Pad Thai

Pad Thai

After I ran our Healthy Thai Cooking class earlier in the year, Hannah requested a good Pad Thai recipe. I couldn’t believe I didn’t think to include one in the class. So here it is better late than never. Pad Thai is one of those dishes most people order as a benchmark of how good a Thai restaurant is.

serves 4 as part of a Thai banquet
150g (5oz) rice sticks or dry rice noodles
2 eggs
2 large handfuls beansprouts
large handful chopped roasted peanuts or cashews
for the sauce:
3 tablespoons lime juice + extra limes to serve
3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1-2 small red chillies, finely chopped

1. Place noodles in a heat proof bowl and cover with boiling water. Stand for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk the eggs lightly in another small bowl.

3. After 5 minutes, drain the noodles.

4. Heat a wok on a very high heat.

5. Add a little oil and the eggs. Cook for about 20 seconds before stirring and adding the drained noodles.

6. Stir fry for a few seconds then add the sauce mixture and the bean sprouts.

7. Continue to stir fry until everything is hot. Serve with nuts on top with lime halves.

Leftover Potential?

The noodles go a bit gluggy so I like it best when hot from the wok. Will keep in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

Variations for serving sizes

If you need to increase the recipe, best to cook in batches so you don’t over crowd the wok.

Variations

main course – brown some chopped chicken or prawns in the wok. Set aside and add to the pad thai just before serving.

herby – toss in a few handfuls of coriander leaves (cilantro) or mint. Basil is nice too.

vegetarian / vegan – replace fish sauce with soy sauce.

egg-free – just skip the eggs and increase the nuts to make it more substantial.

Problem Solving Guide

noodles falling apart – this means they have been over-cooked. It’s important to only soak them for 5 minutes. And make sure your noodles aren’t too thin. Rice noodles that look more like fettucini are best. Next time use thicker noodles or soak for less. Also they don’t need loads of time in the wok so be mindful of that as well.

bland – add a little more fish or soy sauce and possible more lime juice.

too dry – toss in a little more of all 3 sauces or drizzle with a little oil.

sticking to the wok – either your wok isn’t seasoned enough or it wasn’t hot enough or you didn’t use enough oil.

noodles too crunchy – I like them to be on the ‘al dente’ side because otherwise they tend to tip on to the overcooked and falling apart edge too quickly. But if you find them too hard, keep cooking in the wok until softened to your liking. And next time consider soaking the noodles slightly longer.

Serving Suggestions

In a bowl as part of a Thai banquet with nuts on top and lime wedges on the side.

___

back to Thai Banquet Menu page
back to Stress-Free Entertaining overview page