[CH] My Pad Thai

J A G (jacquelineg333@hotmail.com)
Sun, 17 Feb 2002 10:08:39 -0500

Confession time...I am totally addicted to Pad Thai.  My addiction was 
getting expensive as I used various eating establishments to fuel my habit.  
Finally, armed with about 5 different pad thai recipes, I began my trial and 
error process.  This was a bit painful.  There are some ingredients some 
folks insist belong in real pad thai, but I respectfully disagree.  Dried 
shrimp anyone?  Rank.  That experience screwed me up so badly that I don't 
even use fresh shrimp anymore.  I even had to throw away some of my 
attempts.  If you use fresh shrimp or chicken, you'll probably want to add 
them toward the beginning (with the tofu) to be sure they cook through.  I 
like to use fresh, chopped Thai chiles as a garnish (Yes, in this dish you 
eat the garnish! It's important...) at the end when available, but the dried 
Thai pepper flakes are good too.  The ingredients you can't find at your 
local grocery store can be purchased at an Asian grocer or on line.  My 
recipe looks nothing like those I began with, but it keeps me happy and 
saves me a bunch of money.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
take care,
-jackieblue
Healer of Bland Food


Jackie's Pad Thai
Serves one

peanut oil, for stir frying
¼ package Bahn Pho (Rice Stick) soaked & drained
¼ package extra firm tofu, cubed (no bigger than Yahtzee dice, I like a bit 
smaller)
1 egg, beaten
1 T chopped peanuts

sauce
shake well in an old canning jar:
½ T sugar
1 T lime juice
2 T Huy Fong Sriracha
2 T fish sauce
2 t tamarind (hot & sour soup concentrate)
3 t water

garnish
¼ lime
handful fresh bean sprouts
1-2 chopped scallions
chopped peanuts
fresh or dried thai hot peppers to taste


Soak bahn pho in hot water to soften while doing prep for rest of dish. 
About 15 minutes.

Heat peanut oil over medium high heat in wok.  Add tofu and stir-fry until 
nice and golden brown.  Add bahn pho, egg, and peanuts.  Stir-fry until egg 
is cooked.  Add sauce.  Stir fry for a minute or two until blended well and 
bahn pho is softened.

Dump into a big bowl.  Squeeze lime over dish, and throw the rest of the 
garnish on top.  Enjoy!




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