Yesterday I did something I’ve been wanting to do for….five years?
No, I did not get a puppy! Although for the life of me I can’t stop staring at this one. Pinterest is slowly sucking all the life out of me and I.just.can’t.stop.
What was I talking about again? Oh yeah…I made my own pad thai!
And guess what? It really wasn’t as scary as I made it out to be! You see, pad thai is one of my very favorite dishes in the whole entire world but just the thought of actually making it homemade put me in a cold sweat.
You see, anytime I can avoid touching fish sauce I celebrate a little inside. You know what I’m talking about, I know you do. If you don’t, take a sniff. But please then come back and make this recipe! It’s one of those rare circumstances that touching fish sauce is totally worth it. Promise.
I had a favorite restaurant growing up. My friends and I would all go before football games and to celebrate each others fifteenth birthdays with greasy Thai noodles and green tea ice cream.
It was there that my obsession with pad thai began.
I think it was the crushed peanuts…or maybe my own personal extra addition of sriracha sauce. Whatever it was, I just couldn’t get enough of the stuff. Never did it really register that I could probably make my own at home and save ten dollars.
My version is a tweak on a version found in the old yellow Gourmet cookbook. You’ll probably doubt yourself while cooking, you know from the fish sauce and all, but it definitely comes together at the end.
Now if I could just get that puppy…
Homemade Pad Thai
serves 4-6
adapted from Gourmet
Ingredients:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, minced
6 oz raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz extra firm tofu, diced
1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups bean sprouts
2 tbsp tamarind (from a soft block. You can find this at an Asian grocery store)
1 cup boiling water
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
2.5 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp fish sauce (hold your nose!)
8 oz pad thai rice noodles
3 tbsp roughly chopped roasted peanuts
big squeeze sriracha sauce (or 1/4-1/2 tsp red chili flakes)
limes for serving
Directions:
In a glass measuring cup, combine the boiling water and tamarind. Mash with the back of a spoon for a few minutes so the tamarind softens. Pour over a fine mesh strainer or sifter into a small bowl and discard the remaining tamarind chunks. To the tamarind flavored water now add the fish sauce, sugar, salt and sweet chili sauce. Stir well to dissolve the sugar and then set aside.
Cook the rice noodles in a big pot of boiling water for five minutes until cooked through. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Rub a large wok or cast iron skillet with vegetable oil and scramble the eggs over medium heat. Remove scrambled eggs to a bowl and then add the remaining vegetable oil and crank the heat to medium high. Add the shallot and saute for four minutes, followed by the garlic. Add the shrimp and cook for 30 seconds until the tails curl in, followed by the tofu. After cooking, place tofu and shrimp in the bowl with the egg.
Pour the tamarind sauce into the skillet and bring to a boil. Add cooked rice noodles, bean sprouts and green onions followed by the shrimp and tofu. Toss everything together well and finish with a big squeeze of sriracha, more green onions, crushed peanuts and a squeeze of lime.
Time:
30 minutes
Pin It
Yesterday I did something I’ve been wanting to do for….five years?
No, I did not get a puppy! Although for the life of me I can’t stop staring at this one. Pinterest is slowly sucking all the life out of me and I.just.can’t.stop.
What was I talking about again? Oh yeah…I made my own pad thai!
And guess what? It really wasn’t as scary as I made it out to be! You see, pad thai is one of my very favorite dishes in the whole entire world but just the thought of actually making it homemade put me in a cold sweat.
You see, anytime I can avoid touching fish sauce I celebrate a little inside. You know what I’m talking about, I know you do. If you don’t, take a sniff. But please then come back and make this recipe! It’s one of those rare circumstances that touching fish sauce is totally worth it. Promise.
I had a favorite restaurant growing up. My friends and I would all go before football games and to celebrate each others fifteenth birthdays with greasy Thai noodles and green tea ice cream.
It was there that my obsession with pad thai began.
I think it was the crushed peanuts…or maybe my own personal extra addition of sriracha sauce. Whatever it was, I just couldn’t get enough of the stuff. Never did it really register that I could probably make my own at home and save ten dollars.
My version is a tweak on a version found in the old yellow Gourmet cookbook. You’ll probably doubt yourself while cooking, you know from the fish sauce and all, but it definitely comes together at the end.
Now if I could just get that puppy…
Homemade Pad Thai
serves 4-6
adapted from Gourmet
Ingredients:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, minced
6 oz raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz extra firm tofu, diced
1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups bean sprouts
2 tbsp tamarind (from a soft block. You can find this at an Asian grocery store)
1 cup boiling water
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
2.5 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp fish sauce (hold your nose!)
8 oz pad thai rice noodles
3 tbsp roughly chopped roasted peanuts
big squeeze sriracha sauce (or 1/4-1/2 tsp red chili flakes)
limes for serving
Directions:
In a glass measuring cup, combine the boiling water and tamarind. Mash with the back of a spoon for a few minutes so the tamarind softens. Pour over a fine mesh strainer or sifter into a small bowl and discard the remaining tamarind chunks. To the tamarind flavored water now add the fish sauce, sugar, salt and sweet chili sauce. Stir well to dissolve the sugar and then set aside.
Cook the rice noodles in a big pot of boiling water for five minutes until cooked through. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Rub a large wok or cast iron skillet with vegetable oil and scramble the eggs over medium heat. Remove scrambled eggs to a bowl and then add the remaining vegetable oil and crank the heat to medium high. Add the shallot and saute for four minutes, followed by the garlic. Add the shrimp and cook for 30 seconds until the tails curl in, followed by the tofu. After cooking, place tofu and shrimp in the bowl with the egg.
Pour the tamarind sauce into the skillet and bring to a boil. Add cooked rice noodles, bean sprouts and green onions followed by the shrimp and tofu. Toss everything together well and finish with a big squeeze of sriracha, more green onions, crushed peanuts and a squeeze of lime.
Time:
30 minutes
Pin It