The exact date that I started this blog two years ago has come and gone… I guess that’s what happens when you’re having fun riding roller coasters with your adorable niece instead of writing blog posts! But we shouldn’t let minor details like exact dates prevent us from continuing to celebrate, right?!
We kicked off the two-year anniversary celebration with a video of how to make som tam (Thai green papaya salad). This was a dish that I had made many times before, but it wasn’t until I watched the boyfriend’s mom make it that I realized how a good som tam should be made. So how about continuing the video series with another dish that I’ve struggled to get right? Yes, you guessed it. Next up is pad Thai!
Because pad Thai is so loved here in America, it was one of the very first dishes that I tried to make. And that first attempt was, well, memorable. But it wasn’t because I did anything heinously wrong. I started with a decent recipe. I had the right ingredients. I had a general idea of what I was supposed to do. It just wasn’t a stellar pad Thai.
Several attempts later, I finally had a dish that was blog-worthy (let’s call it year 0). But when I tried to make it again, I found that it would be absolutely wonderful sometimes and only so-so other times. And I have to admit, it’s pretty embarrassing to invite friends over for a so-so pad Thai!
So over the course of the next year, I continued to practice and experiment (year 1). I realized that the two main problems I was having were 1) proper rehydration of the pad Thai noodles and 2) getting the taste of the pad Thai sauce just right. For the noodles, fixing this problem was as simple as doing a little experiment with my kitchen timer. After a few trials, I concluded that precooking them for 6 minutes produced the perfect noodle consistency for me (I’d encourage you to do the same experiment in your own kitchen). The sauce was a little harder to get right because it was based on taste, but with a year’s worth of tasting experience, I had gotten to the point of being able to taste and adjust until it was just right.
This year (year 2), I’ve formalized the sauce even more. Because after tasting and adjusting and tasting and adjusting, I realized that I was always needing to add more sugar to achieve the perfect balance. This new sauce works well for me without so much reliance on my tastebuds, which is always a good thing when you’re just starting to cook Thai food! In addition to perfecting the sauce, I’ve also realized the importance of getting the sauce to noodle ratio just right. Because no matter how good your sauce is, if you don’t add enough of it, you’re going to end up with bland noodles.
With these simple little tweaks, making pad Thai is easier now than ever. The recipe and video below incorporate everything I’ve learned about making pad Thai over the past two years. I hope it helps in making your pad Thai the best you’ve ever eaten!
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon tamarind paste (see instructions below)
- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 Tablespoon palm sugar
- 1 Tablespoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon shallots, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salted cabbage, chopped
- 1/4 cup fried tofu, sliced into small rectangular pieces
- 3-4 medium sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 4 Tablespoons pad Thai sauce
- 1 Tablespoon shrimp paste in soya bean oil
- 1 egg
- 2 ounces dry medium size rice noodles
- 1/4 cup bean sprouts
- 1/4 cup garlic chives, cut into 1" pieces
- 2 teaspoons roasted peanuts, chopped
- lime slices, roasted chili flakes, white sugar as accompaniments
Instructions
- Make tamarind paste by mixing 1/4 cup of wet tamarind with 1/2 cup of hot water. Mash between your fingers until the tamarind forms a paste and then strain to get all seeds and veins out.
- Mix the tamarind paste with the other sauce ingredients and heat over medium heat until everything is dissolved.
- Prepare your pad Thai sauce and all other ingredients. Once you start cooking, you won't have time to wash, chop, or mix anything.
- Heat a pot of water on medium heat until small bubbles appear on the bottom. Blanch the rice noodles in this water for 6 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a wok to medium-high heat. Add a bit of oil and wait until it's hot. Then add the garlic, shallots, and salted cabbage and saute until garlic is golden brown.
- Add the fried tofu and shrimp and saute until they are cooked through. By the time they're done, your rice noodles should also be done.
- Drain the rice noodles and immediately put into the wok. Add the pad Thai sauce and shrimp paste in soya bean oil and stir to incorporate.
- Move everything to the side of the wok and scramble an egg on the other side. Once it's done, incorporate it with the noodles.
- Add the bean sprouts, garlic chives, and peanuts. Stir fry for just a few seconds more until the chives are barely wilted. Take off the heat immediately.
