I was going through my pictures this morning when I found this picture and was instantly experiencing a craving. This was some very delicious Pad Thai, and I have yet to make it again, but now that I’ve found this picture and the recipe that went with it, I will have to remedy that very soon.
The key to making this at home is to prep everything ahead of time. Have your mise en place ready, because once the chicken is cooked, everything else cooks very quickly and it comes together in no time at all. As I’m looking at the ingredient list, there are some scary things in it- fish sauce, dried shrimp, Thai chili sauce specifically. Don’t skip the dried shrimp or the fish sauce. Oh, they smell something fierce when you open up the package, but the flavor they add to the finished product cannot be replicated any other way. For the Thai chili sauce, use a hot sauce you like. In our case we used just a smidge because we were serving this to children. I recall it could have used more. You’ll need to make a trip to an ethnic grocery store or a grocery store with a well-stocked Asian aisle, but it will be worth it to have the necessary ingredients. And then once you have everything on hand, you can make this several times and only need to pick up a few fresh ingredients from time to time.
This recipe is adapted from a recipe for Big Bowl’s Chicken Pad Thai. The directions in the original recipe were pretty indiscernible, so I took the liberty of adjusting it for the home cook. The only big change we made, really was to eliminate the peanuts and use cashews instead, due to a peanut allergy in the home.
In addition to having everything chopped, prepped and ready to go ahead of time, read through the recipe ahead of time so you can be thinking ahead. I’ve put a note in the directions as to where everything comes together very quickly.
Chicken Pad Thai
1/3 of a package of dried Pad Thai rice noodles 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or 2-3 breasts), cut into bite sizes pieces 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sesame oil 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder (we used Ancho, I believe) 1/2 teaspoon paprika 2 tablespoons Thai chili sauce 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 cup peanut oil 1 egg, lightly beaten 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions 2 tablespoons Thai basil, chopped (regular basil will work, but it does need to be fresh) 2 tablespoons cilantro 1 tablespoon dried shrimp (if the shrimp are whole, you’ll want to crush them and then measure out a tablespoon of the bits) 3 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts 1 cup fresh bean sprouts lime wedges for garnishDirections:
Pour very hot tap water over the rice noodles to cover them. let sit for 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly, rinse with cold water and set aside until needed.
Combine the chicken with the cornstarch, salt and sesame oil.
In a small, separate bowl, combine the lime juice, brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, Thai chili sauce and fish sauce. Set aside.
In a wok (or other large saute pan) heat the 1 cup of peanut oil over medium heat. When hot, but not smoking, add the chicken. ( If your pan is not large enough to accommodate all the chicken at once, cook half at a time.) Stir to separate the pieces and cook them evenly. Once they have changed color and cooked through (4 to 5 minutes) remove from the pan to drain.
Here is where the cooking gets fast and furious.
You need to leave about 3 tablespoons or so of oil in the wok, so carefully use a ladle to remove the excess. Put it in a measuring cup in case you need to add an extra drizzle as we go.
Add the beaten egg to the hot oil and stir. It will quickly cook and scramble. Once cooked through, push the egg to the perimeter of the wok and add the scallions to the hot oil. Give them a quick stir, and then we’re going to add our drained rice noodles.
Add the noodles, and toss them around a few times to incorporate the egg and the scallions. Next, we’re going to add the chicken back to the pan. Continue tossing everything around in the pan. The noodles will change texture and soften- if you need to add a little extra oil, definitely do so here, the noodles should be coated lightly with oil and the chicken, egg and scallion evenly distributed. This maybe takes 2-3 minutes depending on the size of your pan. It may take longer if you’ve really filled your pan/wok up.
Once everything is nicely combined and piping hot, add your lime juice/brown sugar/fish sauce mixture to the pan. Give it a quick toss and pull the pan off the heat. Add most of the basil and cilantro (leaving a small pinch for garnish), as well as the dried shrimp, peanuts and fresh bean sprouts. Toss, toss, toss. Stir everything together well so it is all evenly distributed.
Transfer everything to a serving platter. Garnish with the reserved basil and cilantro leaves, as well as lime wedges for serving. This is excellent with a fresh squeeze of lime added to each plate.