Pad Thai with Western Twist

We usually don't order Pad Thai when we go to Thai restaurants, mainly because I find that most restaurants give you lumpy and clump up noodles. I'm not too crazy about the texture of the noodles served in this dish. However, I love the version of Pad Thai that my younger sister makes. She uses Brown Rice Spaghetti for this dish. It might sound a bit awkward but this spaghetti absorbs the flavoring so well and has a good texture. I bought mine from Trader Joe's.

I've had this recipe for some time now but never actually got a chance to make it. I usually request for her to make this dish but with busy schedules and my cravings, I decided to give it a try. It turns out pretty good and we were so hungry and want to eat it while still hot that couldn't even plate it to take picture :). I added some mini sweet peppers as I had a lot on hand and served with some Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi on the side.

Pad Thai with Western Twist

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 pound brown rice spaghetti/fettuccine or White rice noodles
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon garlic - pressed or finely chopped
1/2 pound firm tofu - cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 cups bean sprouts
1 pound cocktail shrimp
1/4 cup roasted peanuts - coarsely ground
1/4 cup cilantro - roughly chopped
2 green onions - sliced thinly
3 mini sweet peppers of different colors – thinly sliced lengthwise (optional)
Crushed red peppers to taste

Seasoning:
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
3 tablespoons tamari
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons paprika

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and 1/2 tbsp of oil to boiling water, add noodles and cook until just tender, about 8 to 12 minutes (or according to package directions). Drain, rinse with cold water, drain again and set aside.
2. In a bowl, combine all seasoning ingredients and keep aside.
3. Have all ingredients prepared before starting to stir fry.
4. Heat remaining 1 1/2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add garlic and stir-fry for about 30 seconds or so until it begins to turn golden.
5. Add tofu and sauté for 2 minutes or so, stirring often until tofu beings to brown.
6. Add the prepared seasoning liquid and mix thoroughly.
7. Stir-in the noodles, 2 cups of bean sprouts, shrimp and half of ground peanuts. Toss to mix well, adjust to taste and turn off heat.
8. Garnish with remaining bean sprouts & peanuts, cilantro, green onions, mini sweet peppers and crushed red peppers. Serve immediately.

Variation
For Vegetarian friendly version, skip shrimp. For Vegan version, skip shrimp and replace honey with brown or regular sugar.   

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Tilapia Larb (Tilapia Salad)

I love Thai food and Larb is one of my favorite Thai salads. My dad used to make beef or chicken Larb for us often. Although Larb is usually made from ground meat, I tried making it with fish and really enjoyed eating it. It is quick & easy to prepare and healthy & tasty as well. The ingredients used here are similar to the Thai Grilled Beef Salad I’ve previously posted but this one comes together much faster.

Tilapia Larb (Tilapia Salad)

Serves: 2
Preparation Time: 15 – 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
8 ounces skinless Tilapia fillet
3/4 cup red onion – thinly sliced
1/2 cup green onion – thinly sliced (about 2 green onions)
1/2 cup cilantro – roughly chopped
1/2 cup mint leaves– roughly chopped
2 teaspoons uncooked sweet rice/glutinous rice – toasted on skillet until fragrant and lightly browned; and ground to a coarse powder
2 teaspoons crushed chili pepper - lightly toasted on skillet till fragrant (adjust to taste)
1 lime – extract juice (adjust to taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce (adjust to taste)
Black pepper to taste (optional)
Oil spray

Directions:

1. Have all ingredients ready before cooking the fish.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat with oil spray. Once hot, add fish fillets and pan fry for few minutes per side until flaky and cooked through.
3. Smash it lightly using a fork to break into big chunks. Season it with some black pepper, if desired.
4. If you do not like raw onion taste, add the onion and cook for further minute, stirring gently. If not, turn off the heat and remove from heat. Add all the remaining ingredients and adjust according to taste.
5. Serve hot with steam rice and fresh vegetables such as cabbage and cucumber pieces.

Note: I usually make toasted sweet rice and toasted crushed chili pepper in larger quantities (about 1/2 cup or so) and store it in airtight containers for future use.

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Thai Grill Beef Salad

This is one my favorite salads. The taste and ingredients used in the dressing is very similar to the Thai dish 'Larb' that my dad used to cook for us when we were kids. You can serve the salad by itself as a light meal; serve it as a side dish to a meal or serve it with steam rice as a meal on its own.

Thai Grill Beef Salad

Serves: 2 to 4
Preparation Time: 15 to 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 to 15 minutes
Marinate time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
For Marinate:
2 – 1 inch thick, boneless New York strip steaks – fat removed and poked with fork all over
2 cloves garlic – crushed
1 teaspoon ginger – grated
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine, cooking wine
1 teaspoon sugar or grated palm sugar
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Salad Dressing:
1/3 cup shallots, thinly sliced
1/3 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1/3 cup mint, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon or to taste crushed red chili pepper – toasted (toast chili pepper in a small skillet on low heat until fragrant)
1 tablespoon uncooked sweet rice – lightly toasted on a skillet and grinded to a coarse powder
2 tablespoon fish sauce (adjust to taste)
1 tablespoon sugar or grated palm sugar (adjust to taste)
Juice of 1 to 2 limes (adjust to taste)

Other ingredients:
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 handfuls of romaine lettuce, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Mix all marinate ingredients except for beef in a small bowl and adjust according to taste. Coat both sides of the beef with this mixture in a shallow dish and let it marinate for about 30 minutes or so.
2. Mix all salad ingredients in a bowl and adjust according to taste and keep aside.
3. Heat a griddle skillet pan or a skillet on high heat until the pan is hot. Spray with oil and cook the steaks on high heat for about 3 minutes on each side to get color.
4. Reduce heat and cook till your desire doneness. For a little well done meat, after reducing the heat, cover the pan halfway and let it cook through.
5. When done, transfer the meat to a plate, cover loosely with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing the meat into thin strips.
6. To serve, add tomato, cucumber and lettuce in a big mixing bowl and add half of the salad dressing. Toss well and transfer to a serving platter. Top it up with sliced beef and pour more dressing on top. Serve with steam rice.

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Thai Duck Curry

If there is ready made or leftover roasted duck, this dish comes together fairly easy and quickly. You can either use a store bought can curry paste or make curry paste from scratch at home. Since I was short of time that day, I just used the can version, which was pretty tasty as well. I like this dish to be on a little sweeter side, so I added 2 tsp of sugar. Taste first before adding full 2 tsp.  This dish is creamy, little sweet and tangy from the pineapples and has a kick from all spices from the curry paste.  Overall, this is one of my husband’s favorite dishes.

Thai Duck Curry

Serves:  4
Prep Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon oil
2 oz (1/2 a can) Maesri red curry paste
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 roasted duck – cut in chunks
1/2 cup pineapple – cut into bite size pieces
4 to 6 kaffir lime leaves – torn with hand
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes –cut in half
Fish sauce to taste
2 teaspoon sugar (adjust to taste)
1/2 cup Thai basil leaves

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and sauté red curry paste for 1 min or so until fragrant.
2. Add few tablespoons of coconut milk and stir. Add few more tablespoons of coconut milk until it becomes thick gravy consistency.
3. Add the roasted duck, stir and cook for further minute.
4. Add pineapple, kaffir lime leaves and cherry tomatoes. Season it with sugar and fish sauce to taste.  Stir well and cook for few more minutes.
5. Add the rest of the coconut milk and some water to adjust the gravy consistency. Cook for further minute.
6. Turn off the heat and add basil leaves. Stir once and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with few more basil leaves.

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