Pad Thai with Shrimp, Tofu and Tamarind

Pad thai happens fast. Gerzsi knew that, so he did everything in the right order. Noodles into a bowl of lukewarm water. Tofu sliced. Garlic chives cut. Tamarind, palm sugar syrup and fish sauce stirred together in a little cup. He lined it all up next to the wok like a row of tiny soldiers.

Reggie lined up too. Reggie had seen a cooking show where the chef tossed noodles high into the air, and he wanted to try. He had also found the shiny metal spatula, and he liked it very much. Every time Gerzsi turned around, the spatula was somewhere else.

The wok got hot. The egg went in and puffed at the edges. Then Gerzsi froze. Shrimp next, or tofu? Was it time for the noodles? The cups were all there, but suddenly they all looked the same.

Chef Tamás stepped in, took the spatula back out of Reggie’s paw and handed it to Gerzsi. Then he pointed at the cups one by one, in the order of the recipe: shrimp, tofu, dried shrimp and radish, then the noodles, then the sauce. Gerzsi went down the row, tossing all the way. One minute for the sauce, twenty seconds for the sprouts and chives, done.

In Thailand, pad thai is street food, and it is cooked one or two plates at a time, just like this. Reggie got the first plate. He did not toss it into the air. He was too busy eating it.

Why this one works

Small batches keep the wok hot, so the noodles fry instead of stewing. Soaking the rice noodles instead of boiling them keeps them springy enough to soak up the sauce in the pan. The sauce balances sour tamarind, sweet palm sugar and salty fish sauce, and the garnishes at the end let everyone adjust the plate.

Pad Thai with Shrimp, Tofu and Tamarind

• Servings: 2
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Time: 30 minutes, plus soaking
• Difficulty: Intermediate
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A street-style pad thai made two plates at a time in a very hot wok, with shrimp, tofu, egg and a tamarind and palm sugar sauce.

Ingredients

• 4 oz (115 g) fresh flat rice noodles (about 2 cups), or 2 1/4 oz (65 g) dried rice noodles
• 1 1/4 oz (35 g) extra-firm tofu
• 10 garlic chives
• 1 tablespoon salted radish
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) tamarind water (see notes)
• 2 tablespoons plus 3/4 teaspoon palm sugar syrup (equal parts palm sugar and water, warmed until the sugar dissolves)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 6 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon medium dried shrimp, rinsed, patted dry and toasted in a dry pan until crisp
• 2 oz (55 g) bean sprouts (about 1 loosely packed cup)
To finish
• 1 key lime, quartered
• 2 tablespoons unsalted peanuts, roasted at 350°F (175°C) for 5 minutes and crushed
• A pinch of toasted chile powder
• A pinch of sugar

Directions

1. Soak the noodles: Cover the noodles with lukewarm water. Fresh noodles need about 20 minutes, dried ones about 30. They are ready when they bend easily.
2. Soak the radish: Cover the salted radish with lukewarm water for 15 minutes. Drain, cover with fresh water for 5 more minutes, drain again and chop it.
3. Prep everything else: Cut the tofu into 1/4-inch (6 mm) slices, then into pieces about 3/4 inch (2 cm) long. Cut 6 of the garlic chives into 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) lengths and keep the other 4 whole. Stir the tamarind water, palm sugar syrup and fish sauce together in a small cup. Crack the egg into a small bowl. Set everything next to the stove in the order you will use it.
4. Cook the egg: Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat until very hot. Slide in the egg and leave it alone until it sets.
5. Add the fillings: Add the shrimp, then the tofu, dried shrimp and radish. Break the yolk with a metal spatula and turn everything so it sears.
6. Add the noodles and sauce: Drain the noodles, add them to the wok and toss hard. Pour in the sauce and keep stir-frying for about 1 minute, until the noodles drink it up.
7. Finish: Add the bean sprouts and most of the cut chives and toss for about 20 seconds. Pile onto a plate and top with the peanuts, the rest of the cut chives, the chile powder and the pinch of sugar. Serve at once with the lime wedges and the whole chives on the side.

Tamarind water from pulp: boil 1 cup (240 ml) water with 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp, cool for 30 minutes and strain.
Cook pad thai two portions at a time. A crowded wok cools down and the noodles turn soggy.
Extra soaked fresh noodles keep in a sealed bag in the fridge for up to a week.
Salted radish, dried shrimp and palm sugar are sold at Thai and Southeast Asian grocers.

🛒 Worth buying for this recipe

• Joyce Chen Classic Series 14-Inch Carbon Steel Wok. A Best Buy in America’s Test Kitchen’s flat-bottomed wok test, with birch handles that stay cool. About $37 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
• IMUSA 14-Inch Non-Coated Wok. The other Best Buy in the same America’s Test Kitchen test. Plain carbon steel that gets very hot on a home burner. About $37 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
• Taylor & Ng Natural Nonstick Wok Set. The winner of America’s Test Kitchen’s flat-bottomed wok test. Check price. See it on Amazon
• Wüsthof Gourmet 7″ Slotted Fish Spatula. The winner of America’s Test Kitchen’s metal spatula test. Thin and flexible, so it slides under the egg and tosses noodles without tearing them. About $65 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
• Cilio by Frieling Goliath Mortar & Pestle. America’s Test Kitchen’s top mortar and pestle. Big and heavy, good for crushing roasted peanuts and chiles. About $66 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
• Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8″ Chef’s Knife. The winner of America’s Test Kitchen’s chef’s knife test. For the tofu, chives and lime. About $47 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
• OXO Good Grips 12-Inch Tongs. The winner of America’s Test Kitchen’s tongs test. Handy for lifting soaked noodles out of the water and onto the plate. About $18 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon

How Chef Tamás makes it

Chef Tamás makes his pad thai with chicken instead of shrimp, and he uses lime or vinegar in place of the tamarind. He cooks it to order, one portion at a time, and always fresh. He doesn’t keep it.

🧰 Tools we use

Tamás didn’t name brands for this one. The linked models are America’s Test Kitchen’s picks for the same jobs.

• A carbon steel wok, or a large skillet. See the ATK wok pick on Amazon
• A strong gas burner or wok burner.
• A metal spatula or wok shovel. See the ATK spatula pick on Amazon
• A mortar and pestle for the peanuts and chiles. See the ATK pick on Amazon

💡 Chef Tamás’s tricks

• Have everything prepped next to the wok, in the order it goes in.
• The most common mistakes he sees: overcooked, sticky noodles, and too much food in the wok at once.
• How he serves it: with fresh bean sprouts and scallions, and for a Hungarian touch, with a spoonful of hot paprika paste.

Adapted from Pad Thai (Phat Thai) by Andy Ricker on Food Network. Cooked our way at the inn.

Sources

• Food Network: Pad Thai (Phat Thai) (Andy Ricker)
• America’s Test Kitchen: The best flat-bottomed woks
• America’s Test Kitchen: The best metal spatulas
• America’s Test Kitchen: The best mortars and pestles
• America’s Test Kitchen: The best chef’s knives
• America’s Test Kitchen: The best kitchen tongs
• Engadget: The best Bluetooth trackers (Chipolo Pop, best overall)