Thai cooking is characterised by the fact that most dishes require preparation time that is longer than the actual cooking time, which is essential in maintaining the fresh and crisp signature that typifies many Thai dishes. Western Thai food enthusiasts often make the common mistake of overcooking Thai dishes, often because they have not prepared all ingredients in advance and have overestimated the cooking time of individual ingredients as they are added to the wok.
Preparing Pad Thai Ingredients
Preparation of ingredients is all important in creating an authentic Pad Thai. The cooking method is quick, with the wok maintaining a high temperature that requires throwing the ingredients in at the appropriate moment and then stirring and flipping to ensure your ingredients don’t stick or burn. It’s therefore vitally important to have all of the following ingredients prepared and within easy reach of the gas before heating the wok!
Pad Thai Ingredients and Preparation (two servings)
- 250 grams Pad Thai rice noodles
Pad Thai rice noodles take about 5-10 minutes to soak, so place the noodles in tepid water while you prepare the other ingredients. It’s important to not let the noodles soak for too long. If the noodles are too soft when you add them to the wok, the finished Pad Thai will be sloppy. When adding the noodles to the wok they should be slightly flexible and still a bit firm.
- 4 spring onions or Chinese chives
Chop two of the spring onions into pieces around 4cm long, these are for adding to the wok. Chop the ends and the tip off the other two spring onions and set aside to garnish the finished Pad Thai.
- ½ cup extra firm tofu
Dice the tofu into rectangular pieces measuring roughly 1.5 cm by 0.5 cm.
- 1 lime
Cut the lime into 4 quarter wedges.
- 1 egg
Break the egg into a small bowl and whisk with a fork.
- 1 cup of bean sprouts
Wash and separate half the bean sprouts to add to the wok and half to add fresh to the finished Pad Thai.
- 2 tablespoons of peanuts (unsalted)
- 1 tablespoon of shredded preserved turnip
- 3 tablespoons of fish sauce
- ¼ cup dried shrimp
- ½ cup banana flower (sometimes called banana blossom)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
Mince the garlic.
- 1 teaspoon ground dried chilli pepper
- 2 tablespoons tamarind (fresh or paste)
- ½ teaspoon of ground pepper
- 1 small shallot
Mince the shallot.
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Pad Thai Cooking Method
- Add the oil to the wok and heat at a high temperature.
- Add the unsalted peanuts and fry until golden. Remove the peanuts from the wok and set aside.
- Add the garlic, tofu and shallots. Stir and flip until the tofu is lightly golden.
- Add noodles to the wok.
- Stir noodles while adding fish sauce, sugar, tamarind, dried chilli pepper and preserved turnip.
- The high temperature of the wok should release a lot of steam at this point, evaporating the juice in the wok. Make sure you keep stirring the noodles so that they absorb the juice before it evaporates, but don’t let the wok get too dry.
- Push all the content of the wok to one side and add the egg to the empty part. Make a mini omelette and then fold it into the other ingredients.
- Add the final ingredients; shrimp, bean sprouts and spring onion. Stir and flip three or four times and then empty the contents of the wok on to a serving dish.
Pad Thai Garnish
For the authentic Pad Thai look and taste, finish the dish by placing the quarter wedges of lime on the edge of the serving plate, along with a quarter of banana flower and one or two trimmed spring onions.
For further information on authentic Thai cooking, take a look at the following Suite 101 articles:
- Thai Cooking Lessons - How to take a Thai Home Cooking Course without Offending a Nation
- Thai Home Cooking - Essentials for Cooking Authentic Thai Food in a Western Kitchen
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