Prawn Pad Thai

King Prawn Pad Thai

 

 

Thailand's national noodle dish and favourite on restaurant menus. My version of this classic dish will bring back the taste of that beach on koh samui or night market in Bangkok

 

Despite its relatively simple recipe it is a dish that is really quite hard to get correct. If you trail the internet there are literary dozens of takes on how to make the perfect Pad Thai  Personally I think that both the right taste and texture are required and it does take a bit of practice to get both just right, once you nail it you will be glad you went to the effort.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SbKSc9cRXM

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x34gke2_pad-thai_lifestyle

 

 

 

Whats needed (for 2 persons)

Stick lemon grass
3-4 cloves garlic
One small onion/large shallot
One Large red chilli
Tamarind paste (made into tamarind water)
1-2 limes
Rice noodles (ribbon- 1 nest per person))
Fish sauce
Brown sugar
2-3 eggs
Veg oil
Fresh corriander (small bunch)
Shrimp paste
A red pepper
2-3 spring onions
King prawns (10 for 2 persons)
Pre fried tofu cubes

 

Preparation

Preparation is everything when it comes to this dish as the final cooking is very quick.

 

1. Begin by making a paste out of the onion, garlic, lemon grass  and chilli. If possible use a mortar and pestle but if not a mini blender does the job just fine.
2. Chop up a red pepper and three trimmed spring onions. Set aside for later.
3. If you are using pre fried tofu then set aside with the spring onions and pepper. If you need to fry your tofu cut into small cubes and deep fry now.
4. Roughly chop a handful of peanuts and a small bunch of coriander to act as a garnish. Set aside for later.
5. lightly beat two eggs then fry them into an omelette. Don't worry about making the worlds prettiest omelette, just don't burn it! Once cooked cut the omelette into thin strips to be added to the cooked dish later. Most Thai chefs will encase the noodles in this omelette however I prefer it cut into strips.
6. Prepare your prawns and set aside on a plate for later.
7. Now make a tamarind sauce to flavour the dish. In a saucepan on a low heat add two teaspoons tamarind paste in approx. 35ml water. Then add a heaped tablespoon of brown sugar and two table spoons of fish sauce. Stir on a low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Taste once dissolved and add extra sugar to taste, this sauce should be sweet without being sickly. It is also worth considering that this sauce will be reduced upon cooking so its taste will intensify.
8. Pre cook you noodles. The best kind to use are ribbon rice noodles. It is very important not to overcook these (best that they are a little undercooked) as overcooking does not give the right texture to the final dish.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get cooking

 It is important to make sure you have every thing to hand as the cooking process is very quick. Overcooking can result in a very disappointing final dish. Keep your cooking hob on its maximum setting for the whole cook, if need be remove the wok from the heat to avoid burning things.

 

1. In a hot wok add a little oil then fry the paste for 1-2 minutes until very fragrant. Make sure you do not burn the paste.
2. Add the tofu, spring onion and peppers. Stir fry for 1 minute.
3. Next add your prawns, stir fry until they start to change from grey to pink, around 1 minute or slightly less.
4. Now add your pre cooked noodles. Give a really good stir to make sure the cooked paste coats all the noodles.
5. Then add the tamarind sauce from the saucepan, juice of a lime, then add the cooked egg. Continue to stir fry until the sauce is cooked off. Pad thai is a dry dish and this sauce is to flavour the noodles. To cook it off quickly use the back of your spoon to push the noodles up the side of the wok leaving the sauce to quickly cook off from bottom of the pan. This is an important tip.
6. Once the sauce is cooked off the dish is nearly ready. Add your beansprouts, stir through then remove from heat. You want these beansprouts to remain crunchy.
7. Serve onto plates and garnish with chopped peanuts and coriander.
8. Eat and enjoy
9. Tell your friends about this recipe.