For several weeks in a row Wayne raved about the Pad Thai variations he had eaten when going out to lunch with his co-workers. I don’t know that I’ve ever had it, so wanted to give it a try. It was easy finding a slew of recipes on the internet, but not so easy finding the required ingredients of tamarind paste and fresh bean sprouts. However, I finally did and it was time to try it at home. Here’s the recipe I chose. Wayne said the taste was good but it needed more sauce. This sauce was watery and the one at the restaurant was not, so we’ll try it again with that adjustment. He also said I also didn’t chop the peanuts finely enough, but that’s an easy fix.

Edited: I tried doubling the sauce, and used the cornstarch to thicken it, but it was way to “fishy” tasting, and there was some leftover as well. So, next time (for 1 pound chicken, 1 can of bean sprouts, and 4 oz of rice noodles) try doubling only the chicken broth, be sure to use the cornstarch, and drain the cooked chicken before adding the sauce.

Pad Thai Sauce

1 tablespoon tamarind paste, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed chili pepper flakes
1 tablespoon cornstarch, optional

Combine all ingredients. If using cornstarch (to make it non-broth-like), it will need to be cooked until thickened.

For the Pad Thai itself, I sautéed some chicken with some garlic, then tossed in some bean sprouts and softened rice noodles before stirring in the sauce until it looked good. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts before serving.

It just seemed wrong serving our normal salad with Ranch or Italian salad dressing as an accompaniment; this dressing over lettuce, shredded carrots, cucumber, green onion and chopped peanuts was perfect.

Thai Peanut Dressing

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sugar
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon parsley flakes

Blend well and serve.