Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

Information:

Rice Noodles: ============= You can use fresh or dried, in widths
from 1/8 to 1/2 inch wide. I've never tried fresh. The dried ones
have to be soaked in water to soften them. The recipes call for
soaking in cold water, lukewarm water, hot water, and boiling water
for anywhere from 7 minutes to 2 hours. I put mine into warm tap
water and let them soak while I'm preparing everything else. Just
before I start cooking, I dump them into a colander to drain. One
recipe suggests cellophane noodles as an alternative to rice noodles
-- I've never tried that variation.

Meat or No Meat: ================ The most common meat called for is
shrimp, with chicken and/or pork use in addition to or in place of the
shrimp. Some recipes add bean curd; some substitute it for the meat.
Jeff Smith's recipe uses deep fried bean curd. My own variation is to
substitute various veggies (asparagus, red bell pepper, broccoli,
snow peas, or whatever else looks good.) As Nancie McDermott says,
"Thai cooks blithely tinker with the classic formula to create
signature variations, and you can, too."

Oil and Seasonings: =================== Cooking pad thai starts with
vegetable or peanut oil. Most versions add garlic, and sometimes
shallots, shrimp paste (be prepared for the smell!), onions, fresh
red chilies, and/or preserved sweet white radish.

The Sauce: ========== What makes pad thai, in addition to the rice
noodles, is the sauce. The general mix of flavors is sweet, salty,
sour, and hot. Typical ingredients are:

~~ fish sauce (sometimes soy sauce is used in addition, or in place
of for pure vegetarian versions) ~~ sugar (sometimes palm sugar is
suggested) ~~ vinegar (various kinds specified; tamarind sauce or
lime juice are sometimes used instead) ~~ "red stuff" ~- may be
paprika, tomato paste, catsup, chili powder, hot chili sauce, chili
paste with garlic, tomato sauce, or cayenne pepper, depending on the
recipe. ~~ Other possible additions: salt, black pepper, chicken
stock, dried shrimp powder. One recipe calls for boiling the sauce
before using.

Eggs: ===== Anywhere from 0-6. Some recipes call for beating the eggs
before adding; others suggested breaking the yolk after adding the
egg to the pan. Various techniques are suggested for manipulating the
egg while cooking. One recipe calls for cooking the egg before
starting the pad thai, cutting it into strips, and then adding the
egg strips back at the end of cooking. I haven't tried this myself
but have had it in restaurants.

Bean Sprouts and Scallions: ========================== These are
usually added last in cooking, or added to the finished dish without
cooking.

Garnishes: ========= Various things can be added to finished dish as
an edible garnish:

~~ lime or lemon wedges ~~ ground roasted chilies ~~ ground roasted
peanuts ~~ dried red chili flakes ~~ fresh coriander leaves ~~
cucumber slices ~~ dried shrimps ~~ fried basil leaves ~~ cherry
tomatoes ~~ mint sprigs

Experiment, and enjoy!

From: stigle#cs.unca.edu (Sue Stigleman)

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