Basic Pad Thai Recipe (Thai say is Pad-Thai-Thammada)

Prepare the pad thai sauce by placing all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Stir continuously with a spoon to mix and thicken, about 8-10 minutes. Notice that when lifting the spoon, it should be well coated with sauce. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and set aside. The recipe makes about 2.5 cups of the sauce. Keep the leftover sauce in the refrigerator for future use.

Basic Pad Thai Recipe (Thai say is Pad-Thai-Thammada)

Basic Pad Thai Recipe (Thai say is Pad-Thai-Thammada)

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok over medium heat. When hot, fry the tofu pieces until lightly browned. Add in the shallot and salted Chinese radish, stir to cook until fragrant and the radish lightly browned. Add the dried shrimps, rice noodles and water, toss thoroughly for a few minutes until the noodles are tender. Then stir in the pad thai sauce and ground dried chili, toss to coat and mix well. Now using a metal spatula, push the noodle mixture to heat up. Then crack in the egg, using the spatula to break and roughly spread the yolk. When the egg is almost set, add the pork scratchings, bean sprouts and Chinese chives, then move the noodle mixture on top. Toss to combine and the vegetables are just lightly cooked.

Transfer the pad thai to individual serving plates, top with roasted peanuts and serve with fresh vegetables. A squeeze of lime before eating will surprisingly intensify the flavor. Make your own taste by adding fish sauce, sugar, ground dried chili, as you like.

Notes: This is a basic pad thai in the sense that it is meatless and cheap. Presumably it was this version of pad thai which, in the old days, was enjoyed by the majority of Thais.

Should be prepared/Serves 2

• 3 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp extra firm tofu, cut into 0.5x1 cm pieces
• 1 tbsp chopped shallot
• 1 tbsp salted Chinese radish, coarsely chopped
• 1 tbsp meaty dried shrimps, rinsed and drained
• 200 grams Chantaboo rice sticks, soaked to soften and drained
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup pad thai sauce
• 1 tsp ground dried chili
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp pork scratchings(kak mu chiao), optional
• 1 cup raw bean sprouts
• 4 Chinese chives, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
• 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, coarsely ground

Fresh banana flolwer, bean sprouts, and Chinese chives, to serve
Lime wedges, fish sauce, sugar, and ground dried chili, for condiments

For the pad thai sauce

• 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar'
• 1 cup tamarind juice
• 1/3 cup fish sauce

Basic Pad Thai Recipe (Thai say is Pad-Thai-Thammada)