Nontraditional Pad Thai
My mother adapted this nontraditional version of pad thai, easily replicated for those who don't have access to the more traditional Asian ingredients (other than the noodles and the fish sauce). Paprika?! Whatever, it works. Honestly, even when I've tried more traditional recipes, I haven't yet hit on the right proportion/combination of ingredients to get the flavor I really wanted. This still won't taste like anything you'd get in a Thai restaurant, but it's tasty and it gets the job done.
This is my moment to point out that fish sauce can make or break a homemade Thai dish. It's certainly not everyone's kettle of, well, fish and bad fish sauce is just overwhelmingly awful. Somehow I've had really bad luck with fish sauce lately and even a few sprinkles of it have all but ruined the dish. I would highly recommend going out of your way to find an actual Asian food market rather than buying the fish sauce available in the ethnic food aisle at your supermarket - the fish sauce you find there is almost always highly concentrated and gross. Also, I'd recommend using half portions of any fish sauce until you've developed a better taste for it.
Nontraditional Pad Thai
From Epicurious.com - can no longer remember the original source
4 to 8 oz. dried Thai rice noodles (depending on your preferred ratio of noodles to stuff)
3 tbsps. vegetable or peanut oil
1/2 lb. chicken, diced
4 or 5 cloves garlic
1 tsp. paprika
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups mung bean sprouts
2 cups green onions, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces
1/8 cup fish sauce (or 1/4 cup if it's relatively non-fishy)
3 tbsps. rice vinegar
4 tsps. sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped roasted peanuts
Lime wedges
- Soak dried rice noodles in a large bowl of warm water until tender, about an hour. Drain well.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or a wok - sometimes I end up using 2 skillets if I'm making 8 oz. of noodles.
- Add chicken and stirfry/sautee until mostly (but not entirely) cooked through.
- Add paprika and garlic and stirfry about one minute.
- Push chicken mix to the side, then pour egg into the center. Allow to set (about 1 minute) and break apart with spoon.
- Add drained rice sticks, mung bean sprouts, green onions, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar.
- Stirfry until heated through.
- Transfer to dishes, top with peanuts, and add lime wedges.
This is my moment to point out that fish sauce can make or break a homemade Thai dish. It's certainly not everyone's kettle of, well, fish and bad fish sauce is just overwhelmingly awful. Somehow I've had really bad luck with fish sauce lately and even a few sprinkles of it have all but ruined the dish. I would highly recommend going out of your way to find an actual Asian food market rather than buying the fish sauce available in the ethnic food aisle at your supermarket - the fish sauce you find there is almost always highly concentrated and gross. Also, I'd recommend using half portions of any fish sauce until you've developed a better taste for it.
Nontraditional Pad Thai
From Epicurious.com - can no longer remember the original source
4 to 8 oz. dried Thai rice noodles (depending on your preferred ratio of noodles to stuff)
3 tbsps. vegetable or peanut oil
1/2 lb. chicken, diced
4 or 5 cloves garlic
1 tsp. paprika
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups mung bean sprouts
2 cups green onions, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces
1/8 cup fish sauce (or 1/4 cup if it's relatively non-fishy)
3 tbsps. rice vinegar
4 tsps. sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped roasted peanuts
Lime wedges
- Soak dried rice noodles in a large bowl of warm water until tender, about an hour. Drain well.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or a wok - sometimes I end up using 2 skillets if I'm making 8 oz. of noodles.
- Add chicken and stirfry/sautee until mostly (but not entirely) cooked through.
- Add paprika and garlic and stirfry about one minute.
- Push chicken mix to the side, then pour egg into the center. Allow to set (about 1 minute) and break apart with spoon.
- Add drained rice sticks, mung bean sprouts, green onions, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar.
- Stirfry until heated through.
- Transfer to dishes, top with peanuts, and add lime wedges.
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