Recipe: Make your own Pad Thai

Recipe: Make your own Pad Thai By Ava Danlog, GMANews.TV Thai cuisine is popular for its balance of basic flavors in each dish — spicy, sweet, sour, and salty. Thai cuisine is influenced by Indian and Chinese curries at the same time maintaining a unique taste of its own with the use of herbs, spices, and fish sauce. And what could be more Thai than the popular dish Pad Thai? This is a rice noodle dish pan-fried with tofu, shrimp, brown sugar, lime juice, fish sauce or soy sauce, peanuts, and eggs. It is one complete meal containing carbohydrates, protein, and other essential nutrients. Pad Thai is one of the most popular Thai dishes in the United States, served usually in fine restaurants. However, Pad Thai is a popular quick meal in Thailand, usually served in noodle carts and sidewalk eateries. Pad Thai literally means “fried noodles, Thai-style,â€? which suggests that the noodles originated from another country. In fact, Chinese immigrants brought rice noodles and noodle cookery in general to Thailand. During the economic crisis following World War II, Field Marshall Pibul turned to the production of rice noodles and operation of noodle shops as ways to provide employment. Noodle recipes were printed and disseminated all over the country, making it a staple food in Thailand. The Chinese, sensing that Thai people loved combining flavors, concocted a mixture of hot, salty, sour, and sweet flavors and added it to their stir-fried noodles. In Thai restaurants in Manila, a decent Pad Thai meal could cost more than a hundred pesos per serving. The cheapest I found so far, costs P92 per serving (without drinks). Not too affordable, especially in this time of economic crisis. Fortunately for Pad Thai lovers (and would-be Pad Thai lovers), all of the basic ingredients are available in the average Filipino kitchen. If not, substitute ingredients can also be used. Not only are the ingredients inexpensive, the dish is fast and easy to prepare. Ingredients

• ½ lb. rice noodles
• 2 eggs
• half a medium onion
• ¾ cup extra firm tofu, cut in long thin strips
• ¾ cup shrimps
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups fresh bean sprouts
• 2/3 cup roughly ground peanuts
• 4 tbs peanut oil

For the sauce

• Pad Thai sauce (or 3 tbsp fish sauce or soy sauce)
• 3 or more tbsp tamarind juice or vinegar
• 1 lime or 4 calamansi
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• chili powder (optional)
• 1/4 cup of water

Procedure 1. Soak rice stick noodles in plenty of hot water for at least 15 minutes, or until soft. Cut the noodles in ½ inch slices. Angel hair pasta can be used as substitute. Cook the angel hair pasta in boiling water for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse in cold water. 2. Scramble eggs and pan fry. Fold and cut into long, 1/2 wide strips. Set aside. 3. Heat oil in a pan or wok. Sauté minced garlic and onions until golden brown and add extra firm tofu. Toss in roughly ground peanuts. Add shrimp and fry until reddish. Finally, add some bean sprouts. 4. Drain water from rice noodles or angel hair pasta and toss in with the rest. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. 5. Mix Pad Thai sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce or fish sauce, a squirt of lime or tamarind pulp juice and some water. The sauce will have a blend of sweet and spicy taste. Adjust the taste by adding ingredients accordingly. If Pad Thai sauce is not available, mix fish sauce, tamarind juice, brown sugar, chili, and water. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add to noodles. 6. Wash green onions in cold water and cut in 1-inch pieces. Toss in with the fried egg and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until the noodles are cooked but still a little firm. Serve with additional peanuts and garnish with fresh bean sprouts, pepper flakes, and freshly chopped cilantro. There are many ways of cooking Pad Thai. You can remove or add ingredients to suit your taste. However, this is more or less the traditional recipe. Enjoy.