Chicken Pad Thai

I have perfected Pad Thai. Now before you turn way from what you think is some empty claim, hear me out.

Pad Thai was something I thought you just threw together. Much like any other stirfry. Nothing to it, right? Fry a few things, add some sauce, mix with noodles. Oh but there's so much more to a good Pad Thai! Let me be clear about it though - It.Is.Not.Difficult. Or time-consuming. Or even complicated. But there's a certain order to a proper Pad Thai. You're aiming for the perfect mix of crunchy sprouts and nuts, succulent chicken, fresh green herbs and saucy, glistening noodles. For you to sluuuuurp up.

For this recipe you have to be quick. This is not the time for a leisurely glass of wine and an occasional peek into the pot to see how things are doing. The entire thing will come together in about twenty minutes. And this is one time that you absolutely must have everything ready prepped beforehand. No compromises. I like to pretend that I'm a celebrity chef on television, so it feels less food-geeky.

The verdict? I think I have a new favourite meal. As for TheHusband? He likes the flavour, but "The noodles have a weird texture". Eh, what does he know. I think the pictures speak for themselves on this one!

I'm submitting this to Weekend Herb Blogging #226, hosted by Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with Herbs).

Chicken Pad Thai

Adapted from Chez Pim

Makes 2 generous servings

1 1/2 tbsp (22.5 ml) sunflower oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (approx 250g), thinly sliced into strips

2 small carrots, julienned

100g rice vermicelli noodles 

1/2 cup Pad Thai sauce*

a handful (approx 40g) beansprouts

1 egg

2 tbsp roasted and salted peanuts, roughly crushed using pestle & mortar

a handful fresh chives, snipped into pieces

a handful fresh coriander (cilantro)

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat in a large wok. 

2. Add chicken and cook briefly, stirring vigorously, until just starting to brown.

3. Meanwhile set your noodles in a bowl of warm water to soak. The noodles should just start to become pliable and lose their crispness, but should not be soft before you add it to the wok.

4. Add carrots to the wok and again cook briefly, stirring all the time to keep the food moving, until carrots starts to soften slightly - note it should still be mostly crisp!

5. Now add your (not entirely soft) noodles to the wok, along with the remainder of the oil, stir briefly to coat with oil, then add sauce and stir, cooking for a few minutes until the noodles are cooked. This shouldn't take more than 2 - 3 minutes. Add beansprouts as well during this time.

6. Move the noodles up to the sides of the wok and crack an egg into the bottom of the wok. Leave to solidify slightly for approx 30 seconds, then stir the egg so that it scrambles and cooks through. This will take another 1 - 2 minutes. The egg should still be slightly soft and not cooked dry.

7. Stir again to mix the egg into the noodles, then add peanuts, chives and coriander. Stir everything one last time to combine, then serve at once, accompanied by lemon wedges and little bowls of soy sauce, chillies, peanuts and coriander.

*You can make your own Pad Thai sauce using a combination of fish sauce, palm sugar, tamarind pulp and chillies or cheat and use store bought.

PS: Do check out Chez Pim's post on Pad Thai for beginners - she does a great job of explaining the whole process in great detail.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 563.5, Total fat 24.4 g, Saturated fat 3.3 g, Polyunsaturated fat 11.1 g, Monounsaturated fat 6.2 g, Cholesterol 178.8 mg, Sodium 1,029.6 mg, Potassium 540.0 mg, Total carbohydrate 47.1 g, Dietary fiber 2.8 g, Sugars 28.4 g, Protein 35.6 g

Good source of: Vitamin A 196.4 %, Niacin 78.1 %, Selenium 47.5 %, Vitamin B6 41.3 %, Vitamin E 41.2 %, Phosphorus 34.9 %

Fresh Coriander Pasta Ribbons with Spicy Peanut Sauce

So what do you do with fresh pasta once you've made it and congratulated yourself over and over that you did? This is what I did with mine:**

Fresh Coriander Pasta Ribbons with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Serves 3

1 tsp oil

250g firm tofu, cut into bite-size blocks

1/2 red bellpepper, cut into strips

1/2 green bellpepper, cut into strips

handful of beansprouts

1/2 satay sauce recipe

1/2 - 1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp soy sauce

fresh pasta ribbons (make half of recipe and use vietnamese coriander in the dough)

2 or 3 kaffir lime leaves

vietnamese coriander, to garnish

1. Fry tofu in oil over medium to high heat until lightly browned on all sides. Add bellpeppers, beansprouts and garlic, fry briefly.

2. Add chilli powder and soy sauce to the satay sauce, then add to the vegetables. Cook for a few minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Veggies should still be crisp.

3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a big pot of boiling water with kaffir lime leaves added to the pot. It should take about 6 minutes for the pasta to reach al dente stage.

4. Drain pasta, then toss immediately with the tofu and vegetable mix. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 533.3, Total fat 29.8 g, Saturated fat 13.3 g, Polyunsaturated fat 5.9 g, Monounsaturated fat 8.0 g, Cholesterol 163.7 mg, Sodium 227.8 mg, Potassium 469.5 mg, Total carbohydrate 57.4 g, Dietary fiber 5.1 g, Sugars 1.7 g, Protein 26.1 g

Good source of: Vitamin C 87.6 %, Selenium 66.0 %, Manganese 64.6 %, Calcium 59.0 %, Thiamin 45.4 %, Folate 41.8 %, Iron 40.6 %,  Vitamin A 36.3 %, Riboflavin 34.7 %,

*Easily adapted for vegans by using egg-free pasta.

** I probably don't even need to tell you how yummy it was, right?

Chicken Satay

Mark this date on the calendar people! For the first time I'm actually posting the Daring Cooks recipe on time! Third time lucky as they say.

