A chef’s secret to making delicious pad Thai

It’s fair to say pad Thai has quickly become a worldwide hit — a classic street-food dish consisting of stir-fried noodles, eggs and chopped meat or tofu. 

Combining sour, salty and sweet tastes thanks to its diverse ingredients, this dish is also a wonderful combination of noodles, crunchy fresh veggies, dressed in a delicious sweet and tangy sauce.

Contrary to what people think, pad Thai is traditionally not served with chicken or red meat, but instead topped with king prawns, Venzin Group’s head chef Bowyo Muangsong explains. He leads the catering for the family business, that includes four of Brisbane’s best loved cafes and restaurants.

The origins of pad Thai 

While it may seem like an age-old dish, you wouldn’t have found pad Thai anywhere 80 years ago — even in Thailand.

Muangsong explains that Thailand suffered a major rice shortage during World War II. To preserve this precious grain, the Thai government (under Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram) started to promote rice noodles instead — noodles only used 50 per cent of the grain, so were more economical and cheaper to produce.

She explains: “His government promoted rice noodles and helped to establish the identity of Thailand.”

Pad Thai has since become one of Thailand’s national dishes. Most fascinating however, is where it comes from. Muangsong says many assume it was first introduced by Chinese traders and evolved to reflect traditional Thai flavours.

In fact, just about every ingredient found in pad Thai isn’t native to Thailand — even the dish’s full name ‘kway teow pad Thai’ nods to its Chinese origins (kway teow is Chinese for rice noodles).

So what’s the secret to noodle success? 

The perfect light dinner option, pad Thai is one of the hardest Thai dishes to get right, but keeping a few tricks on-hand can make all the difference.

The key to a perfect pad Thai is in the cooking of the noodles. Muangsong says rice noodles must be soaked in cold water only, adding: “If you soak in hot water the noodles will be too soft and break”.

To avoid noodles sticking together, she insists it’s best to cook them with egg. “[A] vegan option can be made without the egg, but the noodles won’t look as appealing,” Muangsong says.

It’s best to serve them straight away topped with fried or grilled king prawns, dried chilli flakes, roasted peanuts and fresh bean sprouts.

“As the noodles are rich in flavour, you need the fresh vegetables to balance the flavour whilst eating,” she adds. “Pad Thai is best to eat straight away, otherwise the noodles will stick together and the taste may change.”

Sounds tasty? Here’s how to do it! 

Ingredients

Sauce 

• ½ whole sliced red onion
• 2tbsp spoon crushed garlic
• 2-3tbsp vegetable oil
• 450g palm sugar
• 350g tamarind sauce (you can replace with vinegar or lime/lemon juice if it’s not available in the supermarket)
• 100ml gluten free soy sauce
• 400g salted soya bean, blended
• Pinch of salt if needed

Noodles

• 80g thinly sliced chicken (optional/substitute for tofu if vegetarian/vegan)
• 20g diced hard tofu
• 1 whole egg (leave out for vegan option)
• 50ml Pad Thai sauce (as per above recipe)
• 150g soaked rice noodle (or one full hand – soak in cold water for 30 minutes)
• 20g garlic chive
• 1 handful of beansprout
• ¼ cup vegetable oil (less if preferred)
• 2tbsp crushed roasted peanut

Method

1. Heat the wok with oil and cook meat until 70 per cent cooked.
2. Add egg and stir (you want to see the egg cook in pieces).
3. Add rice noodles and tofu and cook until the noodles have soaked up the sauce.
4. Add garlic chive and beansprout and stir for one minute.
5. Serve with crushed peanut and a wedge of lime (a side of chilli is recommended/optional).
6. To make the sauce, sauté red onion, garlic and vegetable oil until golden brown.
7. Add palm sugar and leave to melt.
8. Add remainder of the ingredients and mix together.
9. Leave to boil on low heat for 5-10 minutes for thickness. Set aside.

Have you made pad Thai before?