Our kitchen adapted this version of Bankok’s Thip Samai restaurant’s pad thai.
Pad Thai
Our kitchen adapted this version of Bankok's Thip Samai restaurant's pad thai.
Yield: serves 4-6
Time:
40 minutes
Ingredients
- 7 oz. dried flat rice stick noodles
- 1 piece seedless tamarind pulp, 3- by 1-inches (2 1/2 oz.)
- 3 tbsp. soft palm sugar or light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
- 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 tsp. Thai chili powder
- 7 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 small shallots, peeled and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 6 oz. medium shrimp, peeled, with tail intact, and deveined
- 2 oz. smoked or fresh firm tofu, cut in 2- by 1-inch strips
- 2 tbsp. tiny dried shrimp
- 1⁄2 bunch Chinese chives or 4 scallions, green part only, cut into 2" pieces
- 1⁄4 cup shredded salted radish
- 1 1⁄2 cups soybean sprouts
- 1⁄4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
- 1 lime, quartered
Instructions
- Soak noodles in a large bowl of hot water until pliable, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the tamarind pulp and 1 cup hot water. Set aside for 15 minutes, then squeeze to soften and break up the paste. Set a fine sieve over a medium bowl and strain the tamarind paste, pressing on the pulp with the back of a spoon to push most of it through, Discarding any fibrous bits that remain. Stir sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, and chili powder into the tamarind liquid and set the sauce aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp. of the oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggs and swirl around skillet to form an even layer. Cook until set on one side, about 1 minute, then turn and cook on other side until set, about 20 seconds more. Transfer omelette to a cutting board, thinly slice, and set aside.
- Heat the remaining 6 tbsp. oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add shallots and garlic and stir-fry until soft, about 10 seconds. Add medium shrimp and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Add tofu, dried shrimp, chives, turnips, half the bean sprouts, half the peanuts, the noodles, the sliced omelette, and the reserved sauce and stir-fry, tossing constantly, until noodles absorb most of the sauce and sauce thickens, 2-3 minutes. Garnish each serving with the remaining bean sprouts and peanuts and serve with limes.