Pad Thai

Pad Thai is a Thai rice noodles dish that became quite famous worldwide. Usually it's the only dish people know from Thai cuisine... 
Pad Thai is prepared with a special Pad Thai sauce which combines opposite tastes like sour and sweet and salty, but the combination is absolutely perfect: after you've prepared this delicious sauce I would like to see if you won't lick the spoon.... 

 


INGREDIENTS: 
Servings: 2

150-180g wide rice noodles
50g firm tofu
10-12 medium fresh shrimps
1 egg
handful of soy bean sprouts
cashew nuts
chilli
1 garlic clove 
3cm cube of ginger
1/2 lime
4-5tbs vegetable oil
fresh coriander leaves

For Pad Thai Sauce:
2tbs fish sauce
2tbs oyster sauce
3tbs tamarind juice
1/3 palm sugar round brick  



One of the most important ingredients for the Pad Thai Noodles is obviously the Pad Thai Sauce.

1. If you have dry tamarind, soak 2tbs of tamarind paste in 1/3 glass of water for a half an hour, then pass it through a stainer to get the juice.
2. Chop palm sugar in small pieces as it comes in dry round bricks.

3. Mix the ingredients for the sauce in a small sauce pan and bring it to boiling over medium heat, then boil for a couple of minutes.
Note: Pad Thai Sauce is a perfect mix of saltiness, sweetness and sourness.    
4. Peel the shrimps and devein them.

5. Cut tofu into thin match-sticks.

6. Soak rice noodles in warm water for 5 minutes and then drain them. 
Note: The noodles should be still a bit firm.

7. Pour vegetable oil in a wok pan and put the wok over high heat.
8. Add squeezed garlic and grated ginger. 
9. Add tofu and fry it for a couple of minutes.

 
10. Add an egg and scramble it.
Note: I usually use tongs to mix the ingredients in my wok pan.
11. Add shrimps...

 
 12. Add rice noodles and the sauce. Stir well!!!

 12. At the end add soy sprouts, stir well and switch off the heat.
Note: As the dish is cooked over high heat, so you need to add all the ingredients one after the other with just a quick stirring.

13. Crush some peanuts or cashew nuts (I prefer these) and chop some fresh coriander.
14. Serve your Pad Thai noodles sprinkled with some chilli, crushed peanuts, chopped coriander and a slice of lime aside, you will squeeze it over the dish just before eating.  
   

      ขอให้เจริญอาหาร! (kŏr hâi jà-rern aa-hăan!)

Rice Noodles with Vegetables and Shrimps

This recipe is not a typical dish of the Asian cuisine... My dear Asian friends, please forgive me if I did something wrong.... This is just my way of cooking the wide rice noodles. 
This recipe is fast to prepare and it's also really healthy. If you use the wok pan to cook, it will also be a low-cal dish as the use of woke reduces the use of the oil. I personally adore the wok cooking!!! I always use it for stir frying and for deep frying as well...  


INGREDIENTS: 
Servings: 2 

150-160g wide rice noodles
1 zucchini
1 carrot
6-8 mushrooms
1 handful of soy beans sprouts
100g shrimps 
2 garlic cloves
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs grated ginger
vegetable oil 

Note: You may substitute some veges for the others if you like them better...


1. Soak the rice noodles for 5-10 minutes or as it's indicated on the package.
 
2. Peel the carrot and wash a zucchini. Cut them into thick sticks, I do it with the use of a Mandolina grater.
3. Slice mushrooms finely.

4. Pour 3-4 tbs of any vegetable oil to the WOK pan and heat it up over the high heat.
5. Stir fry the carrots for a couple of minutes.
6. Add mushrooms and fry for a couple of minutes more.
7. Next it's zucchini's turn to be cooked for two more minutes.
Note: Keep stirring constantly as cooking in wok requests stirring!!!

8. Add the soy bean sprouts and shrimps and stir.

 9. Drain the noodles and add them to the wok with vegetables.
10. Squeeze garlic cloves, grate ginger and add them to the noodles.
11. Pour 1 tbs of each soy and fish sauces. Taste the noodles and if needed add some more soy sauce for saltiness.  
 

