I love all kinds of Asian noodle dishes and pad Thai, which is a stir fried rice noodle, is my absolute favorite. Pad Thai is a basic dish commonly sold among street vendors and in festivals in Southeast Asia, but there is nothing basic about its flavor.  The well balanced sweet and tangy flavors and the crunch of peanuts and beansprouts make this dish divine.  I always order this dish when trying out a new Thai restaurant.  In fact, I judge whether a Thai restaurant is good based on how good their pad Thai is.  I have tried many recipes and found that some recipes can be quite intimidating.  Some recipes require unusual ingredients such as tamarind paste, dried shrimp or fermented tofu that are not easily found in local grocery stores.  The below recipe from the New Essentials Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen is the easiest to follow and results in similar flavors to an authentic version.

RECIPE

Ingredients:

8 oz (1/4 inch wide) rice noodles

¼ cup lime juice (2 limes), plus lime wedges for serving

3 tbs fish sauce

3 tbs packed brown sugar

1 tbs rice vinegar

¼ cup vegetable oil

12 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

¼ tsp salt

6 tbs unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

6 oz (3 cups) bean sprouts

5 scallions, sliced thin on bias

Fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

Soak noodles in hot tap water until tender, about 30 min.

Whisk 1/3 cup water, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, and 2 tbs oil together.

Heat 1 tbs oil in nonstick skillet.  Add shrimp in single layer and cook until pink on each side. Transfer to bowl.

(Optional): If you want to substitute chicken for shrimp, you can follow similar step.  Just be sure to cook chicken longer. Also, if you prefer only vegetables, you can cook and toss the vegetables in this step.  Vegetables I like to include are sliced carrots, asparagus, and green beans.

Add 1 tbs oil and minced garlic to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in eggs and salt and cook until eggs are scrambled.

Add noodles and lime juice mixture and cook in high heat until noodles are evenly mixed in sauce.  Add shrimp, ¼ cup peanuts, bean sprouts, and ¾ of scallions.  Toss and cook until noodles are tender, about 2 minutes.  Add 2 tbs water if need to cook noodles longer and if sauce dried out.

Transfer noodles to serving platter and sprinkle with remaining peanuts, scallions, and cilantro.  Serve with lime wedges.

(Optional): I also like to serve with shredded red cabbage for added crunch.