Take-Out Style Pad Thai

Pad Thai
Fish sauce is the key seasoning for Pad Thai. It’s intensely salty with an earthy aroma
similar to dried porcini mushrooms. The kind found in the Asian section of local supermarkets is
okay but expensive. If you plan on making Pad Thai often, find an Asian grocery and ask for
Three Crabs or Squid brand fish sauce. It comes in 24 ounce bottles and costs about four dollars.
Rice sticks are also indispensable. These flat noodles steam during the stir fry process,
becoming elastic and chewy. They also absorb the sauce, turning golden brown.
Palm sugar is the boiled sap of the palmyra tree and tastes similar to maple sugar. It is
available at Asian groceries, but you can substitute light brown sugar.
Ingredients: 8 ounces rice sticks (aka: bhan pho, 1/8 inch thick)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (aka: nam pla, nuoc mam)
2 tablespoons palm sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons peanut oil
½ cup sliced red shallots
8 ounces raw boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ½ inch strips
10-12 raw, peeled and deveined shrimp (31-40 size)
1 large egg
8 ounces fresh mung bean sprouts
1 cup chopped green onions (1 inch pieces)
1/3 cup finely chopped roasted peanuts
Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Preparation: Soak rice sticks in cold water for two hours (they should be pliable but not soft or
mushy). Mix the fish sauce, palm sugar, fresh lime juice and cayenne pepper
together and microwave for three minutes or until sugar completely dissolves.
Reserve this sauce. Heat oil under medium-high temperature in wok or large
skillet. Add shallots and stir fry until starting to brown. Add soaked rice sticks
and stir fry one minute. Add reserved sauce, chicken and shrimp. Stir fry until
chicken turns white and shrimp turns pink, about two minutes. Push all ingredients
to the sides of the wok\skillet. Crack in egg and lightly scramble for 30 seconds.
Fold the rest of the ingredients in with the egg. Add mung bean sprouts and green
onion and stir fry for another two minutes. Turn out onto serving dish and top
with finely chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro leaves. This recipe produces
enough for two people, unless one of them tastes it first...