 ENJOY !!!

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

 Fresh and crispy, this dish is really low-cal. And for those who never tried fresh coriander, it will become a discovery... Coriander is also called cilantro or chinese parsley, it help digestion and has a fresh taste.
Vietnamese rolls are not fried as the famous Spring rolls, their rice wraps are just soaked in hot water for half a minute before stuffing them. 


INGREDIENTS: 
Servings:4


8 rice wraps for spring rolls
1-2 salad leaves
1 handful soy sprouts
1 carrot
16 shrimps  
50g soy (glass) noodles 
fresh basil
fresh parsley
fresh coriander
fresh mint

Sauce:

1 tbs rice vinegar
3 tbs Mirin (1teaspoon sugar)
4 tbs fish sauce
1 garlic clove
fresh basil
fresh parsley
fresh coriander
fresh mint
chilli

Note: Try to get all the herbs (especially fresh green coriander) and the taste will be very rich.

1. Shred a small carrot.
2. Cut salad leaves into 0.5-1cm wide stripes.
3. Cook soy "glass" noodles as it is indicated on the package, it might be about 5 minutes boiling.
4. Chop the herbs finely.

5. Mix carrot, salad, soy beans sprouts, herbs and glass noodles. Don't season.

 
6. Grill, boil, steam or any kind cook the shrimps.  

 
7. Heat some water to boiling, pour it in a large bowl and soak the rice wraps for 30 seconds one at a time.
8. Remove the wrap out of the water carefully and place it over a chopping board.

9. Put some vegetable mix in a corner and two shrimps over the vegetables.
10. Roll the wrap "a spring roll" style. You may check how to wrap the roll HERE.   
11. Repeat with all the rolls and put them on a plate not very near one to another, they may stick to each other if you put them too tight.

12. To prepare the sauce, chop all the herbs and squeeze one garlic clove.
13. In a small bowl mix herbs, garlic, chilli to your liking, rice vinegar, fish sauce and Mirin.  
Note: I use Mirin as it's easier to use in such a sauce but originally some palm sugar is used.
Note: The taste should be a perfect combination of Spicy+Salty+Sweet+Sour....   
Advise: Try this sauce with a steak.... 
14. Serve two rolls per portion and a tiny bowl full of aromatic sauce for dipping.   

 Ăn ngon nhé...

ENJOY !!!

 

Spring Rolls with Soy Sprouts and Shrimps

Everybody knows and loves the crispy spring rolls, even those who don't like chinese cuisine that much...
This is one of those dishes that look chinese-like but don't have "strange" ingredients. 
The best way of frying the spring rolls is usung a Wok pan. Afer you try to fry in a Wok you will not use the other frying pans any more.... trust me! 


INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 8 rolls

8 Spring Roll sheets 
1 handful soy sprouts
1 handful shredded cabbage
1 handful green peas
1 carrot
1 stalk spring onion

100g shrimps
oil for frying

Note: You may render you spring rolls vegetarian: just don't add shrimps...

1. Shred cabbage finely.
2. Grate carrot with a fine grater.
3. Chop the onion sprouts.

 4. In a bowl salt the shredded cabbage and squeeze it by hand to soften it a bit and render it more juicy.
5. Mix in carrot, green peas, soy and onion sprouts and some canned shrimps.

6. On a dry surface lay one sheet of the spring roll pastry. 
7. Take a generous pinch of vegetables and put them in a corner of the sheet.

8. Cover with the sheet corner and turn one time.

 
9. Then turn the sides of the sheet inside.

10. Roll the sheet over and over to have a neat roll.

11. Keep the roll on a dry surface.

12. In a Wok heat some vegetable oil, the oil should be enough to almost cover the roll.
13. Deep fry the rolls 3-4 at a time, turn them over when one side is brown.

14. Place the rolls on absorbing paper to remove the excess of the oil.
15. Serve the Spring rolls with some Sweet'n'Sour sauce or some Sweet Chilli sauce.
   

慢慢吃！ (mànmàn chī!)