Delicious, Simple, Authentic Home-Made Thai Food

The food and the people in Thailand never let you down and Bangkok is an astonishing place - the culture's lovely and gentle.

Dave Myers

A few people contacted me after last weeks blog to say, they loved the sound of the restaurants and the food but there simply aren’t any Thai restaurants where they live. Hmmm… having thought about it, actually, whilst Thai cooking sounds like it might be complicated and ingredients challenging to get hold of, it really isn’t. I’ll occasionally cook a Thai meal, and whilst the standard might not be that of the Som Saa, because of the vibrancy of the ingredients, it’s not difficult at all to come up with something tasty and authentic!

One of my “go to” recipes is the popular Pad Thai. Pad Thai is one of Thailand’s most famous dishes, there’s even a day dedicated to it, November the 7th this year is when the Thai people celebrate Pad Thai Day! My favourite Pad Tahi recipe comes from the founder of a famous, now restaurant chain, the Chaophraya. Khun Kim, a woman who made an extraordinary journey from the bustling streets of Bangkok to the heart of her first kitchen is the inspiration behind this recipe. For Khum it all began with a humble Pad Thai cart in the vibrant city of Bangkok, where her Pad Thai quickly became a local legend!

Khum’s Pad Thai carries the taste of her journey, with each ingredient carefully chosen to reflect the vibrant culture of her homeland.

Start with fresh, quality ingredients. This includes rice noodles, eggs, firm tofu, bean sprouts, garlic, shallots, peanuts, and lime, see, nothing scary or difficult there!

Prepare the Pad Thai sauce. Mix tamarind paste, fish sauce, and palm sugar to get that perfect sweet, salty, sour balance which is the soul of Pad Thai.

Cook it all together. Fry the garlic and shallots, then add tofu and eggs. Add the noodles, beansprouts, and sauce. Garnish with peanuts, lime, and fresh coriander.

Remember, the secret of this simple dish lies in the freshness of ingredients and the balance of flavours.

Here’s how to put it all together;

Pad Thai Sauce – Ingredients Pad Thai – Ingredients

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil 150g Rice Noodles (soak them until they are transparent

10g Minced Red Onion 4 tbsp Vegetable Oil

80g Palm Sugar 150g Sliced Chicken Breasts

30ml Water 20g Sliced Red Onion

90ml Fish Sauce 1 tbsp Preserved Turnip, I get it from Amazon

2 tbsp Tamarind Concentrate 50g Finely Julienned Carrots

1 tsp Tomato Puree or Ketchup 50g Finely Julienned Spring Onion

50g Beansprouts

2 Large Eggs

Pad Thai Sauce

How to Make the Pad Thai Sauce

Add the cooking oil to the pan and heat, then fry the red onion until caramelized.

Add water, palm sugar, tamarind and fish sauce then stir on medium heat.

Add tomato purée and stir well until it thickens.

How to Make the Pad Thai

Heat cooking oil in a wok on medium heat, then add the chicken and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the preserved sweet turnip, keep stirring to avoid burning.

Add the red onion and rice noodles and Pad Thai sauce then stir until the noodles soften (add a little water if needed).

Push the rice noodles to one side of the pan and pour the beaten eggs into the other side. Scramble the eggs until they are fully cooked, and gently mix with noodles.

Add the carrot, spring onion, and beansprouts and stir-fry for 1 min to keep them crunchy.

Add the Sauce to the mix, garnish with coriander and serve with crushed peanuts, chilli flakes and lime wedge and that’s it, you’re done, easy peasy!

Give it a go, I promise you won’t be disappointed!

What’s on this week?