Wednesday 14 February 2018

HOW TO MAKE AN AUTHENTIC PAD THAI!

Somehow I managed to avoid Thai food for many, many years but looking back wouldn’t really be able to tell you why. Maybe it was one of those subconscious dislikes one develops as a child after a bad experience or maybe it was because it wasn’t really widely available around me growing up, Thai cuisine not as commonly found in Germany as say it’s Italian or Turkish counterparts. In any case until very recently I would have very happily and quite ignorantly turned away a red Thai curry or pad Thai in favour of another Asian dining alternative like Japanese or Chinese. However I stood to be converted...

Thai cuisine indeed, when made properly, is incredibly tasty, not too greasy and full of fresh flavours...and to my surprise not too tricky to make at home authentically.

Of course there are few factors to consider before you attempt the most famous of all Thai takeaway dishes, the pad Thai, at home. Firstly you need an authentic and reliable recipe to go by. A lot of things that come up after conducting a quick google search for pad Thai recipes are far from the real deal and don’t even get me started on those meal kits you can get at the supermarket - yes they may contain a sauce that calls itself authentic but the fact that it has a shelf life of a year really doesn’t scream out fresh to me. Not that I am against it full stop, if you fancy a pad Thai “style” dinner that doesn’t require much effort than this will do the trick. I have however always been of the cooking persuasion of wanting to recreate a dish as convincingly and authentically as I can, getting as close to the original that I love as possible and in a way getting quite competitive in the processes, nailing the prep and execution of an unfamiliar dish.

It was only natural then that when I stumbled across a pad Thai recipe from my all time favourite Thai restaurant in London, Rosa’s, in The Independent to promote their new cookbook that I had to give it my best shot. Ok, some of you may say what’s the point of you making it when you can order the same thing but there is something hugely gratifying about cooking it yourself plus it allows you to tweak the dish to your tastebuds. It also somehow just tastes that tiny bit better fresh out of the wok than when delivered via deliveroo and if you can be bothered to make the effort (and heck I will still be ordering it from Rosa’s once a while when I’m stretched for time or too hungover to even walk to Sainsbury’s) because it is worth it.

One last thing to bear in mind is that you will need to visit an Asian supermarket as some ingredients are little obscure (dried turnip anyone?) but are so, so worth seeking out as they make the dish truly authentic. Plus once you have all the basic Asian store cupboard ingredients like palm sugar and tamarind you can easily make this dish again and again as the other components needed are pretty standard and easily found in even the smallest Sainsbury’s Local (I’m talking rice noodles, eggs, peanut, bean sprouts and some prawns).

The sauce is prepared super quickly and I had all things chopped up ready by the time my friend arrived for supper. After a few glasses of wine all that was left to do was to heat up the wok (I would recommend using one instead of a pan), scrambling your eggs and chucking all the other bits in! The end result was pretty much one of the best pad Thais I’ve ever had (if I do say so myself) and had a real depth of flavour that had me talking about how I had conquered this Thai classic for days after!

I say challenge yourself a little and give this one a go! I for one have firmly added it to my recipe repertoire that’s for sure!

Serves 2

4 eggs, beaten
300g rice noodles, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes, then drained
8-10 prawns, shelled, deveined and heads removed
2 tbsp dried turnip (available from Asian supermarkets)
2 handfuls of bean sprouts
Chilli powder, to taste (optional)
Bunch of Chinese chives or 2 spring onions, chopped
4 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed
Lime wedges, to serve

For the pad thai sauce
3 tbsp tamarind pulp
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 shallots, chopped
2 tbsp palm sugar
1 tbsp nam pla (Thai fish sauce)

First make the pad thai sauce. Soak the tamarind pulp in 6 tablespoons of warm water, then stir until it becomes a thick liquid. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok, add the shallots and stir-fry until almost golden brown. Carefully add the tamarind (in case it spits) and cook for 1 minute to reduce slightly.

Add the palm sugar, stirring to break it up, then stir in the fish sauce and continue to cook over a high heat for 1 minute until it has thickened slightly. Transfer the pad thai sauce to a bowl and set aside. This recipe makes enough sauce for about 4 servings, so store any leftover pad thai sauce in an airtight container and use within 4 weeks.

Now prepare the noodles. Scramble the beaten eggs in a hot wok with the remaining oil, then add the noodles and stir-fry until the egg breaks up and the noodles are soft. Add the prawns and dried turnip and stir-fry until the prawns are nearly cooked. Mix in 8 tablespoons of the reserved pad thai sauce and continue to stir-fry until the noodles take on a nice golden-brown colour. Add the bean sprouts, chilli powder (if using), Chinese chives and crushed peanuts and keep stir-frying for another 2 minutes. Transfer the noodles to 2 serving plates and serve immediately with lime wedges.

Recipe from Rosa’s Thai Cafe: The Cookbook.

7 comments:

Hans Georg Lundahl said...

Sounds nice, and as there is no meat, ideal for Lent!

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