (you may use white sugar)
• ⅓ cup of tamarind paste
• 1 tbsp. of sriracha (optional)
• ⅓ cup of vegetable oil
• 1 pound of fresh or dry Pad Thai noodles. If using dry noodles, soak them in cold water for two hours prior to cooking (do not boil noodles)
• 1 carton of firm tofu, drained and cut into bite size cubes (you may use chicken, beef, pork, or seafood instead of tofu)
• 1 bunch of green onions, chopped into 2-inches strips (you may use wild garlic leaves or Chinese chives instead of green onions)
• 3 raw eggs
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 lime, sliced in wedges
• 1 bag of bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup of unsalted crushed peanuts (or dry roasted peanuts that you can crush yourself)
• 1 tbsp. of chili flakes

Instructions

1. Prepare your Pad Thai sauce: use a large bowl and add sugar, fish sauce, sweet soy sauce, tamarind paste, sriracha, and water.  Mix well using a whisk.
2. Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium heat. I use a 12-inch non-stick skillet to make my Pad Thai, but you can also use an 8-QT stock pot.
3. Add vegetable oil and stir to coat the skillet evenly.
4. Add minced garlic and let it cook for 15-20 seconds or until the garlic turns lightly golden brown.
5. Add tofu and turn up the heat to high heat. Cook the tofu  for 8-10 minutes or until the tofu turns lightly golden brown on all sides. Then push your tofu to one side of the skillet.
6. Crack open the eggs and add both egg white and yolk into the hot skillet. Then mix and scramble your eggs for 1-2 minutes and push them aside, next to the fried tofu.
7. Add the noodles to the skillet.
8. Pour the Pad Thai sauce over the noodles.
9. Mix the noodles with the Pad Thai sauce, tofu, and scrambled eggs until the noodles soften. It can take 5-10 minutes for the noodles to soften depending on whether you are using fresh or dry noodles (dry noodles will take longer to soften).
10. Once the noodles are softened, turn off the heat and add your green onions and bean sprouts.
11. Using two large utensils to thoroughly mix everything in the skillet.
12. Garnish your Pad Thai with crushed peanuts, chili flakes, and a slice of lime.