Pad Thai
I have tagged this as "interesting" but I am probably doing it an injustice since Pad Thai has its proper tradition, belongs to a culture in which it is anything but interesting. It is what people eat - a stir-fried rice noodle dish served as a street food in Thailand. It is made with rice noodles, shrimp, peanuts, a scrambled egg, and bean sprouts, among other vegetables which are all fried in a wok.
So why am I tagging it as "interesting", you may ask. Well, look at all this nonsense, associated with the dish - found on wikipedia, of course:
- Pad Thai is listed at number five on a list of "World's 50 most delicious foods" readers' poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.
- The Thai film Jao saao Pad Thai uses Pad Thai as a plot device as the heroine claims she will marry whoever eats her Pad Thai for 100 days in a row.
- On November 7, 2017, a Google Doodle featuring Pad Thai was displayed in the United States, Canada, Cuba, Thailand, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and several countries in both Europe and South America.
- Google celebrated it as an initiative of Doodler Juliana. While she was researching how to prepare it, she aimed to show all the ingredients up close and with a colorful animation.
But "interesting" or not, Pad Thai is really great. I have not been to Thailand but I have had it in Singapore. And when I lived in New York I had a Thai friend who was a graphic designer but who had actually trained as a chef before he made a career switch. So, he would make a huge big thing of it and invite us over. Except, impoverished students that we were, it inevitably ended up being low on the pricier seafood, but hey...
INGREDIENTS
| For the Pad Thai sauce:
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INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook noodles according to package instructions, just until tender. Rinse under cold water.
- Make sauce by combining sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
- Stir Fry: Heat 1½ tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, chicken or tofu, garlic and bell pepper. The shrimp will cook quickly, about 1-2 minutes on each side, or until pink. If using chicken, cook until just cooked through, about 3-4 minutes, flipping only once.
- Push everything to the side of the pan. Add a little more oil and add the beaten eggs. Scramble the eggs, breaking them into small pieces with a spatula as they cook.
- Add noodles, sauce, bean sprouts and peanuts to the pan (reserving some peanuts for topping at the end). Toss everything to combine.
- Garnish the top with green onions, extra peanuts, cilantro and lime wedges. Serve immediately!
- Store leftovers in the fridge and enjoy within 2-3 days.
Shamelessly filched from:
Thank you Tastes Better From Scratch! :-)
Images: Unsplash and Freepik.
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