Notes
- When purchasing ingredients to make pad thai they come in amounts that are more conducive to making it twice in the week
- There are 3 distinct phases of prep for this dish: Sauce, 1st phase of stir fry, 2nd phase of stir fry.
- The sauce you can make as far in advance as you want.
- You can soak noodles in advance, drain, and keep them well sealed in the fridge for a few days.
- If you make everything all at once, be sure to start soaking the noodles first, then start making the sauce.
- Defrost shrimp
- Do your best to dry shrimp before frying them to avoid the splattering of hot oil everywhere
Pad Thai Sauce Ingredients
- 70 grams of palm sugar, chopped (6 TBSP tightly packed)
- 6 TBSP water
- 8 TBSP tamarind paste/concentrate
- 4 TBSP fish sauce
1st Phase of Stir Fry Ingredients (1 Bowl)
- 4 oz (115grams) dry rice noodles (1/2 the bag)
- 90 grams of pressed tofu (cut into small pieces)
- 1/2 head of garlic, minced (mini food processor)
- 3 TBSP dried shrimp, chopped (mini food processor)
- 1/2 head of shallot, diced
- 3 TBSP sweet preserved daikon radish, finely chopped
- 1 pinch dried chili flakes or red pepper flakes
2nd Phase of Stir Fry Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2.5 cups bean sprouts
- 10 stalks garlic chives (cut into 2 inch pieces)
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- 1 lb shrimp
- 1 lime for garnish
- Roasted peanuts, chopped for garnish
Step-By-Step Sauce Directions
- Take out small sauce pot, scale, small bowl for weighing, cutting board, knife, tablespoon, palm sugar, tamarind paste/concentrate, and fish sauce
- Start heating up small sauce pot at medium heat
- Scoop out 70 grams of palm sugar into small bowl
- Dump palm sugar into sauce pot and start caramelizing
- Measure 6 TBSP of water and put into that same small bowl
- Once palm sugar is caramelized, dump water in
- Measure 8 TBSP of tamarind paste/concentrate and dump in pot
- Measure 4 TBSP of fish sauce and dump in pot
- Simmer until sugar starts to dissolve, then turn off heat
Step-By-Step 1st Phase of Stir Fry Prep Directions (1 Bowl)
- Take out both pieces of the rectangular colander, bag of rice noodles, and scissors
- Open noodles, take out 1/2 the bag, then cut noodles in half
- Put in solid container, fill with water, cover with colander and let soak for about an hour
- Take out big stir fry pan, big tongs, 2 regular white bowls (one for trash), scale, mini food processor, cutting board, small red rubber spatula, big knife, tablespoon, tofu, garlic, dried shrimp, shallot, daikon radish, chili flakes/red pepper flakes
- Start heating up big stir fry pan on medium-high heat, dry, no oil
- Set up scale with regular bowl, open tofu, and cut about 1/3 of patty on cutting board and measure out 90 grams
- Cut tofu into bite sized pieces and start browning each side in big stir fry pan
- As tofu is browning, take out big soup bowl, smaller metal strainer, and frozen shrimp
- Count out 1 lb of shrimp, put in strainer/bowl combo, put in right side of sink and turn on just a trickle of cold water to run and defrost shrimp (about 10 min)
- Be sure to keep eye on tofu and flip as each side gets browned. Once they are done, take out of pan and put in regular white bowl
- Smash and peel 1/2 head garlic then put in mini food processor and mince
- Dump/scrape garlic into tofu bowl
- Measure out 3 TBSP of dried shrimp into mini food processor and finely chop
- Dump/scrape fried shrimp into tofu bowl
- Take out shallot and dice 1/2 head and put in tofu bowl
- Measure out 3 TBSP of sweet preserved daikon radish and put in tofu bowl
- Put chili flakes/red pepper flakes in tofu bowl to taste
- Check on shrimp, shake them up and drain water if needed
Step-By-Step 2nd Phase of Stir Fry Prep Directions
- Take out 2 regular white bowls, 1 big soup bowl, red peanut chopper, clear measuring cup, 2 eggs, bean sprouts, garlic chives, peanuts, and a lime
- Crack eggs into regular white bowl (do not scramble)
- Measure out 2.5 cups of bean sprouts, dump into rectangular colander and wash. Once clean put into big soup bowl
- Count out 10 stalks of garlic chives and wash the same way
- Cut 1-2 inches off the bottom of stalks and throw away
- Cut the remaining stalks into 1-2 inch pieces and put on top of bean sprouts in big soup bowl
- Measure 1/4 cup of roasted peanuts in the bottom portion of nut chopper. Transfer them to top portion and give them a rough chop
- Cut lime just off center so core is not a part of it, then cut those pieces in half.
- Shrimp should be done. Setup 2 paper towels for base of drying. Peel everything off shrimp and put onto paper towels. Get 2 more paper towels to blot dry the top. Once dry, put them in 2nd regular white bowl.
Step-By-Step Stir Fry Cooking Directions
- Clean up whatever you can
- Drain noodles, put back into base of rectangular colander, and blot dry with paper towels
- Set ingredients next to stove (3 regular white bowls, 1 big soup bowl, measured out peanuts, noodles, 1 more empty white bowl for cooked shrimp and sauce if you made it in advance)
- Heat up big stir fry pan to medium-high and take out oil
- Oil pan and once warm start cooking the shrimp using clock method. Don’t over cook shrimp. Once tail starts changing color its time to flip.
- Put cooked shrimp into the new regular white bowl.
- Once all shrimp are cooked, put raw shrimp bowl in sink, and re-oil pan
- Pour in tofu bowl contents and let saute for 1-2 minutes (if pan get dry feel free to add more oil during saute)
- Pour in noodles and HALF the sauce immediately after (you can add more sauce at the end if you want it)
- Use tongs to roll and flip noodles to soak up sauce and cook for 1-2 minutes
- Push noodles to one side of pan, oil open area, and add eggs. Break yolks, spread, and immediately cover with noodles.
- Let that sit for about 30 seconds, then toss to distribute egg
- Pour in HALF the peanuts and the big soup bowl of vegetables
- Turn off heat and toss everything around to gently mix and distribute all ingredients
- Plate the food being aware to get a healthy mix of all ingredients on each plate
- Garnish with lime and remaining peanuts
- Taste, and add more sauce if you’d like
- Top off with shrimp