Jul 01 2014
I was anxious to try out my new seasoned wok. It has been awhile since I used a wok so my first cook would be Pad Thai. It is a popular dish from Thailand and fairly easy to cook. You can do shrimp or chicken or a combo of both. I just used shrimp for my dish. Tamarind is said to be essential and there is no good substitute for it other than sweet and sour. Tamarind is a pod like fruit and dried is usually used for Pad Thai, reconstituted in hot water. Rice noodles are used but you can make it with soba or wheat noodles.
I set up my gas burner outside and had all prepped to cook in dishes to add as I went. This was the first time I ever used a wok on gas heat and not sure why I never done it before now. I have had the gas burner about 30 years!
Earlier today I made up a tomato cucumber onion salad to serve with the Pad Thai.
2 med. tomatoes cut up
½ English cucumber, sliced thin
1 large Vidalia onion cut in wedges
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
2 TBS. Olive oil
Water to almost cover
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Best if set overnight in the fridge
When I started to cook it went fast, barely had time to snap pics and a couple sips of beer! I had the wok a little too hot at first but got it turned down for a fun cook.
We all thought this was pretty good; the daughter in law and grandson ate with us. I had mine with some crushed red pepper, green onions and crushed cashews.
I can see I am going to have fun cooking out on my wok; it makes a healthy meal in between some good BBQ and will probably make some good sides to go with BBQ.
Ingredients ready
My Wok kitchen ready
Shrimp cooked and set aside
Eggs in
Green onions, garlic and chili powder added
Shrimp added back in
Bean sprouts added
Rice noodles added
My salad
My supper
Smokin Don
Pad Thai recipe
Pad Thai
Serves 4
Ingredients:
10 oz. of raw medium shrimp
1 egg
1 tsp. chili powder
2 garlic cloves, smashed and diced small
4 green onions, with tops slice ½ inch
¾ can of bean sprouts
6 to 8 oz. rice noodles
3 tsp. apple cider vinegar mixed with 3 tsp. sugar
1 TBS. oyster sauce mixed with 1 TBS. Ponzu (soy sauce with lime)
Peanut oil for frying
Diced green onions and crushed peanuts or cashews for topping
Crushed red pepper at the table for those that want some heat
For the rice I used 3- 2oz. packs of Thai Kitchen rice noodles. I only had two packs of brown rice so I used a pack of the red rice noodles. Place noodles in a pan of water and bring to a boil for a minute or two then set off the burner. Let set for 15 minutes then drain and add some olive oil to keep from sticking.
Heat a good tsp. of peanut oil in the wok and cook shrimp, I did mine in two batches, just until pink and remove and set aside.
Add more oil if needed then add the egg, stirring and breaking up, it will cook fast. Add in the green onions, garlic and chili powder and stir a minute or two.
Add the shrimp back in and stir a couple of minutes. Add the bean sprouts and stir. Add the rice noodles, stir to mix well. Add in the apple cider vinegar and oyster sauce ponzu mix and stir cook another two or three minutes. I don’t have a lid yet but would have covered the last minute or two.
Remove to a serving bowl and serve with toppings of your choice.
