Do you always order the same thing at certain restaurants because you think, "There's no way I can make this at home"? That's what we used to do when it came to Pad Thai, until we decided to take an afternoon to make it ourselves. And guess what we figured out while making this dish...
Pad Thai is Easy to Make
We discovered that preparing this recipe is quite easy, with the only challenging aspect being the prep time. It took us just over 30 minutes to chop, measure, and slice all of the ingredients, with an additional 15 minutes required for cooking the Pad Thai. We have also experimented with making a cauliflower Pad Thai, which is a great way to reduce calorie intake while still enjoying the delicious flavors of Pad Thai.
This might be our favorite recipe ever!!!!
We've noticed that some Pad Thai recipes require kaffir leaves and tamarind puree, but these ingredients were not available at our local grocery store. To make up for this, we decided to increase the amount of lime juice and use fish sauce to enhance the savory and tart flavors. Additionally, our secret ingredient, ginger provided a wonderful burst of flavor to the recipe.
This recipe has made me go from always ordering Pad Thai when we go to a Thai restaurant to never ordering Pad Thai out again. I can now shift my attention to trying out other delicious Thai dishes available at the restaurant. I will say this was the best Pad Thai we've ever had! This recipe is simply the best Pad Thai we've ever had! We even managed to cut calories without sacrificing flavor. Moreover, we could adjust the spice level according to our preference. Making this dish at home gives you complete control over calories, spice, fat, and flavor.
A great dessert to complement this dish is a Blueberry Cheese Cake Parfait. The sweetness of the dessert helps to balance out the spiciness of the Pad Thai. While it may not be traditionally Asian, the combination of these two dishes is simply delicious.
A great recipe to try using Thai spices is Peanut Zoodles. It's a fun and delicious way to enjoy a meal.
TIPS:
- If you're busy during the week, you can prep everything (except for the eggs and rice noodles) a few days in advance..
- Measure the Oil. So many of the recipes we saw use a lot of oil! The extra oil isn't needed and does not add any extra flavor to this recipe.
- Use Zoodles instead of Noodles to cut the calories!!!
- To remove the peel off of ginger, use a potato peeler. We prefer to chop the entire ginger root in a food processor, and then freeze it. This method makes ginger readily available and easily accessible whenever it is needed.
- Have everything ready before you start to cook the Pad Thai. Once you start to cook the Pad Thai, it goes super fast. I'm still surprised at how fast this was and the depth of those flavors.
- Substitute Chicken for Pork or Tofu. The Shrimp is optional. We love Shrimp so it's a must in the pad thai for us!
- Serve lime slices with the noodles for a sharp, tart flavor that complements the savoriness of the dish. We discovered this midway through this wonderful meal.
Easy Delicious Pad Thai
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Ginger
- 1 Shallot
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 6 Ounces Chicken breast Or use Pork or Tofu
- 1 Tablespoon Peanut Oil Or Vegetable Oil
- 2 Eggs
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Fish Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Red Pepper flakes We used Thai Peppers
- ½ Cup Cilantro
- 4 Green Onions
- ¼ Cup Dry Roasted Peanuts
- 8 Ounces Pad Thai Noodles
- 12 Large Shrimp Optional
Instructions
Prep items before starting to cook
- To prepare ginger, use a potato peeler as it works great.1 ½ Tablespoon Ginger
- Chop the following: shallots, garlic, and ginger1 Shallot, 2 Cloves Garlic
- Slice the chicken breast into thin strips. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, lime juice, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, and brown sugar.6 Ounces Chicken breast, 1 ½ Tablespoon Soy Sauce, 2 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice, 1 ½ Tablespoon Brown Sugar, 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar, 1 teaspoon Fish Sauce
- Place the noodles in Hot Water or boiling water per the instructions on the container. We placed ours in hot water for 10 minutesWhisk the eggs lightly with a fork or whiskSlice the green onion into this strips Chop the cilantro and peanutsPeel the Shrimp2 Eggs, 4 Green Onions, ½ Cup Cilantro
Stir Fry
- Heat oil in a large stir fry pan. Add shallots, garlic, and ginger; cook for 1 minute.1 Tablespoon Peanut Oil
- Add the sliced chicken and cook it until it is completely done all the way through.
- Add the shrimp and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they start turning pink.12 Large Shrimp
- Add the eggs
- When the eggs are almost done add the red pepper flakes.1 Tablespoon Red Pepper flakes
- Add the Sauce (soy sauce, lime juice, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, and brown sugar)
- Add the drained Pad Thai noodles.8 Ounces Pad Thai Noodles
- Toss the Pad Thai noodles in the sauce with the chicken and Shrimp.
- Stir in ½ of the sliced onions and ½ of the cilantro.½ Cup Cilantro, 4 Green Onions
- Sprinkle the rest of the cilantro, onions, and peanuts over the noodles.¼ Cup Dry Roasted Peanuts
- Serve with sliced Lime.
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