- Serve with lime slices, roasted chili flakes, and white sugar on the side. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from David Thompson's Thai Street Food and Chez Pim
Mary C. November 6, 2012 at 11:12 am
Hi Rachel,
I love Pad Thai and want to try making it at home, but only have Tamarind Paste from my local
Indian Grocer. Is this the same? I don’t have a Thai store or even Vietnamese grocer in my
area and know that sometimes we can substitute. Thanks.
Rachel November 6, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Hi Mary! As long as the tamarind paste is just tamarind and water, it should work well. Because it may be more or less concentrated than what this recipe calls for, I’d encourage you to taste the sauce as you’re making it and adjust accordingly. Best of luck!
Tali Simon @ More Quiche, Please November 7, 2012 at 9:58 pm
I’m a kosher vegetarian, so any recipe with shrimp is not something that tends to interest me. I clicked on your video on a whim, though, and I have to tell you — this is one of the best recipe videos I’ve watched to date. Beautiful work!
Rachel November 8, 2012 at 2:15 am
thanks, Tali!
Debby November 8, 2012 at 3:38 am
I’ve just made your sauce for a rice noodle dish tonight. I don’t want to call it pad thai since I didn’t have all of the necessary ingredients to make it. The sauce was delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I can’t wait to make it again with all the right fixings!
Rachel November 10, 2012 at 5:11 pm
Debby, I’m so impressed that you had everything to make the sauce on hand!
Jess November 8, 2012 at 5:44 am
Rachel, this looks so delicious! Your photos are gorgeous. I definitely plan on trying this Pad Thai recipe.
Katia November 8, 2012 at 7:52 pm
I just discovered your website last night. Someone pinned your recipe on Pinterest! Omg! I love your website. I read thru all of your posts and recipes. I can’t wait to try your pad Thai recipe! I have been craving for it! I do make my sauce like yours. Love the video too! Yay!
Happy cooking.
Your New fan, katia
Rachel November 10, 2012 at 5:12 pm
Thanks, Katia! You’re too sweet
Katia November 10, 2012 at 8:47 pm
Question: how are you able to scoop palm sugar from the jar? Do you reheat it in the microwave?
Rachel November 10, 2012 at 9:48 pm
I’m just fortunate enough to find soft palm sugar (see pantry page) rather than the hard rounds or blocks that are more common. When I’m forced to work with the harder variety, I generally use a cheese grater to shred it.
Jo@foodepix.com November 11, 2012 at 1:10 pm
Your pictures are lovely, would love for you to share your pictures with us at foodepix.com.
Jean November 16, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Rachel,
I want to attempt this for my mom’s birthday on Saturday. She is from Thailand and is the biggest critic of local Thai restaurants, so I don’t know what I’m thinking!! Anyway, I can’t locate any palm sugar. My mom might have some in her pantry, but I don’t want her to catch me. What can I use as a substitute, if any? More sugar? Thanks!
Rachel November 17, 2012 at 6:18 am
Hi Jean! I’m really not sure – I’ve seen brown sugar being used instead, but haven’t tried this, so I can’t vouch for it. Alternatively, you could make another noodle dish like pad see ew that doesn’t require palm sugar
Best of luck!
marymoo March 12, 2013 at 3:35 am
Can’t wait to try, I will not be able to find the shrimp paste? Rats! This is my sons favorite food, sometimes its great but sometimes its soso! But he loves them all, great for me! We went to Bangkok two years ago and I am now in love with thai food. My favorite was the tom yum on the floating market. Gf said don’t eat the street food but I just kept stuffing my face!
love all your recipes n videos, hopefully it will help me out in the kitchen! Thanks
Cath April 25, 2013 at 7:59 am
Hi Rachel,
Thanks for you detailed instructions on how to make the pad thai sauce. Otherwise my ripe tamarind would have all gone to candied tamarind land! I love your recipe. keep up the amazing blog.
Sonal April 28, 2013 at 6:30 pm
Hi Rachel,
I am a vegetarian, can you please suggest a substitute for fish sauce?
Thanks!
Rachel April 29, 2013 at 3:19 pm
Hi Sonal, I’m not sure there’s a good substitute for fish sauce in this recipe. I have seen some recipes for vegetarian/vegan fish sauce that may be worth trying like this one (http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-vegan-fish-sauce-130535). Best of luck!
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