I craved Pad Thai today, the street kind, with little dried prawns and a bit of pickled radish, fresh tofu and sprouts. Comfort food, nothing fancy, like a bowl of mashed potato, this dish goes down well on a cold, rainy day on Dartmoor. It is a quick dish to cook but takes a little time to prepare as you need to chop up several ingredients before you start.
Ingredients:
250g dried flat rice noodles, soaked in cold water for half an hour
The Sauce
3 tablespoons of fish sauce to taste
3 or more tablespoons of tamarind pulp
2 tablespoons of palm or coconut sugar, to taste
Heat the wok
4 Tbs. vegetable oil for frying
First add (there are more ingredients further down, which you will need to prepare in advance too)
3/4 cup firm pressed tofu, cut into small cubes
3 shallots, thinly sliced (or substitute with half a medium onion)
1/4 cup small dried shrimp, re-hydrated with some hot water
1/4 cup chopped preserved salted radish
Soak the flat rice noodles in cold water for half an hour or so. It helps to stop them sticking together.
Start with the main three – tofu, radish and shallots chopped finely. Fry these first.
Gather the ingredients together and make the sauce from a mixture of tamarind paste, palm sugar and fish sauce.
Then add the soaked noodles and the sauce stirring to stop the noodles from sticking.
Add 2 eggs, stir to mix
3 cups fresh bean sprouts
1 cup Pak Choi, finely chopped
3 spring onions, the green part only choppe finely
Stir everything together for about a minute or so or until all the noodles are coated.
Garnish
A small handful of chopped salted roasted peanuts
2 limes, cut into small wedges
a handful of fresh coriander or Thai basil
Chopped green chillies
Thai comfort food. Even better the next day served cold, but maybe that’s just a personal preference?!
Devonium & Kitchenalia 