Pad Thai – what does it actually mean? Pad stands for “Fried” and Thai… well that’s obvious. Pad Thai is very popular in the United States. From what I’ve witnessed, Pad Thai tends to be extremely popular amongst females. I’m not sure why, but it seems to be the favorite Thai dish amongst many ladies that I’ve come across. Maybe I just hangout with Pad Thai kinda women. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This recipe is very easy and doesn’t require a ton of skill in the kitchen. I’ve used shrimp this time, as I am currently in Baja Mexico and fresh shrimp are plentiful. You can easily swap the shrimp for chicken if shrimp are not available to you, or you can use tofu if you are riding the veggie train.
I like to start by making my sauce and setting it to the side. The sauce is a fairly simple solution of fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar and brown sugar. This recipe does make a decent amount of sauce, however I use all of as I don’t like my Pad Thai to end up dry.
After the sauce is put together, finely chop your onion and mince your garlic and ginger. I like to use a lot of garlic in just about everything so feel free to dial it back if you aren’t an ajo head like I am. Set this aside for later.
Start a large pan on medium high heat and add your olive oil. Once the pan is hot, but not smoking, add the shrimp. I lightly salt and pepper my shrimp before adding to the pan. Cook a couple minutes per side. Once the grey has turned to pink, remove the shrimp and set aside for later. This dish has a lot of “set aside for laters” in it which makes it easy to manage.
Start a pot of boiling water to cook your noodles. Follow the directions on the package as all Pad Thai noodles are different. For mine, it called for 8 minutes. I cooked them for about 6.5 since they will get returned to the heat with sauce at the end. When time is up, strain the noodles and put them directly in ice cold water to stop the cooking process. This will also keep them from sticking together.
Heat a large non-stick dutch oven over medium high heat and add olive oil. Once hot, add your onions and peppers. Stir occasionally while cooking. This should take about 4 minutes. Then add your garlic and onions. Cook for an additional minute. Push all the ingredients to the perimeter of pan and add your beaten eggs. Rapidly stir the eggs as if you were making scrambled eggs… because you are. Once the eggs have cooked, mix the pepper and onion medley in with the eggs. Continue cooking until the eggs start to lightly brown.
Alright, now we’re cookin’. Now that your eggs have lightly browned, strain your cold noodles and add them to the pot. Then add your sauce. Mix thoroughly. When the noodles have reached your desired consistency, add the shrimp back in. Toss in half of your green onions and peanuts. Thoroughly mix again. Wait until everything is warmed through. Then… Boom. Serve!
I like to garnish mine with cilantro, crushed peanuts, green onions, lime wedges, and bottle of Sriracha on the side. Hey! You just cooked something! Now take pics, post them on Insta, and make all your friends jealous. Enjoy!
Pad Thai with Shrimp
Ingredients
- 3 Chipotles (in Adobo)
- 1/2 Onion (Yellow or White) Chopped
- 3 Serrano Peppers
- 1.5 TB Ginger Fresh - Minced
- 5 Cloves Garlic
- 3 Eggs
- 2 Cups Bean Sprouts
- 1 Lb Shrimp
- 400 Grams Pad Thai Noodles
Sauce
- 5 TB Fish Sauce
- 4 TB Oyster Sauce
- 5 TB Brown Sugar
- 5 TB Rice Vinegar
- 1 TB Soy Sauce
Garnish
- 1 Bunch Green Onions
- 1 Bunch Cilantro
- 1/2 Cup Peanuts Crushed
- 2 Limes
- 1 Bottle Sriracha
Instructions
- Combine fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and soy sauce in a bowl and set aside.
- Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Heat sauté pan over medium-high heat with about 2 TB of olive oil. Cook shrimp on both side for about 2 minutes, or until the shrimp are no longer gray. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook your noodles 1 1/2 minutes less than the cooking time indicated on the package. Immediately remove from boiling water and transfer to ice cold water bath.
- In a medium sauce pot, or dutch oven, add 1 TB of EVOO. Heat to medium heat and add your peppers and onions. Cook for about 4 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook an additional minute. Push the ingredients to the outside of the pot and add the eggs. Scramble the eggs in the center of the pot until firm. Mix the eggs with the peppers and onions. Continue stirring until the eggs have broken up into small pieces and have started to lightly brown.
- Strain your noodles and add them to the sauce pot with the eggs, peppers and onions. Add the sauce. Continue cooking until the pasta is to your liking.
- Add bean sprouts and fish. Heat through until everything is warm.
- Plate. Garnish. Serve!