Besides marking the calendar though, you should definitely bookmark this recipe.

The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day. 
I haven't had satay before (gasp, shock, etc); it was one of those things I'd been meaning to try but never got around to - you know how it goes. Take it from me: if you haven't tried satay before, put everything down, gather the ingredients and get your marinade going right now.That is an order. From the Yum Police!

Okay that was cheesy, but I promise you'll forgive me after you've tasted the peanut-y creamy goodness that is satay sauce. Honestly, I considered drinking this stuff straight, so awesome was it. Now what are you still waiting for?

Chicken Satay

Adapted from 1000 Recipe Cookbook by Martha Day

Serves 4

500g skinless boneless chicken breasts

1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the peanut sauce:

(this makes roughly double the amount needed)

3/4 cup coconut milk

4 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 - 1/2 tsp chilli powder

1. For the marinade - puree the onion, garlic, ginger, spices, lemon juice and oil until smooth in a food processor.

2. Cut each chicken breast into 2 or 3 long strips. Add chicken to the marinade and ensure the chicken is evenly coated all over. Cover and leave to marinade in refridgerator for 2 - 12 hours. (I marinated mine in the morning and the chicken was ready for the grill at supper time.)

3. Remove chicken from marinade (but don't scrape the marinade off). Thread each strip onto a skewer and place under the grill for about 15 minutes, turning once to ensure even browning.

4. Meanwhile, make the peanut sauce, by combining everything in a bowl and gently microwaving it to melt the peanut butter and thicken the sauce.

Serve chicken skewers with the peanut sauce to dip. 

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 312.1, Total fat 17.8 g, Saturated fat 6.0 g, Polyunsaturated fat 3.7 g, Monounsaturated fat 6.8 g, Cholesterol 72.5 mg, Sodium 464.9 mg, Potassium 506.9 mg, Total carbohydrate 6.5 g, Dietary fiber 1.4 g, Sugars 1.6 g, Protein 32.1 g

Good source of: Niacin 77.3 %, Vitamin B6 39.2 %, Selenium 33.3 %, Phosphorus 31.3 %, Manganese 23.0 %

Asian Fishcakes with an orange mayo dipping sauce

This is such a Friday-night meal, even though I made mine on a Tuesday evening (granted, it was the night before a public holiday on the Wednesday, so that might explain it). Quick to make - especially if you cheat as I do and use smash (instant mashed potatoes) instead of making it from scratch. I console myself with the fact that the packet of smash does state that it's made of real potatoes...

Anyhow, a quick & easy meal and lovely to eat on the couch, dipping it into the mayo sauce. YUM.
Makes about 16 fishcakes

2 frozen haddock fillets
1 packet of smash,
1/2 onion, cut into big chunks
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
2.5 cm fresh ginger, peeled
1 handful of fresh mint
1 handful of fresh coriander
2 eggs, beaten
breadcrumbs, to coat
sesame seeds, to coat
sesame oil for frying

For the mayo dipping sauce:

4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
2ml orange essence (or use a spoonful of tangerine marmalade like I sometimes do)
1 teaspoon sugar


1. Fry the haddock fillets briefly in some oil and butter until just cooked.
2. Meanwhile, blend together the onion, garlic, ginger, mint & coriander until finely chopped. Transfer to a mixing bowl, adding the smash powder.
3. Add the fish fillets to the blender as well, blend briefly, until well minced. Add to the herb & smash mixture.
4. Add the eggs to the fish mixture, along with enough water to make a softish (yet still firm) batter.
5. In a seperate smaller bowl, mix together breadcrumbs & sesame seeds (about an 8:1 ratio).
6. Heat oil in a frying pan, form fishcakes with your hands, roll in the breadcrumb mixture and fry in the oil until well browned on all sides.

For the dipping sauce:

Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve with your freshly-made fishcakes.

Thai Chicken Salad

(No photo - yet)

Well, I had carrots and spring onions, peanuts and a couple of oriental sauces in my fridge, so I threw them all together with a few other ingredients to make this salad with, what I like to think of as, a bit of a Thai flavour.

Thai Chicken Salad
 

This serves 2 people (depending on hunger levels...)

2 carrots, very coursely grated/julienned
2 spring onions, sliced into rings
2 chicken fillets, grilled (or 1 large chicken breast) and cut into rough strips
100g baby spinach leaves, torn
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup beansprouts (any type)
Pad Thai sauce (about 3 tablespoons I'd say)
soya sauce (probably about 2 tablespoons)
a drizzle of plum sauce
black pepper, freshly ground

Mix everything together and enjoy.

Note: If you are intending on keeping some of the salad for the next day, do not add the peanuts to the mix, or else it will go soggy overnight. Just sprinkle on some peanuts before serving.

Another note: I'm inclined to think chilli and mushrooms will also fit quite well into the mix.

Thai Chicken Salad

Well, I had carrots and spring onions, peanuts and a couple of oriental sauces in my fridge, so I threw them all together with a few other ingredients to make this salad with, what I like to think of as, a bit of a Thai flavour.

This serves 2 people (depending on hunger levels...)

2 carrots, very coursely grated/julienned
2 spring onions, sliced into rings
2 chicken fillets, grilled (or 1 large chicken breast) and cut into rough strips
100g baby spinach leaves, torn
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup beansprouts (any type)
Pad Thai sauce (about 3 tablespoons I'd say)
soya sauce (probably about 2 tablespoons)
a drizzle of plum sauce
black pepper, freshly ground

Mix everything together and enjoy.

Note: If you are intending on keeping some of the salad for the next day, do not add the peanuts to the mix, or else it will go soggy overnight. Just sprinkle on some peanuts before serving.

Another note: I'm inclined to think chilli and mushrooms will also fit quite well into the mix.