Photos: Passport & Plate - Pad Thai

lilla — Wed, 4 Mar 2015 23:23:00 GMT

Ingredients
Rice noodles
Tamarind pasteF
Fish sauce
Sugar
Garlic
Spring onions
Vegetable onions
Chives
Peppers
Bean sprouts
Tofu
Prawns
1 egg
200g pack large cooked prawns
75g beansprouts
handful salted peanut, chopped to serve
lime wedges, to serve

How to prepare this recipe
Tip the noodles into a large bowl and pour over a kettle of boiling water until they are covered. I then leave this to stand for 5-10 mins until the noodles are soft, then drain well. Next, mix together the tamarind paste, fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Next job, stir fried the vegetables. Heat a wok over a high heat. When it’s really hot pour in the oil and swirl around. Tip in garlic and spring onions. Cook for 30 secs, just until they begin to soften. Next stage, cook the egg. To do this push the vegetables to the sides of the wok, then crack the egg into the centre. Keep stirring the egg for 30 secs until it begins to set and resembles a broken-up omelette. Add the prawns and beansprouts, followed by the noodles, then pour over the fish sauce mixture. Toss everything together and heat through. Spoon out onto plates. Serve with some chopped peanuts sprinkled over and wedges of lime.

The story behind this recipe
I have never been to Thailand, but I love the cuisine, the flavours and the ingredients that make such delicious recipes and get my tastebuds going into overdrive. My husband lost his job and unfortunately our holiday of a lifetime to Thailand couldn't materialise, although I'm sure one day we will get there. He generously gave me a gift of a Thai cookery lesson for Christmas in Covent Garden as he knew that this would be the second best option to going to a cookery school in Thailand itself! I was thrilled and Pad thai was on the menu. The difference between an okay Pad Thai and an exceptional one, is the freshness of ingredients and length of cooking. Not over doing the noodles so they are sticky or adding too much fish sauce that makes it salty! I like the juiciness of prawns, the zinginess of lime and the crunchiness of peanuts sprinkled over the top. Recently, I've tried to experiment with eating less meat so I like prawns as an alternative to chicken. The colour of peppers and chives add another dimension that make the dish not only taste amazing but look spectacular, whilst being perfect for a photo!

On a quest for the ultimate perfect Pad Thai!

Photos: Passport & Plate - Pad Thai