Shrimp Pad Thai

Shrimp Pad Thai - made September 30, 2019 , modified from Piggy Out

I think pad thai is going to be my go-to dish from now on whenever I want to cook something quick and easy. This recipe is similar to the first one I tried in terms of its ingredients. I substituted tamarind concentrate for the ketchup since I still had some and because I don't like ketchup.

I learned from experience last time and only soaked the rice noodles in tap water, not hot water. When I added it to the pot along with the sauce, that cooked the noodles well enough without making them too mushy like last time. The only mistake I really made is I didn't take the pot off the heat soon enough and the sauce dried up a little.

This pad thai still tasted pretty good but next time, I would remove it from the heat while there were more sauce still coating the noodles. Oh, also, make sure you dissolve the palm sugar in hot water first before adding the rest of the sauce ingredients. Otherwise, nothing really melts the palm sugar and you'll have crunchy bits of sugar in your pad thai, I rectified that for this recipe and it worked pretty well.

14 ounces thin rice noodle
1 cup bean sprouts (I left out)
8 ounces large shrimp
3 eggs, beaten
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium-sized shallot, thinly sliced
2 Thai chilies, thinly sliced (I left out)
2 stalks green onion, chopped
olive oil

Sauce
1/4 cup boiling water
3 tablespoons brown sugar (I used palm sugar)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup (I used tamarind concentrate)

1. Prepare the rice noodles according to the package directions. Drain, add about 3 tablespoons olive oil and mix well to prevent sticking.
2. In a mixing bowl, pour the 1/4 cup boiling water over the palm sugar and stir until dissolved. Whisk together the rest of the sauce ingredients; set aside.
3. Preheat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a wok over medium heat. When hot, add the beaten eggs, stir and cook until soft scrambled. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
4. Increase heat to medium high. Add 2 tablespoons oil.
5. Add garlic, shallot and Thai chili. Stir and cook until fragrant.
6. Add sauce and rice noodles. Toss until the noodles are thoroughly mixed with the sauce. Add shrimp and stir until cooked. Add scrambled eggs and green onions. Serve immediately.