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Cooks Illustrated: Home

PAD THAI
Published July 1, 2002. Serv es 4 as a m ain dish.
W H Y T H IS R E CIP E W OR K S :

The best pad Thai recipe should feature clean, fresh, not-too-sweet flav ors; perfectly cooked noodles; and plenty of plum p, juicy shrim p with tender bits of scram bled egg. To get the noodles right, we soaked rice sticks in hot tap water for 2 0 m inutes before stir-fry ing for tender but not sticky noodles. To create the salty , sweet, sour, and spicy flav or profile of pad Thai, we com bined fish sauce, sugar, ground chiles, and v inegar. We added tam arind paste for the fresh, bright, fruity taste that is essential to the dish. A wok m ight be the im plem ent of choice in restaurants and the old country , but a large 1 2 -inch skillet (nonstick m akes cleanup easy ) is m ore practical for hom e cooks. Although pad thai cooks v ery quickly , the ingredient list is long, and ev ery thing m ust be prepared and within easy reach at the stov etop when y ou begin cooking. For m axim um efficiency , use the tim e during which the tam arind and noodles soak to prepare the other ingredients. Tofu is a good and com m on addition to pad thai. If y ou like, add 4 ounces of extra-firm tofu or pressed tofu (av ailable in Asian m arkets) cut into 1 /2 inch cubes (about 1 cup) to the noodles along with the bean sprouts.

IN GR E D IE N T S
2 table spoons tam arind paste or substitute (se e Tam arind options in re late d article s) 3/4 cup wate r (boiling) 3 table spoons fish sauce 1 table spoon rice vine gar 3 table spoons granulate d sugar 3/4 te aspoon caye nne pe ppe r 4 table spoons pe anut oil or ve ge table oil 8 ounce s drie d rice stick noodle s , about 1/8 inch wide (the width of linguine ) 2 large e ggs 1/4 te aspoon table salt 12 ounce s m e dium shrim p (31/35 count), pe e le d and de ve ine d, if de sire d 3 clove s garlic , pre sse d through garlic pre ss or m ince d (1 table spoon) 1 m e dium shallot , m ince d (about 3 table spoons) 2 table spoons drie d shrim p , choppe d fine (optional) 2 table spoons Thai salte d pre se rve d radish (optional) 6 table spoons choppe d unsalte d roaste d pe anuts
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Cooks Illustrated: Home

3 cups be an sprouts (6 ounce s) 5 m e dium scallions , gre e n parts only, slice d thin on sharp bias 1/4 cup fre sh cilantro le ave s (optional) Lim e we dge s

IN S T R UCT ION S

1 . Soak tam arind paste in 3 /4 cup boiling water for about 1 0 m inutes, then push it through a m esh strainer to rem ov e the seeds and fibers and extract as m uch pulp as possible. Stir fish sauce, rice v inegar, sugar, cay enne, and 2 tablespoons oil into tam arind liquid and set aside. 2 . Cov er rice sticks with hot tap water in large bowl; soak until softened, pliable, and lim p but not fully tender, about 2 0 m inutes. Drain noodles and set aside. Beat eggs and 1 /8 teaspoon salt in sm all bowl; set aside. 3 . Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 1 2 -inch skillet (preferably nonstick) ov er high heat until just beginning to sm oke, about 2 m inutes. Add shrim p and sprinkle with rem aining 1 /8 teaspoon salt; cook, tossing occasionally , until shrim p are opaque and browned about the edges, about 3 m inutes. Transfer shrim p to plate and set aside. 4 . Off heat, add rem aining tablespoon oil to skillet and swirl to coat; add garlic and shallot, set skillet ov er m edium heat and cook, stirring constantly , until light golden brown, about 1 1 /2 m inutes; add eggs to skillet and stir v igorously with wooden spoon until scram bled and barely m oist, about 2 0 seconds. Add noodles, dried shrim p, and salted radish (if using) to eggs; toss with 2 wooden spoons to com bine. Pour fish sauce m ixture ov er noodles, increase heat to high, and cook, tossing constantly , until noodles are ev enly coated. Scatter 1 /4 cup peanuts, bean sprouts, all but 1 /4 cup scallions, and cooked shrim p ov er noodles; continue to cook, tossing constantly , until noodles are tender, about 2 1 /2 m inutes (if not y et tender add 2 tablespoons water to skillet and continue to cook until tender). 5. Transfer noodles to serv ing platter, sprinkle with rem aining scallions, 2 tablespoons peanuts, and cilantro; serv e im m ediately , passing lim e wedges separately .

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