Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Pad Thai – Bad Thai (really it’s not so bad)

pad thai

I love Pad Thai, it’s what keeps me visiting restaurants since I have never tried to make it. I can make most everything else at home, except sushi and pad thai. I still appreciate the dining out experience, but on average, I dare say, my food is better than theirs.

Except for Pad Thai. I really went out on a limb breaking away from the recipe I had to make it my own. It is still good, but doesn’t have the sweet and savory richness I like about the authentic dish. Instead of rice noodles I used a new thing called Shiritaki, which are noodles made out of tofu. Hungry Girl swears by them and I figured with a dish that has a lot of flavor these may be OK. I was wrong. They aren’t bad, but in general I like my pasta cooked al dente and these are a bit softer. I may be too much of a foodie for them.

Next I added a bit of veg since I love them. In the restaurant, I get mine with extra broccoli, but I didn’t have any here in the home so I used bok choi, carrots and yellow pepper. It was good, but not the noodley tightness I like in my pt. The sauce I used was an authentic Thai one, but I think there were too many veggies for the sauce to truly expand its flavor over the dish.

I paired this up with some teriyaki-marinated chicken breast and that turned out lovely. No not the best meal I ever cooked, but back to the drawing board. It is edible and still yummy and healthy so the leftovers will make a nice lunch.

What are some things you love and have tried to duplicate?

2 comments:

christine said...

Yep, most thai food I have a hard time duplicating and yes it's the noodles! And yes really good sushi. I love the experience of eating both out so I guess that's okay but still...I'm a frustrated asian chef at heart!!

Unknown said...

I know, I know. Love to eat, but attempting to make - well is another story. Tried once and satisfactory, but not the stand and drink wine meal you want to try with a kitchen full of friends.