Shrimp Pad Thai

Name: Shrimp Pad Thai
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 32 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 3 tbsp Tamarind paste; 3 tbsp Fish sauce; 3 tbsp Palm sugar finely chopped; 2 tbsp Water; 8 oz Flat rice noodles; 1 lb Large shrimp peeled and deveined; 2 Eggs; 4 oz Firm tofu cubed; 2 tbsp Sweet preserved radish rinsed and chopped, optional; 3 cloves Garlic minced; 2 cups Bean sprouts; 1 cup Garlic chives 2-inch pieces; 1/2 cup Roasted peanuts chopped; 3 tbsp Neutral oil; 1 Lime wedges

ผัดไทยกุ้ง — Pad Thai Goong

Juicy shrimp, tamarind-glazed noodles and crunchy peanuts without turning the shrimp into pink erasers.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 12 min
Serves: 4
Heat: mild

Shrimp Pad Thai is the fast one. Shrimp brings sweetness and cooks in minutes, which is wonderful right up until you leave it in the wok while the noodles finish and accidentally manufacture seafood rubber.

The trick is simple: cook the shrimp first, pull it out, finish the noodles, then bring the shrimp back at the end. That small move makes a disproportionately large difference.

EAT IT LIKE A LOCAL

Ingredients

3 tbsp Tamarind paste
3 tbsp Fish sauce
3 tbsp Palm sugar (finely chopped)
2 tbsp Water
8 oz Flat rice noodles
1 lb Large shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 Eggs
4 oz Firm tofu (cubed)
2 tbsp Sweet preserved radish (rinsed and chopped, optional)
3 cloves Garlic (minced)
2 cups Bean sprouts
1 cup Garlic chives (2-inch pieces)
1/2 cup Roasted peanuts (chopped)
3 tbsp Neutral oil
1 Lime (wedges)

Directions

Soak the noodles until flexible and still chewy, then drain thoroughly. They should look underdone because they are underdone. That is the point.
Warm tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar and water until dissolved. Taste and adjust for a clear sweet-sour-salty balance.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a hot wok. Cook shrimp just until pink and barely opaque, roughly 1 to 2 minutes per side depending on size. Remove immediately. Their second visit to the wok comes later.
Add more oil, garlic, tofu and preserved radish. Stir-fry briefly. Push to one side, add eggs and let them set into soft chunks before folding through.
Add noodles and sauce. Toss over high heat until the noodles absorb the liquid and become tender. Add a tablespoon or two of water only if the sauce disappears before the noodles are ready.
Return the shrimp and add half the sprouts and chives. Toss just long enough to heat everything through, about 30 seconds.
Fold in half the peanuts and turn off the heat. The finished noodles should be glossy and separate, not sitting in sauce and not clumped into a noodle brick.
Plate with remaining sprouts, peanuts, lime wedges and dried chili. Let everyone finish their own balance at the table.

Notes

Cook the shrimp first and remove them. Return them only for the final toss. It is the easiest way to keep shrimp juicy while the noodles take the time they need.

Substitutions

Medium shrimp work fine; just shorten the cook. Tofu can be omitted. Scallions can replace garlic chives. If preserved radish is unavailable, skip it rather than substituting a random pickle.