Thursday, September 13, 2012
Perfecting My Pad Thai Recipe
The first time you make a dish in a new style, one that you haven’t practiced before, the learning experience is in reality a scientific experiment. As we can imagine, all experiments do not have the expected or desired results. So it was with my first few tries at the quintessential Siamese dish, Pad Thai. Beginning the quest to master Pad Thai I reasoned it would be a simple matter as it is basically a shrimp and noodle stir-fry, the technique not much different from other Asian cooking. That assumption proved to be a bit premature.
My first contact with Pad Thai was many, many years ago in Southern California not too long after a tour of duty in Southeast Asia. It was long enough ago that I can really remember the taste, the flavor of the dish but I can recall some of the impressions at the time. It was a flavor combination unfamiliar but not really compelling. When I later learned that fish sauce was a principle spice I was further put off. Having had some unpleasant experiences with nuoc mam, I was quite ready to shun fish sauce, even the more refined nam pla of Thai cooking. Notwithstanding, the sharp, woody citrus flavor from kafir leaves was also something I would rather avoid. So, my first encounter with Pad Thai left me with a “been there, done that, now forget about it” attitude.
In the years since there has been a proliferation of many Asian-style restaurants including Thai. I have heard many extol the virtues of Thai foods and a significant portion of that about the spicy, chili heat of some dishes. Even though Pad Thai was not one of the spicy, hot dishes, it was also a hot topic when Thai food was discussed. All I could do was listen because I had such a limited experience that was so long ago. I decided it was time to venture out and try again and reset the taste impressions of Pad Thai. Over several years I tried Pad Thai in different parts of the country even trying a cook-at-home version (you know, the “add your own shrimp, chicken or…” kind) from the grocer’s freezer. All promised authentic Thai flavor. All were different. I must admit that none of them were exceptional enough to be compelling. The basic ingredients were the same but they all varied greatly in the amount of the condiments used or even possibly omitted perhaps to make the flavor more attuned to the Western palate. Unfortunately my sense of taste wasn’t familiar enough with the Thai ingredients to sort it out. The last tasting was more than a year ago and back then I decided to do a “from scratch” version at home to sort out the combinations and see if a favorite version was possible.
It wasn’t until about a month ago that I actually got started on the project. In a faraway place like Anchorage, Alaska it is sometimes difficult to fine things exotic. Over a period of time I was able to accumulate some of the ingredients, some from here and some from there. Rice noodles were a quick find in the local supermarket. The fish sauce, nam pla, was another quick find. I couldn’t find tamarind paste anywhere. I did come across a small jar labeled “Pad Thai spice.” It promised all of the spice to make Pad Thai. So I amassed the other ingredients, the noodles, the bean sprouts, the shrimp, the onions and the peanuts. I made my first batch of Pad Thai.
It was not, as you might expect, a satisfactory experiment. The all-in-one spice and flavoring mix was not up to the task of making something similar to the restaurant varieties I have tasted before. I kept looking for the list of “authentic” ingredients every time I went out grocery shopping even visiting a few fusion and oriental markets along the way. I at last had everything except the kafir leaves and I wasn’t going to use them anyway. My neighbor, Margie, who was a tasting judge on my first attempt, was brave enough and agreed to come back for a second round. I assured her that I would also make some fried rice so there would be sufficient food if the main course was not up to par. She also said she would make some fried won tons to compliment the Asian fusion meal.
Margie arrived on time on the appointed day. She brought a plate of scrumptious won tons. She had made the filling from a mixture of cabbage, chicken and spices and they were delicious. I provided a bit of sweet chili sauce for the dip and it proved to be an excellent combination. I had already made the fried rice and all of the ingredients for the Pad Thai were laid out. Margie helped with the stir fry while I added ingredients and took a few pictures of the process. The cooking completed, we plated the Pad Thai and set it on the table.
