Does anyone have an excellent Pad Thai recipe?

I don’t have an excellent pad thai recipe—but that might be because I’m incompetent? So here’s my brilliant friend’s pad thai recipe that I fucked up horribly (DO NOT OVERCOOK THE RICE NOODLES!):

1 – 1 ½ pkg dried rice noodles

1 can coconut milk

½ cup veggie broth

2–3 tbl spns red chili paste

½ cup chunky peanut butter

1–2 tbl spns ginger

3–4 cloves garlic

Juice from 3 or 4 limes

½ cup thai basil chiffonade

½ cup cilantro (optional)

1 tbl spn soy sauce

1 tbl sp veg. oil

½ cup roasted peanuts

Vegetables of your own choice (long strips of carrots, asparagus, snow peas, etc.)

1.) Steam vegetables until right before they are tender

2.) Boil rice noodles “ ”

3.) Sauté ginger and garlic in oil.

4.) Whisk coconut milk, broth, chili paste, peanut butter, lime juice, and soy together. Add to ginger and garlic. Heat through and toss noodles and veggies to coat with sauce.

5.) Take of heat and stir in thai basil and cilantro. You may need to add salt and/or more lime juice at the end. Garnish with chopped roasted peanuts.

* For more heat, add some chili pepper to taste. Maybe heat in veg. broth to extract flavor, then discard?*

i know what thai basil is. what is chiffonade?

It’s just a way of cutting stuff. It totally doesn’t matter.

I recommend adding Tofu, Shrimp, and fried egg to the above recipe.

oh, thanks for the link! rachel ray calls that “ribbons” lol.

I love this recipe from the Moosewood cookbook (this is how I typed it up for myself – you can find the actual written-out version in the book – or maybe online):

MOOSEWOOD’S PAD THAI
soak noodles (8-ounce package of 1/4-inch-wide rice stick noodles) in warm water 20 min, until soft and limp

combine in small bowl:
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1–2 tsp Chinese chili paste
1 tbsp tamarind concentrate
1/2 cup water

drain noodles, rinse in cold water, drain well again

have all stir-fry stuff ready before start!

heat large work or skillet on medium-high
pour in 1 tbsp of veggie oil
when very hot (after 30 sec) add 8 ounces firm tofu (cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
gently stir-fry for 1 min
add 1 cup diced red bell peppers, 1 cup snow peas (string removed)
stir-fry another 2 min
remove and set aside

add 2 more tbsp veggie oil to the wok
when oil is hot, pour 2 large eggs (lightly beaten) into center and stir briskly for a few seconds
add reserved sauce, noodles, tofu/veggies
toss well
cook 3–4 minutes, until noodles are tender and mixture is dry
transfer to large platter

sprinkle with 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, peanuts, mung sprouts
surround with lime wedges (to squeeze on to finish dish!)
serve immediately

ALTERNATIVES
other toppings:
extra (roasted) peanuts or peanut sauce
fermented soy sauce (like miso)
extra chile/cayenne

thanks for the contributions! :)

I’ve found a much easier way of making Pad Thai at home. It takes about 30 minutes and you can use whatever vegetables/meats you want. Check it out at:

http://kitchenandgarden.wordpress.com/2008/08/08/easy-pad-thai-recipe/