Chicken Pad Thai Recipe

Ingredient List

• 8-10 oz. thin Thai-style rice noodles (or enough for 2-3 people)­
• 2 - 3 chicken breast or thigh meat, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. cornflour
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 cups fresh bean sprouts
• optional: 2 eggs
• 3 spring (green) onions, sliced
• approx. 1 cup fresh coriander  
• 1/4 pt chicken stock
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbl sp olive oil or better still 1 chick stock cube dissolved in 3 tblsp boiling water.

Dipping Sauce:

 

• 3/4 tbsp. tamarind paste (available at Asian/Indian food stores)
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1-3 tsp. chili sauce (depending how spicy you want it)
• 2 - 3 Tbsp. brown sugar (more or less to taste)

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then remove from heat. Dunk in your rice noodles. Allow the noodles to soak while you prepare the other ingredients. Note that you will be frying the noodles later, so you don't want to over-soften them at this point. Noodles are ready when they are soft enough to be eaten, but are still firm and a little "crunchy". Drain and rinse through with cold water. Set aside.
2. Make the Pad Thai Sauce by combining the sauce ingredients together in a cup. Stir well to dissolve both the tamarind paste and brown sugar. Set sauce aside.

   Note: this may seem like a lot of sugar, but you need it to balance out the sourness of the tamarind - this balance is what makes Pad Thai taste so tangy-terrific!

3. Place chicken slices in a small bowl. Pour the marinade (2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp. soy sauce) over the chicken. Stir well and set aside.
4. Warm up a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. When the wok/pan is hot, add 1-2 tbsp. oil or thick chick stock mixture plus garlic. Stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds).
5. Add the chicken (together with the marinade). Stir-fry 30 seconds to 1 minute.
6. When wok or pan becomes dry, add a little chicken stock (1-2 Tbsp. at a time), enough to keep the chicken frying nicely. Continue in this way until the chicken pieces/strips are cooked (about 5-8 minutes).
7. Add the noodles, and pour the Pad Thai sauce over. Using two spatulas, wooden spoons, or other utensils, quickly stir-fry the noodles. Use a gentle "lift and turn" method (like tossing a salad) instead of the usual stir-frying motion, or the noodles may break.
8. Fry the noodles in this way for 1-2 minutes. If you find your wok/frying pan too dry, push noodles aside and add a little more oil to the bottom (but no more broth, or the noodles will become soggy).
9. Add the bean sprouts and sprinkle over the pepper. Continue "tossing" 1 more minute, or until noodles are cooked. Noodles are done to perfection when they are no longer "hard" or crunchy, but chewy-sticky wonderful!
10. Taste-test the noodles for seasoning, adding more fish sauce as needed (I usually end up adding up to 1 more Tbsp. fish sauce, as I like mine on the salty side). Toss well to incorporate.
11. Lift the noodles onto a serving plate. Top with generous amounts of fresh coriander, spring onion, and crushed or chopped nuts. Add fresh lime wedges (lime is great squeezed overtop), and serve with a bottle of Thai chili sauce on the side (for those who like it extra spicy). ENJOY!

Tip:For even more flavour, I usually make a double batch of the pad thai sauce. Then, as I'm stir-frying the noodles, I keep drizzling over the sauce until I'm happy with the taste (I also add extra fish sauce). Any leftover pad thai sauce can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

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