Jun 28 2015
It was a nice day today, no rain, sunshine and a slight breeze at 75 deg. I had a good late breakfast and spent the rest of the day getting stuff ready to cook Pad Thai outdoors in my Wok. Pad Thai is a dish I love and gives a break from eating BBQ. I had been making it from a kit by Thai Kitchen that had a sauce with tamarind in it and the rice noodles.
I finally bought some tamarind paste and some Annie Chun’s brown rice noodles. I found a recipe for sauce and changed the ingredients to my liking.
I spent the afternoon relaxing, getting the shrimp thawed and seasoned, cutting up the chicken and prepping all the veggies. Wok cooking goes pretty fast and you need to have everything prepped and in bowls ready to add to the wok as you go.
I started cooking about 5:30, heated the wok on my Camp Chef Pro 30 burner and had the rice noodles cooked and ready to go plus all the veggies. I like to add some veggies to mine and this time used some pea pods. It took about 20 minutes total for the cooking.
I had baked a take home and bake baguette for some bread and butter. I know bread and butter is not usually served with Pad Thai but it goes with about anything when ole Don is cooking!
We both squeezed some lime over it and I had some chopped cashews, sliced green onion tops, and crushed red pepper on mine. We both thought it was the best Pad Thai I have made. I thought it could have had a little more salty taste to balance the sweet so next time will add more fish sauce to the sauce.
For the sauce
For the stir fry
Chicken
Shrimp
Ready to start
My Pad Thai
Smokin Don
Recipe:
Pad Thai with my sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients:
10 oz. of raw medium shrimp, with some Cajun seasoning or chili powder added
Some cut up chicken, I used two thighs and added a TBS. of the sauce and some garlic flakes
2 garlic cloves, smashed and diced small, or some dried garlic flakes
1 bunch green onions, with tops slice ½ inch diagonal
1 can of bean sprouts
6 to 8 oz. rice noodles, I used Annie Chuns brown rice noodles
Some veggies if you like, peas, carrots or pea pods
Peanut oil for frying
1 beaten egg fried and sliced up, I like to do it ahead and add when serving or you can add it to the wok while cooking.
Diced green onion tops and crushed peanuts or cashews for topping
Crushed red pepper at the table for those that want some heat
Lime wedges for serving
Sauce:
1 to 1 ½ TBS. Tamarind paste
¼ cup chicken broth
1 to 3 TBS. fish sauce, I used 1 TBS.
1 TBS. soy sauce
1 TBS. Asian chili sauce, I used Mae Ploys
1 TBS. Brown sugar
A few shakes of hot sauce, I used Cholula
Prep all your veggies and have them in bowls to add when cooking.
Place noodles in a pan of water and bring to a boil for a minute then set off the burner. Let set for 15 minutes then drain and add some olive oil to keep from sticking. Set aside until ready to use.
Heat a good TBS. of peanut oil in the wok and cook shrimp just until pink and remove and set aside.
Add more oil if needed then add in the chicken with the sauce and garlic, cook for several minutes until almost done, remove and set aside.
Add in any veggies and stir for a couple of minutes, add in the sliced green onions and stir. Add the chicken back in and then the shrimp and stir to mix well. Add the bean sprouts and about half of the sauce, stir to mix and let heat through.
Add the rice noodles, stir to mix well. Add some more of the sauce and mix well. Turn the heat to low and cover the wok with a cover to let all steam for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a serving bowl and serve with toppings of your choice and squeeze the lime wedges over it. I used 6 oz. of the noodles and was plenty for us both with leftovers, use 8 oz. to feed 4 to 6.
This was the first time using my recipe I made up from several and it came out great, Next time I will try 2 TBS. of the fish sauce I think it could have had a little more salty taste to balance the sweet. I always like some added veggies to my pad Thai and this time used some sliced up pea pods. I make it on the mild side for my wife and add heat at the table. If everyone likes heat you can add it while cooking.
