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Ingredients
- Pad Thai Sauce:
- 8 ounces Thai rice noodles, linguini-width
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped chicken breast or thigh
- Marinade for Chicken: 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons. soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Optional: 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced
- 3 cups fresh bean sprouts
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander/cilantro
- 1/3 cup crushed or roughly chopped peanuts (or other nuts, such as cashews)
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- Vegetable oil for stir-frying
- Wedges of lime
- 3/4 tablespoon tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (look for tamarind at Asian/Chinese or Indian food stores)
- 3 tablespoon. fish sauce
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1-3 teaspoon chili sauce, OR 1/2 teaspoon or more dried crushed chili or cayenne, to taste
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
Details
Servings 4
Preparation
Step 1
Make Pad Thai Sauce by combining sauce ingredients together in a cup. Stir well to dissolve tamarind and brown sugar. Taste-test for a tangy balance between sweet and sour. Add more sugar if too sour, or more tamarind if too sweet.
Bring a large pot of pot to boil and dunk in rice noodles. Stir to separate. Only cook until they are soft enough to be eaten but just barely: still firm and a little "crunchy" (they will finish cooking later in the pan). Drain and rinse well with cold water to prevent sticking. Set aside.
Place chicken slices in a small bowl. Stir together the marinade and pour over chicken. Stir well and set aside.
Warm up a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil plus garlic and minced chili, if using. Stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds). Add marinated chicken. When wok/pan becomes dry, add a little chicken stock. Stir-fry 5-7 minutes, until chicken is cooked.
Add noodles and pour Pad Thai Sauce over. Using two utensils, use a gentle "lift and turn" method to fry noodles (like tossing a salad). Stir-fry in this way 5 minutes, or until noodles are chewy 'al dente'. If you find your pan too dry, add a little more oil.
Add bean sprouts and continue frying 1 more minute, or until noodles are cooked. Noodles are done to perfection when they taste chewy and a little sticky. Taste-test for seasoning, adding more fish sauce until your desired flavor is reached (I usually add up to 1 tablespoon fish sauce).
Top with generous sprinklings of fresh coriander, spring onion, and crushed/chopped nuts. Add fresh lime wedges to be squeezed over before eating, and if desired, serve with Nam Prik Pao Chili Sauce (homemade recipe) on the side.
Pad Thai Tip: For even more flavor, I'll often make a double batch of the pad Thai sauce. Then, as I'm stir-frying the noodles, I'll add more sauce until I'm happy with the taste (I also add extra fish sauce). Any leftover sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
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