3535Pad Thai RANGERegional and religious dietary
preferences mean no single
“authentic” pad thai recipe exists.
Battle Station
Pad thai comes together rapidly once you start
cooking—so have your ingredients assembled
before your wok gets smoking hotFound readily in Asian mar-
kets or online, medium-size
versions of these dried shrimp
(about the size of a pencil
eraser) are ideal for pad thai.
After a quick soak and toast-
ing in a dry wok, they take on
a satisfying chew.2. Kung Haeng
(Dried Shrimp)
This tangy pulp made from the
tamarind fruit lends acidity and
dark sweetness to pad thai
sauce. It is available in a variety of
forms (see “Sour Patch,” p. 100).
Look for it in a block like this one
at Asian and Caribbean markets.
Fresh paste should be soft and
pliable.- Tamarind Paste
While these New World ground-
nuts are not particularly popular
in Thai cooking, they are a key
textural component of this dish.
Buy unsalted, roasted peanuts,
and chop them coarsely by hand.
Ricker goes a step further: He
sifts the dust off after chopping,
saving it for satay sauce.4. PeanutsFor freshness and crunch in
an otherwise soft and sweet
dish, add a generous handful
of sprouts to the noodles in the
fi nal minutes of cooking. A few
more raw sprouts, sprinkled on
after plating, add an extra layer
of cooling crispness.- Soybean Sprouts
Just about any combination of
meat, seafood, or vegetable
proteins can be added to pad
thai. Pork should be very fatty
and either coarsely ground or
hand-minced. Ricker recom-
mends using pressed tofu, which
will hold its shape through even
the most vigorous stir-frying.- Protein
Consider serving something
astringent to nibble on between
bites. Fresh bitter herbs like
thinly sliced fresh banana blos-
soms, bai boa bok (pennywort),
and long stalks of kuay chai
(fl at garlic chives) are all palate
cleansers commonly served with
pad thai.6. Thai HerbsFully dried noodles may be
easier to fi nd, but semi-dried
are faster-cooking and have
a more delicate texture.
After a quick soak, the water
still clinging to them when
you add them to the wok
is enough to fi nish cooking
them during stir-frying.Pork lard is the most common
cooking fat used for pad thai in
Thailand. Buy a freshly rendered,
non-hydrogenated version from
your butcher. For pork-free,
seafood, or vegetarian versions,
a neutral vegetable oil such as
canola, corn, or rice bran makes
a fi ne substitute.Look for a Thai brand of shredded
or “stripped” salted radish pack-
aged in vacuum-sealed bags. It
adds saltiness, a fruity sweet-
ness, and fermented notes. The
vegetable retains a lot of salinity,
so be sure to soak the pieces in
cool water for 10 minutes and
drain well before using.8. Wide Sen Lek
(Semi-Dried Rice Noodles)9. Fat^10. Hua Chai Po (Salted Radish)Similar in fl avor to maple sugar,
this rich and butterscotchy sugar
is made from the sap of the co-
conut palm. Look for a soft and
scoopable version, which is avail-
able in small tubs, and be sure
to buy 100 percent palm sugar.
Lesser versions are cut with
cheap refi ned sweeteners.- Palm Sugar
Eat It Your Way
In Thailand, pad thai is
often presented to diners
somewhat underseasoned
to allow for them to tweak
it to their own taste.
To emulate this, serve
yours with small bowls of
these condiments, called
khruang phrung, and let
friends and family person-
alize their own plate.PHRIK PON KHUA
Toasty, medium-hot chil-
es are ground and then
sprinkled over noodle
dishes to add heat and a
pruny depth that comple-
ments tamarind’s dark,
rich sweetness. You’re
best off using a Thai-style
mortar and pestle (see
“DIY Thai Chile Powder,”
p. 100), though a small
food processor or spice
grinder works too.THAI FISH SAUCE
This savory, fermented
anchovy sauce adds salin-
ity and funk to everything
it touches, so a little goes
a long way. According to
Ricker, Vietnamese fi sh
sauce tends to be on the
sweeter side, so stick with
Thai brands such as Squid
or Megachef.RAW CANE SUGAR
If you prefer a sweeter
pad thai (no judgment),
add a pinch or two of
coarse fi nishing sugar.PR
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BY
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