Thailand's Celebrity Chef Vina Shares The Recipe For The Most Scrumptious Pad Thai

Exploring food often lands you at places where you get the freedom to be introduced to new cuisines and cultures. Asian food is one such journey that always ends up with a happy and full stomach. The growing popularity of Japanese and Thai food in India has allowed food fanatics to try out many new creative dishes. However, the popular choice for many remains a good pad Thai recipe.

Pad Thai is one of the most ordered meals at an Asian restaurant in India. But what if we tell you that you can make a delicious bowl of this dish at home as well? The Bayview, Hotel Marine Plaza in Mumbai organised a celebration of Thailand’s culture and flavours with their 10-day food festival ‘Taste Of Thai’ back in June. To make it even more tempting, they invited Celebrity Thai chef, Chef Vina to toss up some scrumptious meals.

Upon getting a chance to interact with her, she revealed her cooking secrets and gave us the ultimate pad Thai recipe that one can make easily at home. Here are all the ingredients that you will need.

Make the best Pad Thai noodles with this authentic recipe by Chef Vina

Pad Thai is a popular Thai dish that is widely recognised and enjoyed around the world. It is a stir-fried noodle dish that typically includes a combination of Rice Noodles, Eggs, Tofu or Shrimp (or other protein options), Bean Sprouts, Peanuts, and a flavourful sauce. The dish is often garnished with Lime Wedges and Cilantro.

The ingredients you will need

• 350 grams Rice Noodles (Flat)
• 1 cup Tofu, cut into pieces
• 2 cloves Garlic, grated
• 1 Onion, thinly sliced
• 4 Bok Choy, (heads) roughly chopped
• 1 Carrot, sliced into wedges
• 1 Green Bell Pepper (capsicum), cut into wedges
• 10 Broccoli, florets
• 1 cups Bean Sprouts
• 1 cup Spring onion (bulb & greens), sliced
• Coriander leaves, small bunch, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Roasted Peanuts, pounded
• Fresh Red chillies, a few, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons Oil, for stir-frying
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Ingredients for the Pad Thai Sauce

• 1/2 cup Tamarind water
• 1/4 cup Soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
• 1/4 cup Brown sugar (demerara sugar)

Method for the Pad Thai recipe

• Bring a pot of water to a boil and remove from heat. Soak rice noodles in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Keep aside.
• Into a bowl, add the tamarind water, and other pad Thai sauce ingredients and stir well. Add a little chilli sauce. Set this pad Thai sauce mixture aside.
• Place the wok over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil plus the garlic and onions. Stir fry for about a minute to release the fragrance.
• Add the bok choy, carrots, bell peppers & broccoli and stir-fry for 2 minutes until the vegetables are lightly softened and yet crisp. Stir in the tofu and toss for a few seconds. Add the drained noodles and 1/3 of the pad Thai sauce. Stir-fry everything together for 1 minute. Add a little more sauce and continue stir-frying in the same way for 1-2 more minutes, or until the noodles begin to soften.
• Add the bean sprouts and the remaining sauce. Stir-fry to incorporate everything together into the pad Thai for 1-3 more minutes, or until noodles are cooked.
• Scoop noodles onto a serving platter. Sprinkle it with green onion, coriander and peanuts. Add wedges of fresh-cut lime on the side.

Related Stories

Tom Kha Goong soup

Chef Vina recommends making special Thai soup with the Pad Thai and its recipe is also pretty easy. Tom Kha Goong is a popular Thai soup known for its rich and aromatic flavours. It is made with a combination of Coconut Milk, Lemongrass, Galangal, Kaffir Lime Leaves, and other herbs and spices. Here’s how you make it

The ingredients you will need

• 3 cups seafood broth
• 2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 stalk lemongrass, cut in half lengthwise
• 1-2 tsp red curry paste, according to taste
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 450 ml light coconut milk
• 1 cup shitake mushrooms sliced
• 1 cup red bell pepper cut into strips (or diced)
• 10-12 medium shrimp approx. (peeled and deveined)
• 1-2 tbsp lime juice, according to taste
• 1 cup fresh cilantro chopped

Method for making the soup

• In a large pot add broth, ginger, lemongrass, curry paste and fish sauce and simmer for about 10 min.
• Add coconut milk, mushrooms and red bell peppers. Continue to cook stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are soft.
• Add shrimp. Continue to cook until the shrimp are fully cooked. Remove from heat, remove lemongrass stalks and stir in lime juice.
• Stir in cilantro and simmer it for a few minutes.
• Pour it into a serving bowl and garnish it with coriander sprigs and lemon wedges.

This story first appeared here.

Hero Image: Courtesy homelesscuisine/Shutterstock; Feature Image: Courtesy Kritchai7752/Shutterstock

Related: Healthy And Easy Lunch Ideas To Prep For Work

Written By