Sunday, August 26, 2007

Beautiful Sunday and Phad Thai

The weather was in the 80's, the sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze all day. A perfect day for flying.
Went out for a fun day with the folks and watch PapaG fly his UAV (unmaned aviation vehicle) in the open fields of grass. Unlike the other models that he had, this one is so quiet as it sliced through the air, doing circles with great ease. The electical plane was an awesome toy to watch as he made dare-devil stunts with his remote control. The whole family loved watching the show.Made phad thai noodles for the family and used a recipe that was new to me. There are so many variations of phad thai noodles out there to try yet, and I happened to have this one on-hand.The definition found in wikipedia showed Pad Thai (or Phad Thai, Thai: ผัดไทย, IPA: [pʰat tʰai], "Thai style frying") as a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce (Thai น้ำปลา), tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts and coriander. It is normally served with a piece of lime, the juice of which can be added along with the usual Thai condiments. In Thailand, it is also served with a piece of banana flower.
Phad Thai Noodles
4 oz flat rice noodles
2 tbs plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 tbs peanut butter
2 tbs plus 1 teaspoon Southeast Asian fish sauce (used soy sauce)
2 tbs rice vinegar
1/4 cup oil
2 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
1 lb pork tenderloin
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (omitted)
Kosher salt
2 tsp minced garlic
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 cup cubed firm tofu (omitted)
3 garlic chives(white and green parts), cut into 1/2-inch pieces,
2 scallions, chopped
1 1/4 cups mung bean sprouts
1/3 cup salted roasted peanuts, chopped, plus additional for garnish
For serving: Lime wedges, Sri Racha sauce (Thai hot chili sauce) Put the noodles in a medium bowl with hot water to cover. Soak until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside. Whisk the sugar with the fish sauce and vinegar in a small bowl.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Pour in the eggs, tilting the skillet as you pour to make a thin, even coating of egg. Cook until just set, about 45 seconds. Invert the eggs onto a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

Add another 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil to the same skillet and heat over high heat. Add the pork, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper flakes, and salt, to taste. Stir-fry until the pork are cooked through, about 2-5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut oil over high heat. Add the garlic, shallots, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add the tofu and cook about 2 minutes more. Add the noodles and cook, tossing, until lightly coated with the garlic mixture, about 1 minute. Add the fish sauce mixture and large chives pieces and heat through. Stir in the cooked egg and pork, 1 cup of the sprouts, and the 1/3 cup peanuts and toss until hot. Divide the Phad Thai among plates and top with the remaining sprouts, additional peanuts, and chopped scallions. Serve immediately with the lime wedges and Sriracha chili sauce.

Recipe adapted from Food Network

Note: Added a couple of ingredients like paprika, peanut butter and garlic chives, used some substitutions and ommited some ingredients to suit my family's taste. It was an easy recipe and the kids enjoyed it.

19 comments:

KellytheCulinarian said...

Beautiful weather and a beautiful dish. What a day!

Lia said...

i love phad thai, really beautiful presentation :)

eastcoastlife said...

The open field is so huge! I would love to fly kite there! kekeke....

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Kelly,
Thanks! It was a great day. :)

Hi Lia,
Thanks! Me too! :)

Hi Eastcoastlife,
Come over and we'll go fly kite! :)

Big Boys Oven said...

OMG! yet another lovely dish. So delightful, so refreshing and full of asian taste.

Little Corner of Mine said...

Yes, agreed, what a beautiful dish!

Padma said...

Wow thats a nice Phad Thai, wondering what its meant by that, noodles with chicken looks inviting...nice post!

Thanks for visiting my blog, you have a great space too!

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Big Boys Oven
Thanks, and it is 'full of asian taste.'

Hey C,
Thanks lah!

Hi Padma,
Thanks! Phad thai means stir-fried noodles with fish sauce, eggs, tamarind, bean sprouts and some kind of meat of prawns.
Welcome and thanks for visiting my blog too!

Anonymous said...

How come everyone is having great weather except me? :)

Great dish and the way you've presented it.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hey Judy,
LOL! You should move to a sunny place, and thank you! :)

daphne said...

gosh. looks like a great day! The peanut butter adds a very nice touch to phad thai. Lovely pictures!

Cynthia said...

There are some foods that I can eat everyday and never get tired of, Phad Thai is one such dish.

Anonymous said...

Have not tried cooking pad thai at home coz I'm worried about "sticky" rice noodles in the wok! :O
Your pad thai looks lovely and made me hungry for some.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Daphne,
Thanks! I love peanut butter. ;)

Hi Cynthia,
Me too. Thanks!

Hi Tigerfish,
Have you tried a non-stick wok? It'll help. ;)

WokandSpoon said...

Looks like you had a great day! Phad thai is one of my favourite dishes!

Home Cooking said...

ur phad thai so tempting, makes me hungry

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Wokandspoon,
Yes, it was. Thanks! It's mine too! :)

Hi Isha,
Thanks!

IronEaters said...

the pad thai looks like those served in restaurant! looks good =D i tried to stir fry once n it didnt turn out well. the noodle became too soft and the flavourings just didnt turn out rite. so i never cooked it anymore =(

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Ironeaters,
LOL! Thanks! Rice noodles can be sticky. I think the trick is not to soak the rice noodles for too long. I used a non-stick wok, and I think that helped too.