[Part one of my pad thai recipe, which I stole from a lady on Throwdown With Bobby Flay, is here.]Yesterday I revealed the first great secret of pad thai: the sauce. Today I reveal the second: the noodles. (I assume you have all already mastered the third great secret of pad thai, which is don't be Bobby Flay.) We start with ingredients.
pad-thai-12, originally uploaded by craftj2.- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1/2 cup whole shrimp, peeled
- 4 oz dry rice noodles
- 5 tablespoons pad thai sauce that you already made
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon hot ground chiles
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- Sriracha sauce
This
is a simplified pad thai ingredient list. If you want to go all out,
you can add peanuts, lime juice, even pork. But I don't need all that
bullshit flair, just the basics.
Okay, it is noodle time. We
aren't going to boil the noodles like when you cook spaghetti. We are
going to soak the noodles in cold water, like so.
The noodles should soak for 30-45 minutes. After about 30 minutes,
start checking the noodles. They must be soft and moist, but not mushy.
If you take them out to soon then the noodles will be crunchy, but if
you wait too long, you'll end up with soup. It takes practice to get
this right. And I cannot emphasize enough: consistency of the noodles is absolutely key to the pad thai experience.
While waiting for the noodles to soak we can cook the shrimp in the garlic and oil. It is important to not
overcook the shrimp, so cook it until it turns pink and then set it
aside for later.
pad-thai-2, originally uploaded by craftj2.Drain
the noodles, and then start cooking them in the oil and garlic left in
the wok. Add a little bit of water to moisten things up - NO THAT'S TOO
MUCH I SAID A LITTLE! You don't want to boil the noodles, you want to
fry them.
After frying the noodles for a couple of minutes,
add the shrimp back in. Now, push the contents over to the side so you
have room to add the eggs. The eggs should not be put on top of the
noodles, but directly onto the exposed part of the wok. Scramble the
eggs, then when they are cooked, mix them up into the noodles and
shrimp.
pad-thai-8, originally uploaded by craftj2.Now
add in the chiles and bean sprouts. Be warned: thai chiles are hot. as.
fuck. I put in just a couple of chopped thai chiles. Don't be a hero.
If its not hot enough you can spice it up with Sriracha sauce in a
minute.
Fry everything together for a minute or so, and guess
what? YOU JUST MADE SOME REAL FUCKING PAD THAI SUCK IT BOBBY FLAY.
Garnish with some fresh bean sprouts and Sriracha sauce if you like it
spicy. And you do.
