Carefree Cooking

Pad Thai

One of the dishes synonymous to Thai cuisine is Pad Thai. I didn't use to like Pad Thai since I'm the rice type of person. Every time we go to a Thai restaurant, I always get a rice dish (mostly curry based). But I've had a change of heart and now this is the dish that I would order. Making Pad Thai is not hard...making it taste like the ones in the restaurant is a different story. Isn't that the case for most dishes? Even though the Pad Thai that I make at home doesn't taste like the ones in the restaurant, I still enjoy eating it that's why I'm sharing it with you.

There are several meat options when making Pad Thai: shrimp, chicken, or beef. Actually any meat will do, just depends on which one you crave at the moment. I made mine with some clams and some shrimp paste. But you can use whatever meat you have in the fridge. If it's cooked and flavoured already, the easier it is.

To start the dish, boil some rice noodle. The noodle used for Pad Thai are the thin and flat variety. Follow the cooking instructions for the noodle. Make sure that the noodle is not too soft, otherwise it will get mushed up when all the ingredients are mixed. On a separate pot, stir fry some garlic, the selected meat and some bean sprout. Once the meat is fully cooked, put some "Thai Choice Pad Thai sauce". I got the bottle at T&T Supermarket but you might be able to get some at any asian grocery store. It's hard to say how much of this sauce you need to put since everybody has different taste. Just remember that you can always add more later, but it's hard to take it away if you put too much. So add a little at a time until you reached the desired taste. I also add ketchup to the sauce since that gives it the familiar reddish color. Add the cooked rice noodle and mix well. After cooking, put some raw bean sprout and chopped peanuts on top for garnish. In addition to the traditional garnish, I like to add some chopped cilantro for additional taste. If you do get a chance to try it, let me know what you think.

posted by carefreecooking @ 9:16 PM