Pad Thai

Tags

Chicken, noodles, pad thai, shrimp, thailand, tofu

What is Pad Thai?

Pad Thai is basically a Thai noodle stir fry with a delicious sweet-sour sauce topped with peanuts. It is made with thin, flat rice noodles and includes bean sprouts, spring onions and scrambled eggs and either chicken , prawns or tofu. The sauce is what makes the dish and it includes fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and tamarind. What is tamarind you might be asking. It is THE ingredient that gives the sauce the flavour it is known for. Authentic Pad Thai is made with tamarind pulp which comes in a block the size of a bar of soap (easily available on Amazon) which is soaked in hot water before being pushed through a sieve to remove the fibers and seeds. You are then left with the paste. If you can find the tamarind puree in a jar, use that instead by all means.
Making Pad Thai is very easy but be sure to have all your ingredients measured and ready to go as you need to move quickly.
I have added peanut butter in my sauce which I think gives the dish an added creaminess and boost of yumminess.
I think this recipe tastes amazing but do not take my word for it… try it yourself and let me know what you think.

Let me tell you a bit about the history of Pad Thai. There is not a dish that screams “Thailand” more than Pad Thai. It is the national dish and eaten literally on every street corner in Thailand but would you believe that it actually did not exist before WW2?? Crazy isn’t it? But true.
Pad Thai was invented in 1938. Thailand suffered a shortage of good quality rice at this time due to the war and serious floods. Plaek Phibunsongkhram who was the PM at the time encouraged people to eat noodles instead. Noodles used only 50% of the grain so were more economical and cheaper to produce.
The government of Thailand created the dish Pad Thai to protect the rice resources. They told the public that by eating this new dish they were helping their country. Several sources say there was a competition to create a national dish using noodles and Pad Thai was the winner.
The government gave out recipes to restaurants and in mail boxes and even offered free carts to people willing to set up stalls and sell in the streets.
So let’s get on with the recipe.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 7oz / 200g flat rice noodles
• 3 T oil (canola, peanut – not olive)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 8oz / 250g chicken cut into very thin slices or 8oz / 250g shrimp, raw, shelled and de-veined
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 200g / 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 5 spring onions or garlic chives (¼ cup) chopped 
• 4 T dry roasted peanuts, chopped
• 2 limes
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

For the sauce

• 3 T nuoc mam / nam pla fish sauce
• 1 T low sodium soy sauce
• 3 T light brown sugar
• 2 T tamarind from pulp (see directions)
• 1 T sriracha hot sauce (optional)
• 2 T peanut butter (optional)

Method:

• Cut enough of the tamarind pulp to provide 2T after the following process.   Pour ½ cup boiling water over the tamarind pulp, cover and place aside for 20 minutes.  After the 20 minutes break up the pulp in the hot water and then press the mixture through a fine meshed strainer/sieve.  Discard the solids.
• Cook noodles according to package instructions, just until tender.  Rinse under cold water
• Combine the fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, sriracha, tamarind paste and peanut butter.  Mix well and set aside.
• Heat a wok or large pan over high heat.  Add oil.
• Add the bell pepper, cook until it softens slightly
• Add garlic and chicken or shrimp.  If using shrimp they will cook very rapidly, about 1-2 minutes until just pink.  If using chicken, cook until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes
• Push the chicken/shrimp to the side of the wok
• Add the eggs and stir as they cook but do not touch too much
• Add bean sprouts, noodles and sauce. Toss well.
• Switch off the stove
• Add spring onions, peanuts and coriander
• Serve immediately with wedges of limes

Bon appetit

Shrimp in coconut peanut sauce

Tags

coconut, peanuts, prawns, quick meals, satay, shrimp

This is my take on a quick and easy satay shrimp recipe. Perfect weeknight dinner.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 can coconut milk
• 125 ml / 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 an onion, grated
• 1 tablespoon soya sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 500g / 1.2 lb shrimp. peeled and deveined
• Handful of peanuts as garnish
• Fresh cilantro, chopped as garnish

Preparation:

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter, onion, soy sauce, brown sugar, and pepper flakes
Bring to a boil, stirring frequently
Lower heat and cook for 1 minute
Remove from heat, and keep warm
If using raw shrimp, heat a little oil in a pan and stir fry your shrimp until pink all over, about 2 minutes
Add the shrimp to the sauce and reheat gently
To serve: divide rice or noodles into serving dishes and top with the prawn mixture
Garnish with fresh coriander and crushed salted peanuts
Enjoy!

 

 

Spicy seafood pasta

Tags

bucatini, Calamari, crab, mussels, Pasta, Seafood, shrimp, spicy

 

As you may have read Nadia has just gone through carpal tunnel surgery on her left hand so this is Stuart, her husband and trusty assistant, with my first guest blog post.  I don’t know how many of these I will do but it might be interesting for some and maybe especially for anyone who isn’t the primary cook in the household.  I always try and help prep things but Nadia is in charge.  I will give my opinions from the viewpoint of someone who doesn’t do this often other than helping.

This recipe is inspired from a Jamie Oliver recipe.  I needed something to work from but it also has a few changes and my insights.

This recipe is just for two people so you can adjust it accordingly.  I went and did the shopping and managed to get the correct items using my best French.

The recipe includes crab meat but we really didn’t think that it added anything to the dish.  In my opinion you either should leave it out or add quite a bit more to make sure that you can really taste it.

The bucatini seems to be a really good match for this dish so I think it is well worth making sure you get this pasta.

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Serves 2

Sauce (this might make a bit more sauce than some people would like)
Ingredients:

1 800g / 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil

Preparation:
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan
Saute garlic for 30 seconds
Add tomatoes
Bring to a boil then cover, simmer and stir occasionally until the sauce thickens up (about 45-60 mins)

Main dish

Here are the main ingredients ready to get started:

Ingredients:

200g / 7oz crab meat (cooked)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp red chili flakes (to taste)
250g / 9oz mussels
150g / 5.5oz calamari/squid
200g / 7oz shrimp
bucatini (85g / 3oz pp uncooked)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped

Preparation:

You should have already prepared the sauce since that takes time (see above)
Clean and beard the mussels
We had a whole squid so you remove the head and discard.  Clean the remainder thoroughly and cut into small rings.
Use a large sauce pan with plenty of water.  Heat it until boiling then add the bucatini.  Let it boil for about 8 minutes until it is al dente.
A few minutes before the pasta is ready heat uncovered the butter, crushed garlic and oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan
Add the shrimp, crab meat, calamari/squid and mussels
Cook them all on high heat, with a lid on the pan, shaking once or twice for about 4 minutes (all mussels should be opened)
Add the tomato sauce into the seafood
Strain the bucatini and add to the pan with the seafood and sauce
Stir everything up well
Sprinkle with some parsley and oregano
Enjoy!