Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Pad Thai for Poor People who like Thai food

Hey everybody. Haven't posted a single thing in almost two months. Great job on my part. Whatever guys, crafting in the summer kind of sucks. It's just too hot. So get over it.
So, I decided that since I'm terrible I should at least post for you one of the most impressive meals I can make. And I can't make many impressive meals. In fact, pad Thai is the only one. But seriously guys, it is delicious and surprisingly cheap to make. It's actually our go to meal if we have no food in the house (which is often).
So, you are going to need:


  • 1/2 package medium rice noodles
  • 1/3 cup half full of ketchup, half full of Sriracha Chili Sauce (the stuff that makes everything taste good)
  • 1/4 cup fish sauce
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 1/2 cup water
  • A pile of sugar (I've never actually measured it. I just measure it to taste. But you will need a lot of it so that the Sriracha doesn't burn your face off. I actually recently found the perfect amount by accidentally spilling a shit ton of sugar in there so...try that.)
  • 1 egg
  • Some kind of vegetables, I usually have onions and green peppers around so I just use those but if you're not poor you could also use some green onions and bean sprouts. 
  • Your choice of chicken, shrimp or tofu
  • Crushed peanuts (optional but fantastic)
This makes about 3-4 servings by the way so adjust as you need.

Step 1: Put the noodles in a big bowl and pour super hot water over them. Set aside to soften.
Step 2: Cook your chicken/shrimp/tofu in a bit of oil in your wok. (A deep pan will work too)
Step 3: Add your chopped vegetables to wok and let cook a few minutes.
Step 4: Scramble egg and add to wok. Should be mostly cooked when you add sauce.
Step 5: Mix together ketchup/sriracha, fish sauce, lime juice, water and sugar in a small bowl. Add to wok and allow to heat for a few minutes. It will be very watery but it will all soak into the noodles.
Step 6: Remove the now softened noodles from the water and add to the wok. Now basically just keep cooking it all until the noodles are soft. If you run out of sauce but the noodles are still hard just keep adding water. Keep an eye on this as the noodles will quickly burn.
Step 7: Sprinkle your crushed peanuts on top and some cilantro or lime slices as a garnish if you're really trying to impress somebody. Enjoy!

And there you have it a tasty, seemingly fancy meal that is actually super cheap. I don't have a picture of mine for you because I just devoured it and then thought about posting this recipe but here's a picture of some pad Thai that looks way nicer than mine anyway. Yours won't look this good.


1 comment:

  1. YUUUM PT is my fave!! Plum sauce will help add sweetness, and tamarind. Though when I make it I cheat, we buy a big tub of ready-made sauce from a restaurant supply store. It's cheap and tastes just like restaurants.. cuz it IS from the restaurants ;)

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