Authentic (Shrimp) Pad Thai in 20 mins

Today I will be taking you all to one of my favorite destinations: South East Asia. Don’t worry I’ve not started any travel agency or any online tour guide. It is still your favorite Food blog with its own old set of recipes. Obviously my tour is all about the flavor and taste of South East Asia. Sit tight and enjoy the tour!

South East Asian cuisine is all about flavors, freshness and the right balance between acidity & spices. But one thing which attracts me most is the perfect combination of taste & health. This cuisine is mainly soup dominated; rather to say healthy soup & noodles play the dominating part here. Beef, pork, wide range of seafood and of course fresh seasonal veggies complement them perfectly. Majority of the preparation needs no oil or very little oil. These preparations are very easy to make for any home cook. But top of all they also demand very little time from your busy schedule. I can’t find any reason not to love this cuisine.

Today I’m picking the recipe of Pad Thai or Phad Thai. It is a very popular and delicious stir fried noodles preparation loaded with flavors. I think this Pad Thai or Phad Thai is the perfect example to describe what an Asian preparation is all about. As the name refers it belongs to the Thai cuisine though it is originated in Vietnam. The rice noodles which is used in this recipe is typical Vietnamese noodles known as pho locally. But other ingredients used here are Thai condiments. Basically it is a fusion between these two South East Asian cuisines.

Pad Thai or Phad Thai has rice noodles as the core ingredient; cooked in different sauces and combined with shrimp, chicken or tofu, mung bean sprouts, crushed peanuts & spring onion. In some traditional places it is served in an omelet bowl with pickled veggies with lime wedges on the side and chopped coriander or cilantro with crushed peanuts on the top. Sometimes tomatoes, chili oil or spicy oil, pickled veggies are also used in the noodles to make variations.

Here is the recipe of Authentic Shrimp Pad Thai or Phad Thai in 20 mins.

Preparation Time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins

Resting Time: 0 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

Rice noodles: 1 packet (200g)

Shrimp: 20-30 pieces

Egg: 4

Minced Garlic: 2 tsp

Red, Yellow & Red Bell peppers, thinly sliced: ¼ cup each

Mung bean sprouts: 100g

Spring onion: ¼ cup + 4 tbsp (chopped in 1” height)

Tomato sauce: 3 tbsp

Thai chili sauce: 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

Dark soy sauce: 1 tbsp

Fish sauce: 1 tbsp

Lime juice: 1 tbsp

Paprika power: 1 tsp

Palm sugar/ brown sugar: 1 tsp

Crushed Peanut: 3 tbsp + 2 tbsp

Oil: 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

For garnishing:

Chopped coriander leaves/cilantro: 2 tbsp (for garnishing only)

Lime wedges: 4

Equipment:

Non-stick Frying pan

Non-stick Wok

Preparation:

Prepare the noodles as per direction from the back of the packet. Or boil water in a large pan with 1 tbsp of salt. Once bubbles start forming vigorously switch off the flame and put the noodles in it. Stir with a fork until they are separating. When noodles get separated completely drain water and reserve the boiled noodles in a separate pan. A few drops of oil in your palm and toss the noodles with your hands. Cover the bowl with a cling film and set aside until needed.

Prepare the sauce by mixing tomato sauce, chili sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, paprika powder and palm sugar/ brown sugar in a small bowl.

Beat egg with pinch of salt in a bowl. Make very thin four omelets with it. You can serve these omelets in two ways. Either you use them as serving plate, the way traditionally Pad Thai was served by placing noodles and rest ingredients on them (see the picture below) or you can simply cut them into thin strips and mix with the noodles to serve.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Add garlic and shrimp and fry for 2-3 mins or until shrimps are done. Don’t overcook or brown them at all. Shrimps should be soft in texture and pale pink in color. Remove from fire immediately to avoid overcooking and keep aside.

Add rest of the oil in the wok and set it on high flame. Add thinly sliced bell peppers and fry for 2-3 mins max. Don’t overcook otherwise the crunch of the veggies will be lost. Add mung bean sprouts, spring onion, crushed peanut and fry for 30 secs on high flame. Add previously prepared sauce, noodles and omelet strips (if you are using your omelet this way). Continue frying for another 1-2 mins on high flame or until everything is incorporated. Switch off the flame and remove immediately.

Transfer to the serving bowl immediately. Top with rest of the spring onion and crushed peanut and chopped coriander leaves. Serve piping hot Authentic Shrimp Pad Thai or Phad Thaiwith lime wedges.