Whoever said an authentic and delicious Pad Thai is only limited to gourmet food at Thai restaurants or the street food vendors in the alleys of Bangkok? Thanks to this easy and original Pad Thai recipe, you can now make amazingly addictive and authentic Pad Thai rice noodles right at home. Read on or jump to the recipe here.
A recipe of international acclaim, Pad Thai hails from Thailand, and is known for its fusion of sweet, savoury, and tart flavours that coat the stir fried and chewy rice noodles. The brilliant usage of coastal ingredients, local to Thai cuisine, makes the recipe for Pad Thai noodles an ingenious culinary innovation. The umami of fish sauce, the caramelly sweetness of palm sugar, and the tangy acidity of tamarind, provide the perfect balance to the base sauce of Pad Thai recipe. Whereas eggs thicken the sauce further and dried prawns add an unmistakable coastal taste profile to the Pad Thai noodles recipe. All this is added to flash fried rice noodles takes it to another level of deliciousness and provides the Pad Thai recipe depth of flavour. Further, freshness is infused with the bean sprouts and spring onions, which is finished with a crunchy element, which is roasted and crushed peanuts on top of the Pad Thai noodles recipe. These contrasting elements provide varying taste profiles and textures to Pad Thai making it a dish unlike any other.
The history of this very popular Thai dish is equally interesting. Pad Thai noodles recipe is one of the few delicacies in the world that was a product of gastrodiplomacy. During World War II in order to save the then Siam from foreign invasion, the prime minister of Thailand, Plaek Phibunsongkhram, was trying to create a strong identity and a spirit of nationalism in the country. In his bid to galvanize nationalism, and also out of the necessity to overcome a shortage of the production of rice crop due to flooding, Pad Thai noodles recipe was invented taking inspiration from Chinese noodles. The ‘Pad Thai’ in Siamese literally translates to ‘stir fry from Thailand’ in English.
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Pad Thai noodles are made up of rice and tapioca flour, which naturally makes the noodle flour gluten-free and vegan but traditionally the Pad Thai noodles recipe uses soy sauce and fish sauce which may contain wheat thus making the recipe unsuitable for consumption for those having gluten allergy and nut allergy because of the use of peanuts as a garnish in Pad thai noodles recipe. Of course, you can use the same recipe and opt for gluten-free and vegan alternatives and work around the ingredients to suit your needs.
Pad Thai noodles are different from wheat noodles. The noodles are made up of rice and tapioca flour which are semi-processed, therefore they just need to be rehydrated by soaking them in lukewarm water for a few hours before using the noodles for the Pad Thai recipe. Boiling rice-based noodles will make them gummy and sticky while soaking will make them soft, slippery and keeps them al-dente, which is just right for stir frying Pad Thai.
Pad Thai noodle recipe features wide rice noodles that are crucial to the recipe. It will not be a Pad Thai recipe sans the Pad Thai rice noodles in it. Wheat noodles that need boiling tend to be glutinous and soft which is the opposite texture to what we are trying to achieve here. You may use thin vermicelli rice noodles in place of the wide noodles in case those are not available.
There is a little pre-preparation involved in this recipe. The rice noodles are soaked in water for two hours to allow them to soften. The next step is to prepare the base sauce for Pad Thai noodles recipe using fish sauce, palm sugar, tamarind paste and granulated sugar. This mixture is allowed to coalesce on medium heat before it is set aside to be used later. After stir frying the shallots briefly, they are set aside and egg is dropped in the wok and scrambled, eventually allowing them to intermix. Tofu cubes and dried prawns are the next to be fried in the wok, followed by the soaked and drained noodles. Now, the reserved sauce is poured and folded in so that it coats the noodles well. After cooking the noodles with sauce for a minute, fresh bean sprouts, spring onions, and crushed pepper are thrown in the mixture as the final step.
Given the amount of fresh ingredients like bean sprouts, spring onions along with proteins like tofu, dried prawns, and egg, these silky and fried noodles are all healthy and wholesome. In fact, the very premise of introducing this dish was touting these noodles as a healthier food option to the people of Thailand. Topped with crunchy crushed peanuts, the Pad Thai is the perfect comfort food that can satiate your hunger while tantalizing your taste buds to no amount.
An authentic Pad Thai noodles recipe needs no garnishes owing to a lot of textures going on in the dish itself. A bowl of Pad Thai noodles just needs a dash of lime, and it is good to be slurped with chopsticks. Of course, you can provide some extra roasted, crushed peanuts, red chilli powder and a wedge of lime which can be added as per the liking. While serving Pad Thai you must make sure to serve them hot, straight from the wok and the noodles are sure to taste great. Pad Thai noodles is a wholesome meal in itself, so it can be served as a meal in a bowl or as a main entree in a Thai-themed meal.
Pinot grigio or pinot gris is a white wine variety which pairs very well with Pad Thai noodles. Its musky flavor and tropical fruity notes bring out the Thai fare’s flavors. Fresh and delicious fruity dry rieslings can also be another option as a good accompaniment to Pad Thai noodles. A mug of beer or a fizzy kombucha can be other good options that can help offset the heat from these Thai noodles.
As a comforting dinner, or a lavish Thai fare, however you wish to enjoy your delicious Pad Thai noodles, make sure to have them fresh and hot. These slightly sweet, savory, smokey and tart Thai stir fried noodles are sure to delight you.
Do check out more such tasty dishes from Thai cuisine that might interest you: Thai basil chicken, Thai papaya salad, three flavour Thai fried fish and Spicy Thai green curry.