I still remember when I had my first pad thai noodles. It was in Beijing Bites in Bangalore and I instantly fell in love with it, but never knew I could replicate it at home. First, I never knew the noodles was a rice noodles and not our usual APF noodle!!
When I made it at home, It needed even more sauce, but I was a little hesitant to add more as I was not sure how it would be liked at home as folks at home don't experiment much with their food. But we all loved it and I decided to use a good quantity of sauce for the noodles the next time.
From Thai Cuisine, Pad Thai Noodles is like their staple food. Now, buy those flat rice noodles pack and grab some soy sauce and chilli sauce and make your noodles. Yes, adding Tofu or Paneer will make it a good portioned meal, but I ran out of them so have not used it when I cooked and clicked pictures!
Pad Thai Noodles:
This involves 3 steps,
1. Cooking the noodles as per pack instructions. Usually it involves boiling it in water for a couple of minutes before draining. Keep an eye when boiling as it may get over cooked soon.
2. Making the Pad Thai Sauce.
3. Stir frying the vegetables and tossing it all together.
Flat Rice Noodles:
What you need:
1 Pack Flat Rice Noodles (I got the Real Thai pack)
5 Cups Water
A pinch of Salt.
What you do:
Boil the water with salt and add the noodles and switch it off in 2 minutes. Drain and keep it aside. Make sure you keep some of the boiled water for the sauce.
Pad Thai Sauce:
What you need:
1 Tbsp Tamarind Extract (Use a small ball sized tamarind pulp soaked in water and extract the juices)
1/4 Cup Boiled Water from the Rice Noodles.
4 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 Tbsp Chilli Sauce
3 Tbsp Brown Sugar or Honey
What you do:
Mix all this well and keep aside.
Pad Thai Noodles:
What you need:
Cooked Noodles
Pad Thai Sauce
3 Tbsp Oil
4 Garlic Pods Minced
1 Medium Onion Chopped
1 Bell Pepper Chopped
1 Cup Sprouts (Optional)
2 Spring Onions
100 Grams Paneer or Tofu Cubed
1/3 Cup Cilantro Chopped
1/4 Cup Roasted Peanuts Crushed
Juice of One Lemon
What you do:
- In a pan add 1 tbsp of oil and stir fry the paneer/tofu and keep aside.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan and saute the garlic and onion.
- Add the bell pepper and saute for a couple of minutes.
- Add the noodles to the pan
- Slowly add the sauce while keeping the heat at high and stirring constantly till the sauce and noodles are well incorporated.
- Add the sprouts, paneer/tofu, cilantro, spring onions and crushed peanuts and give it a mix and switch off the stove.
- Add a splash of lemon juice and check seasoning.
- If needed add more lemon juice or sugar as per your sweet or salt preference.
- Serve with a sprinkle of crushed roasted peanuts.
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