Jay Ebersohl's world famous Phad Thai recipe.
Handed down as an old family recipe (starting with me).
Phad Thai is tricky to make because it is difficult to get the rice noodles soft enough, but not too soft as to fall
apart. This recipe is a collection of what I have tasted commercially, both in the US and in Thailand, and works for me. But it will take practice to get it
right. The measurements are all approximate, since I do not measure anything when I make it.
Soak:
half a bag (1/2 lb) of rice noodles in lukewarm water until they have reached proper texture.
You should be able to chew them, but they don't fall apart. (I think the 3/8 inch wide ones work best)
Prepare:
1/4 cup of chopped peanuts, unsalted
1 to 2 tblsp sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp dried, chopped chili pepper
1 tblsp tomato paste
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp chopped pickled salted radish (it comes in a jar, ask at an Asian grocery store)
2 clove chopped garlic
1/4 lb of cubed chicken
quarter a lime
1/2 lb of bean sprouts
1 egg
some oil
fresh cilantro
Cook:
heat oil in wok (on a gas stove!), add garlic, chicken, and radish
cook until chicken is almost done then add egg (scramble it into the rest)
Optional: you could add a couple of fresh shrimp here if you like
add about half the bean sprouts and stir up for about a minute
drain the noodles and add to the wok. Be careful how they are to be stirred, really, toss them so they don't get broken.
at the same time, add in the soy sauce, tomato paste (use the soy sauce to water down the tomato paste, otherwise you might get a sticky mess),
sugar, peanuts and chili
toss, thoroughly mixing ingredients
Use the remaining bean sprouts, cilantro, and lime as garnish, but squeeze some lime juice onto the noodles and eat the
bean sprouts and cilantro along with it
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