Step by step
Recipe for Padma Lakshmi's Chicken Pad Thai
Ingredients
For 2 servings
- 1 8 oz. pack wide rice noodles
- ½ cup cooking oil
- 3 tbsp garlic, minced
- ¾ c lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)
- ⅔ c fish sauce
- ⅔ c sugar
- ¼ c tamarind paste
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 8 oz. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 medium carrot, shredded
- ½ bunch cilantro plus more for garnish, roughly chopped
- 6 scallions, divided (4 cut into 1-inch pieces, 2 thinly sliced)
- 2 tbsp unsalted peanuts, plus more for garnish, crushed
- 3 tbsp sweet radish, trimmed and thin sliced, divided
- 4 c bean sprouts
Step by step
step 1
Soak rice noodles in a bowl with boiling water until noodles are slightly undercooked or al dente, for approx . 5 minutes. Reserve ½ cup of the soaking liquid, then drain, running noodles under cold water. Toss with a splash of oil to prevent sticking, set noodles aside.
step 2
Set a small skillet over medium heat. Add ¼ cup cooking oil and 3 tablespoons garlic. Cook garlic until deep golden brown and crisp, for approx. 5 minutes. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate, reserve or carefully drain into a fine mesh sieve, (reserve garlic oil for another use).
step 3
In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, fish sauce, sugar, and tamarind paste. Set aside. This should yield about 2 cups of sauce (there will be some extra if needed).
step 4
Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high, add 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Add chicken thighs and cook turning once until browned and just cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side, reserve to a plate. Heat 1 tablespoon of cooking in the same pan, add eggs, stirring occasionally, until you have large curds, about 2 minutes. Set aside eggs with chicken.
step 5
Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the same pan. Add the rice noodles. Gently toss mixture, add ½ cup pad Thai sauce and ¼ - ½ cup of reserved soaking liquid 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing until noodles are just tender and coated in sauce. Cook 2-3 minutes, adding more water or pad Thai sauce, if needed.
step 6
Add the carrots, cilantro, 1” pieces of green onion, 2 tablespoons fried garlic, 2 tablespoons crushed peanuts and 2 tablespoons sweet radish, chicken and eggs. Continue cooking, gently tossing for 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are just wilted but still crisp. If the mixture appears to be too thick, add water 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.
step 7
Mix in the bean sprouts until well incorporated. Serve. Garnish with cilantro, scallion greens, fried garlic, crushed peanuts and sweet radish.
