Pad Thai

All in all, there's a dozen or more thai restaurants in Austin, with more popping up all the time. They are even installing a joint called "Pad Thai" in the new Mueller development. And appropriately so. Pad Thai is usually the most popular dish at any given thai place, and is generally the standard by which a restaurant is judged, along with the Tom Kha lemongrass soup.

I've noticed a lot of variation from the various places I've eaten pad thai, but frankly none of them really work for me the way my dad's did.  There always seems to be some small element lacking in restaurant fare.

So here's my dad's incredible Pad Thai recipe. Simple, and effective are the name of the game, so don't stress this one. It's quick and easy.

There are 5 key elements to good Pad Thai. The Tofu, The Fry, the Sauce, the Noodles and the Garnish. 

The Tofu

one package (12-16 oz.) of tofu, with the water pressed out, and cut it into bite sized pieces. 

Veggie oil for frying

The Fry:

a few tablespoons of veggie oil for frying

5 cloves of garlic, minced

3 green onions (scallions), the bottom parts chopped super fine, save the green tops for garnish

5 - 8 small dried shrimp, chopped into dust

The Sauce:

1/4 cup fish sauce (you can sub half soy sauce if you want, for a less fishy dish)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate (look in the Asian aisle of your local specialty food store)

1 tablespoon paprika

juice of one lime

The Noodles

These should be rice noodles, preferably the nice fat ones. Some prefer the skinny ones, but not me. You should use about 2/3 of a package. 

The Garnish

a big mess of bean sprouts

the tops of the green onions

some chopped up peanuts

some basil leaves

Prep all this stuff up in advance.  Once you start cooking, this moves really fast.

I like to fry the tofu while I do the rest of the prep, this condenses this whole affair into about a half-hour start to finish. Fry the tofu in veggie oil until it is crispy and firm. Remove from the oil and let sit on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Discard the oil.

Start up by boiling a pot of water deep enough to hold all the noodles. Once it reaches a boil, turn off the heat and dump the noodles in. Stir them well, so that not many stick together (though this is an inevitability). Any noodles that do not separate should be discarded. 

The noodles should sit for about 8 to 10 minutes in the not-quite-boiling water.

 Towards the end of this, heat your Fry oil and throw all of the Fry into a nice, wide pan. Fry it on medium heat until the garlic and onions become aromatic (2-3 minutes).

Drain the noodles, which should be just barely too firm to eat at this point, and throw them directly into the Fry pan. Toss the noodles until they are well coated with the oil from the Fry. 

Add the Sauce and the Tofu, stirring constantly. The liquid should reduce away, and you will have a reddish-brown noodle concoction. Fry for about 3 to 5 minutes.  It should be smelling pretty awesome by now.

Taste your noodles. If they are not soft enough to eat, simply add a bit of water and cover the dish on the stove for a minute or two.  The steam will soften up the noodles. Don't let them get too soft, or your dish is a mess of goo!

Congrats! Your pad thai is done! You can either throw the Garnish in with noodles and fry it for a bit, or serve it raw on the side.  I like the bean sprouts added in, and the rest sprinkled on top.

Plate and enjoy, this recipe will serve 4 in a pinch, though a salad or side dish is recommended.