The meal was excellent: the fried rice tasty and rich with the essence of chicken; the won tons were flavorful and so succulent when paired with the sweet chili sauce. The Pad Thai was very good, very tasty. It compared well with any other restaurant sample I have ever tried but it was not any better. Pretty much I have concluded that Pad Thai is really a learn-to-like dish. Although it is quite palatable, it isn’t compelling enough to make me want to order it ahead of some other selections. I have learned to make a Pad Thai that is as good as restaurant offerings and have now had some experience in some of the Thai spice combinations. To that extent I would call the experiment a success. I have learned much along the way that I will put to use in further cooking “experiments.” Unfortunately, however good that it was, Pad Thai is not going to be one of my favorite dishes. However, the procedure is fairly straight forward and perhaps it would become one of your favorites should you care to try.
You can compare a local restaurant’s takeout version in the take-home box and as plated to my version above. Please note their use of cilantro and the bean sprouts served cold on the side.
Perfecting the Recipe: Pad Thai - Shrimp and Noodle Stir-fry.
The first time you make a dish in a new style, one that you haven’t practiced before, the learning experience is in reality a scientific experiment. As we can imagine, all experiments do not have the expected or desired results. So it was with my first few tries at the quintessential Siamese dish, Pad Thai. Beginning the quest to master Pad Thai I reasoned it would be a simple matter as it is basically a shrimp and noodle stir-fry, the technique not much different from other Asian cooking. That assumption proved to be a bit premature.
My first contact with Pad Thai was many, many years ago in Southern California not too long after a tour of duty in Southeast Asia. It was long enough ago that I can really remember the taste, the flavor of the dish but I can recall some of the impressions at the time. It was a flavor combination unfamiliar but not really compelling. When I later learned that fish sauce was a principle spice I was further put off. Having had some unpleasant experiences with nuoc mam, I was quite ready to shun fish sauce, even the more refined nam pla of Thai cooking. Notwithstanding, the sharp, woody citrus flavor from kafir leaves was also something I would rather avoid. So, my first encounter with Pad Thai left me with a “been there, done that, now forget about it” attitude.
In the years since there has been a proliferation of many Asian-style restaurants including Thai. I have heard many extol the virtues of Thai foods and a significant portion of that about the spicy, chili heat of some dishes. Even though Pad Thai was not one of the spicy, hot dishes, it was also a hot topic when Thai food was discussed. All I could do was listen because I had such a limited experience that was so long ago. I decided it was time to venture out and try again and reset the taste impressions of Pad Thai. Over several years I tried Pad Thai in different parts of the country even trying a cook-at-home version (you know, the “add your own shrimp, chicken or…” kind) from the grocer’s freezer. All promised authentic Thai flavor. All were different. I must admit that none of them were exceptional enough to be compelling. The basic ingredients were the same but they all varied greatly in the amount of the condiments used or even possibly omitted perhaps to make the flavor more attuned to the Western palate. Unfortunately my sense of taste wasn’t familiar enough with the Thai ingredients to sort it out. The last tasting was more than a year ago and back then I decided to do a “from scratch” version at home to sort out the combinations and see if a favorite version was possible.
It was not, as you might expect, a satisfactory experiment. The all-in-one spice and flavoring mix was not up to the task of making something similar to the restaurant varieties I have tasted before. I kept looking for the list of “authentic” ingredients every time I went out grocery shopping even visiting a few fusion and oriental markets along the way. I at last had everything except the kafir leaves and I wasn’t going to use them anyway. My neighbor, Margie, who was a tasting judge on my first attempt, was brave enough and agreed to come back for a second round. I assured her that I would also make some fried rice so there would be sufficient food if the main course was not up to par. She also said she would make some fried won tons to compliment the Asian fusion meal.
Margie arrived on time on the appointed day. She brought a plate of scrumptious won tons. She had made the filling from a mixture of cabbage, chicken and spices and they were delicious. I provided a bit of sweet chili sauce for the dip and it proved to be an excellent combination. I had already made the fried rice and all of the ingredients for the Pad Thai were laid out. Margie helped with the stir fry while I added ingredients and took a few pictures of the process. The cooking completed, we plated the Pad Thai and set it on the table.
If you are interested in the actual recipe, ingredients and steps, see http://www.twentymile.com/Cookbook/padthai.htm
You can compare a local restaurant’s takeout version in the take-home box and as plated to my version above. Please note their use of cilantro and the bean sprouts served cold on the side.Labels: Asia, nam pla, pad thai, rice noodles, shrimp, tamarind
¶ 12:42 PM
