Tremendous Pad Thai
Prep
25m
Cook
10m
Total
35m
Bigly says
Pad Thai. Pad Thai! TREMENDOUS Pad Thai. I have eaten more Pad Thai than any single human being on Earth — more Pad Thai than the people who invented Pad Thai, which by the way is a fascinating story, many people don't know this, Pad Thai was promoted by the Thai government in the 1940s as a national dish, look it up, I've had people look it up, it's TRUE, an entire government got involved in noodles, which honestly is the only good reason for governments to get involved in anything. Noodles.
Now. NOW. The other recipe sites — the sad ones, the ones with the autoplay video that starts the moment you scroll, the ones that ask you to subscribe to their newsletter BEFORE you've even seen what's in the recipe, the ones with 47 trackers and a cookie banner with 18 toggles — those sites give you Pad Thai that is GLOPPY. Gloppy and SWEET. Just sweet. Sugar water on noodles. It's pancake syrup with shrimp. It is, frankly, a crime against the wok, and the wok should sue them, the wok has rights.
My Pad Thai is BALANCED. Salty. Sour. Sweet. Funky. Four flavors, four corners, perfect harmony, like a beautiful — beautiful — geometric shape. Tamarind. You have to use tamarind. Real tamarind, the paste, the dark sticky stuff. Not ketchup. People put ketchup in their Pad Thai and it's a disgrace. Total disaster. They should feel bad. They should feel bad in their HOMES. The greatest noodle dish ever, coming up. Trust me.
Ingredients
- 8 ozdried flat rice noodles (1/4-inch)(the medium ones, not the skinny ones)
- 3 tbsptamarind concentrate(real tamarind, never ketchup, never)
- 3 tbspfish sauce(the funkier the better)
- 3 tbsppalm sugar (or light brown sugar)
- 3 tbspneutral oil
- 6 ozfirm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/2 lbmedium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 clovesgarlic, minced
- 2 smallshallots, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsppreserved radish (chai poh), chopped(optional but classic)
- 2large eggs
- 2 cups, dividedbean sprouts
- 1 cupgarlic chives or scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths
- 1/3 cuproasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
- 1lime, cut into wedges
- to tastethai chili flakes (for serving)
Steps
- 1
Soak the rice noodles in warm (not hot) water for 20 minutes, until pliable but still firm. Drain and set aside.
- 2
Whisk tamarind, fish sauce, and palm sugar in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves. Taste — it should be sharp, salty, and sweet in roughly equal measure. Set aside.
- 3
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add tofu and fry, turning occasionally, until golden on most sides, about 3 minutes. Push to one side of the pan.
- 4
Add shrimp to the empty side and sear 1 minute per side until just pink. Transfer tofu and shrimp to a plate.
- 5
Add remaining 2 tbsp oil. Add garlic, shallots, and preserved radish. Stir-fry 30 seconds until fragrant.
- 6
Add the drained noodles and the sauce. Toss continuously with two utensils, lifting and folding, until the noodles absorb the sauce and turn russet brown, 2-3 minutes. If they look dry, splash in a tablespoon of water at a time.
- 7
Push noodles to one side. Crack the eggs into the empty space and let them set for 15 seconds, then scramble briefly and toss through the noodles.
- 8
Return tofu and shrimp to the wok. Add half the bean sprouts and all the garlic chives. Toss for 30 seconds — the sprouts should stay crunchy.
- 9
Plate immediately. Top with chopped peanuts, the remaining raw bean sprouts, a lime wedge, and chili flakes to taste.
One more thing
Eight minutes in the wok and you have made restaurant Pad Thai in your own kitchen. Not the sad version. Not the ketchup version. The REAL version. The one that tastes like a stall on a side street in Bangkok at 11pm — and I would know, I've been everywhere, three countries you've never heard of, twice — and your family will look at you differently after this. They will. They will say 'who is this person, where did they learn this,' and you will smile and say nothing, because the Pad Thai speaks for itself. It always does. Tremendous.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Tremendous Pad Thai.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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