When the oldest noodle, 4,000 years old to be exact, was unearthed in China, it was big news to a lot of people. Particularly Italians and Chinese, who have long debated the true origin of noodle and pasta making. Some archaeologists question whether or not Marco Polo even reached China since Chinese archaeologists have no records on his travels. It was possible that the Chinese were trading with the Middle-East long before Marco Polo reached China. Who knows, maybe noodles originated from Egypt. Well whatever the case, I thank China, Italy and the Middle East, for I love noodles to death. I eat them at least five times a week, preferably with soup.
To kick off a new category within my blog, I’ve decided to write about the ubiquitous Thai dish: Pad Thai, which literally means “Thai-style fried noodles”. Chinese cuisine was hot in the 80s, and succeeded by Thai cuisine in the late 90s. Even now, it’s very popular. I’m not really into this dish, but figured I should practice cooking all kinds of Thai food if I want to become a good cook. Even my dad, who speaks Thai, doesn’t care much for the dish. It might be safe to say that this is a totally bastardized dish like Kung Pao chicken, Egg Foo Young and anything from P.F. Chang’s menu. I have to say, I do like their lettuce wraps though.
This dish is very simple to make, and like most Asian dishes, relies heavily on prepping food beforehand and only a few minutes or so to cook it.
Ingredients:
1 bag of fresh rice (pad) noodles (vacuum-sealed)
chicken or shrimp, or both
bean sprouts
green onions (1” cuts or chopped)
cilantro
2 eggs
tamarind chili paste/extract
ketchup (if you can’t find tamarind paste)
sugar
fish sauce (mmm)
crushed peanuts
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
limes (garnish)
Party time:
(1) I like to finish the eggs off first, and foremost. Scramble the eggs, and in a hot pan, medium heat, cook the eggs by swirling them in the pan till they are lightly cooked. Don’t overcook or burn it, you’ll be tossing them back in for a last re-heat. Set aside and chop the eggs however you like.
(2) Next, salt and pepper the chicken or shrimp and cook in the oiled pan over high heat with the minced garlic. You’ll want to par-cook them, because again, you’ll be throwing them back in for a last re-heat. Once the chicken or shrimp is cooked about 75%, take them out and set aside. If you really want to make a flavorful pad thai, marinade the chicken in a little bit of fish sauce, shaoxing rice wine, pepper, a little bit of sugar and corn starch (tenderizer). Let that sit for 30 minutes and get the Glade spray ready before you start cooking.
(3) Toss the noodles into the hot, oiled pan and start adding the fish sauce, tamarind paste or ketchup (for flavor and color) and sugar to balance out. Again, I don’t provide exact measurements because I’m an eyeballer cook. And also, everyone has his own preference. If you like it salty, add more fish sauce. If you like it sweet and sour, add more sugar and tamarind paste/ketchup. It’s that easy.
(4) Because most of us don’t own a Viking stove with a 15,000 BTU burner, it’ll take a long time to cook the noodles. It will also get very DRY. If it does, just add a little bit of water gradually to loosen up the noodles and get the fish sauce/tamarind paste/ketchup mixture to spread out more evenly.
(5) Taste the noodles to check for doneness. Once you’re happy with it, add the chicken or shrimp. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add bean sprouts (earlier if you don’t like them crunchy like I do), green onions, crushed peanuts and cilantro at the end.
(6) You’re ready to serve. Serve with lime and Sriracha hot sauce for heat.
Thanks for reading.
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