Pad Thai

Pad Thai has been one of those elusive, challenging dishes for me. This is one of my all-time favorite dishes and one that I've never been satisfied with the homemade version of. And that's not due to lack of trying; this is my fifth attempt (or so)! There were just mishaps every time. One was indescribably "meh" in flavor. Another recipe called for more than 1 egg and wound up tasting like a vinegar egg and pasta scramble. It was a terrible waste of food. The closest I'd gotten is a shrimp version that turned out more like a generic soy sauce dish than the real deal.

But I don't give up that easy.

I think one of the most important factors is the tamarind paste. The recipe indicated that it's not uncommon for restaurants to use ketchup in place of the tamarind paste, resulting in the reddish color (tamarind paste is a medium brown color) I am used to. Clearly it's cheaper to do it that way, and gives some extra sweetness.

Since the past few times I attempted the dish were not what I would deem as positive, I went with a new brand of tamarind paste. I can't say anything negative about the prior brand I used, since I don't know that it was the fault of the tamarind or the recipe.

I mentioned a few recipes back that I'd popped into an Asian market in anticipation of making Ramen and got some noodle recommendations. Specifically for Pad Thai, a wheat noodle was suggested. Though I tend to work with sweet potato starch noodles, I think given my poor track record with Pad Thai that a different approach was warranted. So I took the advice and grabbed some new noodles.

I sauteed some garlic, mushrooms, sweet peppers, and grated carrots in a pan, then spooned everything over to the side and added one lightly beaten egg, which I scrambled while the veggies cooked. Here's the deal with the egg: I like what some egg adds to Pad Thai. But the recipe I checked out for this version called for four eggs, which I knew from my prior experience could be overwhelming. For this reason, I went with one. I scrambled the eggs in the pan, then stirred the veggies and cooked eggs together.

Now on to the sauce. The truly challenging part. I went with a base mix of tamarind and ketchup, whisked in a small bowl. I then added in brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice and crushed red pepper. I poured the sauce into the pan and lowered the heat to medium low. I let it cook for 1-2 minutes, then stirred in the green onions and cooked pasta and removed the pan from the heat.

Topped off with some peanuts, bean sprouts, and a lime wedge, this turned out looking like a pretty snazzy dinner. I'm going to sound a little crazy here, but the only aspect of Pad Thai I'm not crazy about is the peanuts. I like a little bit of peanuts, but sometimes I find it to be too much. For my version, I went light on the peanuts.

Fantastico! I am finally happy with my homemade Pad Thai. I ate it for dinner. I even ate leftovers! (More than once!) I won't lie to you and say it's my favorite Pad Thai ever, but with a little tweaking as I continue my cooking adventure, I am sure I can up the ante. And besides, do I always want to go out to eat? Nope. Gimme all the homemade eats.

Oh and that one egg? Perfect quantity. I couldn't imagine more in there. My biggest rec for next time? Fresh bean sprouts > canned. Give this one a try!

Pad Thai Recipe

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 sweet pepper (If using a mix, about 3/4 cup of chopped sweet peppers total)
1/2 cup mushrooms
1/4 cup grated carrot
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/4 brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons lime juice
3 green onions
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1-2 tablespoons chopped peanuts, as desired
1/3 package rice noodles (about 6-8 ounces)

Instructions:

Cook noodles in a saucepan. Heat avocado oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add sweet pepper, mushrooms, carrot, and garlic to the pan and saute for 3-4 minutes. Move vegetables to one side of the pan and pour in eggs. Scramble eggs, then stir veggies and eggs to combine. In a small bowl, mix tamarind paste, ketchup, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, and lime juice. Pour into the pan with the vegetables and eggs, then lower heat to medium low and heat for 1-2 minutes. Stir in noodles and green onions. Remove from heat and served topped with bean sprouts and peanuts.

adapted from pad thai