Pim Techamuanvivit taught me how to make Pad Thai. Pim Techamuanvivit wrote Chez Pim in the early days of food blogging. She then moved on to make jams, including the best apricot jam I’ve ever tasted. In 2014, she opened Kin Khao in San Francisco after feeling homesick and dissatisfied with the Thai food served in American restaurants. The restaurant received a Michelin Star a year after opening because it would not be mediocre.
She wrote an important post in 2007 called Pad Thai For Beginners, which I have read so many times that I can almost remember. She encouraged us to make pad thai at home like the street vendors, where the preparation is done so you can finish the dish in no time. She wants you to prepare the sauce ahead of time because the ingredients don’t always match up — the intensity of fish sauces and the tamarind concentrates can vary between brands. You will want to adjust the seasoning as necessary, not on a hot pan, with your noodles getting soft. She also wants you to prepare extra sauce because it will keep you well, and you can use the leftovers if you need to add extra oomph to your dish. The final thing she says is that you should never cook more than two portions of pad thai at a time. This will result in “clumps” of oily, sticky noodles. She explains the flavors and textures of a good pad thai are a direct result of the cooking method, a quick dance on a very hot wok. You can’t cook many portions at once.
Why did it take until 2018 to make this recipe if I first read it in 2007? The ingredients can be challenging to find, depending on where you are. You could probably get away without it if it were just a garnish. But tamarind, which gives the dish its sour flavor, is one of the essential ingredients. The fish sauce (which adds saltiness and nuance) is also a must-have. I would say preserved radishes, garlic chives, and palm sugar in descending order. What took me so long was finding a way to keep the ingredients authentic*, while still making substitutions that would work even if I were a hundred miles away from the nearest Thai supermarket.
Why did it take until 2018 to make this recipe if I first read it in 2007? The ingredients can be challenging to find, depending on where you are. You could probably get away without it if it were just a garnish. But tamarind, which gives the dish its sour flavor, is one of the essential ingredients. The fish sauce (which adds saltiness and nuance) is also a must-have. I would say preserved radishes, garlic chives, and palm sugar in descending order. What took me so long was finding a way to keep the ingredients authentic*, while still making substitutions that would work even if I were a hundred miles away from the nearest Thai supermarket.
The first page of Google results for “pad thai” includes recipes with fettuccine and other ingredients like bell peppers. Honey, ketchup. Napa cabbage. Cilantro. Butter. Lemon. Not to mention rice vinegar. Soy sauce. Thai basil. Mint. Does it matter? Does it matter if I had Googled the recipe because I wanted to know how to make it? In reality, I could not get it from these recipes. They may be delicious, but not pad Thai. On this site, I don’t follow the recipe strictly. I change it based on my tastes, ease of preparation, etc. My rules and roadmap have always been to understand the differences, to explain why I make the changes, and to have a way to communicate the reasons for my decisions. We all know that we can and should make food how we like it. But imagine what we would feel if we heard someone say they had made the famous chicken soup of our grandmother but without the chicken, noodles, or vegetables. They just called the soup our grandmother’s soup. We would say, “Wait, what?”
I am not, and I got almost everything I needed at Bangkok Center Grocery on Mosco Street; don’t miss the famous five-fried-dumplings-for-a-dollar (now $1.25) next door, and then go to Columbus Park and humiliate yourself on the pull-up bars, and marvel that Five Points (of Gangs In New York and also historical fame) is but an unrecognizable speck, or at least that’s my routine.
Crispy Tofu Pad Thai
SERVINGS: 2
TIME 5 to 10 minutes cooking, plus prep
Tofu firm or extra-firm, 6 ounces (not silken).
The dried rice noodles are about 1/8 inch (3mm) wide.
Add more fish sauce to taste.
Add more to your taste. 2 tablespoons of tamarind concentrate
Add more sugar to taste.
Use a pinch of Thai chile powder, flakes, or chili powder. You can also use Sriracha.
Use as much oil as you need, whether grapeseed, vegetable or any other neutral high-heat cooking oil.
Chop one small shallot (optional).
Two cloves of garlic, sliced
Grated or minced, two tablespoons of sweetened preserved radish
Bean sprouts: 2 handfuls plus additional for garnish.
One large egg
Divide four garlic chives or eight spring onions or scallions into 2-inch pieces.
GARNISHES
Addition of Thai or other chili flakes or powder
The remaining bean sprouts and garlic chives
Two large lime wedges
Two tablespoons of crushed roasted peanuts (salted or unsalted)
Tofu is easy to prepare: Place the tofu on paper towels and add a few more. To remove as much liquid as possible, place a heavy object like a large frying pan on top of the tofu. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes. If you don’t have time to wait, cut it into 1/2- 3/4 inch cubes. Prepare the noodles: In the meantime, pour hot water into a large dish and cover with noodles. Pad thai is often made with shorter noodles, even 6″ lengths. After 10 minutes, they should still be al dente but pliable. Longer soaks will make the noodles mushy. Drain and set aside noodles.