Street Pad Thai
Funkier & more savory than take-out Pad Thai.
This recipe breakdown originally appeared in The Mouthful, our weekly food newsletter for the curious home cook.
This is a funkier, more savory counterpart to the sweet, ketchup-based takeout dish. If you don’t have a wok, cooking components in small batches ensures you will get a sear and browning on each set of ingredients. Adding all ingredients at once could overwhelm the heat source and result in a steamed, mushy dish.
Keith McBrayer
Ingredients
Stir fry components
- flat rice noodles450 g1 lb
- chicken, or shrimp227 g1/2 lb
- bamboo shoots100 g
- scallions, chopped whites100 g
- dried shrimp, crushed30 g
- garlic, minced5 g
- fresh ginger, minced5 g
- eggs2
- cooking oilas needed
Sauce components
- tamarind puree75 g
- fish sauce75 g
- palm sugar50 g
- dark soy sauce15 g
Toppings to taste
- peanuts, crushed
- limes, wedges
- scallions, chopped greens
- sriracha
Method
Step 1: Prepare the noodles & the sauce
Soak the noodles in hot water according to the package directions while you prep the dish.
For the sauce, stir the tamarind paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, and soy sauce until the sugar has dissolved.
Step 2: Cook the protein & the eggs
Set a wok or wide pan over high heat. Add a drizzle of oil.
your protein of choice on high heat until on the outside and just cooked through. Remove the protein from the wok, reserving it in a separate bowl.
Add in more cooking oil and then crack in the eggs. Scramble in the oil until just cooked through, and set aside with the protein. Wipe out the wok.
Step 3: Stir fry aromatics & combine
Drain the noodles and get everything close by to
Add a spoonful more cooking oil to the wok (over high heat), then add the crushed dried shrimp and for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add in the garlic & ginger and for another 15-30 seconds.
Add in the noodles, reserved egg & protein, and sauce mixture. Toss to until everything is well coated and the sauce clings to each noodle.
Step 4: Finish & serve
Add in the green onions and bamboo shoots during the last minute of cooking.
Mix and taste for seasoning — adjust with fish sauce, sugar, or a squeeze of lime juice if needed. Serve with crushed peanuts, lime wedges, more bamboo sprouts, and green onions.
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