Improving instant pad Thai.
July 29, 2023 3:59 PM Subscribe
I bought a microwavable container of pad Thai. 2 minutes in microwave. I have never had any pad Thai before this. I know it is probably
a poor substitute for the real dish. But I found it quite tasty. The sauce was delicious...the noodles were ok. But it was just sauce and noodles. I wonder if I could improve it by adding some vegetables. It needs something. I'm thinking bok choy...or mushrooms. What else could I add? Is it ok to add soy sauce? I will eventually make my way to the Thai restaurant in town to see how it should be prepared. Oh, and the noodles were just a thicker spaghetti...I would like to try broad flat noodles next time with perhaps a bottled sauce... Somebody must make that, right.
a poor substitute for the real dish. But I found it quite tasty. The sauce was delicious...the noodles were ok. But it was just sauce and noodles. I wonder if I could improve it by adding some vegetables. It needs something. I'm thinking bok choy...or mushrooms. What else could I add? Is it ok to add soy sauce? I will eventually make my way to the Thai restaurant in town to see how it should be prepared. Oh, and the noodles were just a thicker spaghetti...I would like to try broad flat noodles next time with perhaps a bottled sauce... Somebody must make that, right.
I find that a squeeze of lime juice improves almost any pad Thai. Yes, try the soy sauce and see if you like it! For a bit of added crunch, you can add julienned carrots, bean sprouts, or chopped peanuts. Or any other vegetable that you like!
posted by corey flood at 4:07 PM on July 29, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by corey flood at 4:07 PM on July 29, 2023 [13 favorites]
I can't imagine Pad Thai without chicken, or at least tofu. The suggestions above are very good.
posted by Alensin at 4:10 PM on July 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Alensin at 4:10 PM on July 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
Peanut butter
posted by Dashy at 4:50 PM on July 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Dashy at 4:50 PM on July 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
I make the sauce with fish sauce, tamarind paste, and palm sugar because I have a decent Asian grocery, but I used to use fish sauce, vinegar and white sugar and that's fine. Rice noodles are better than wheat. Stir fry the noodles with garlic, scallions, egg, tofu, and shrimp in a bit of oil. Add the sauce and some bean sprouts and chopped cilantro, lime, and peanuts (or cashews if someone is allergic).
posted by rikschell at 5:02 PM on July 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 5:02 PM on July 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
You can definitely buy pad thai sauce. For example, this. (Not a specific recommendation, as I have not tried this specific product or any other pad thai sauce). Where I am, something like that would be carried by regular grocery stores. You might try looking in Asian grocery stores or online.
posted by cruelfood at 5:07 PM on July 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by cruelfood at 5:07 PM on July 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
One of my early covid lockdown projects was upping my homemade pad thai game. I'd been half assing it for years but I wanted restaurant quality and they were closed. My current method:
Get some wide flat egg noodles and soak em in almost boiling water.
On the stove start a long slow low heat sautee of onions, garlic, carrots and peppers. Towards the end add shrimp and one or two scrambled eggs.
Make the sauce as it sautees. Experiment with levels but roughly speaking equal amounts soy & fish sauce, lime, brown sugar, peanut butter and sambal oelek for kick.
That's pretty much it. Add the noodles and sauce to the veggies, use tongs to really work the sauce in, let simmer for a few more minutes, add bean sprouts right at the end. Serve it up and garnish with crushed peanut , green onions and cilantro.
posted by mannequito at 5:11 PM on July 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
Get some wide flat egg noodles and soak em in almost boiling water.
On the stove start a long slow low heat sautee of onions, garlic, carrots and peppers. Towards the end add shrimp and one or two scrambled eggs.
Make the sauce as it sautees. Experiment with levels but roughly speaking equal amounts soy & fish sauce, lime, brown sugar, peanut butter and sambal oelek for kick.
That's pretty much it. Add the noodles and sauce to the veggies, use tongs to really work the sauce in, let simmer for a few more minutes, add bean sprouts right at the end. Serve it up and garnish with crushed peanut , green onions and cilantro.
posted by mannequito at 5:11 PM on July 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
Deep fried or even oven baked tofu, chicken or shrimp are typical. Squeeze of lime, for sure. Chopped peanuts, sliced cucumber, bean sprouts - the hearty ones. Bok choy and mushrooms sound good. I've always had it with flat rice noodles. They have a chewy texture I love. A few places near me serve great Pad Thai, but even the adequate versions are pretty good including frozen versions. Do try some reasonably authentic versions at some point, as well as Larb Gai and so many great dishes.
posted by theora55 at 7:02 PM on July 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 7:02 PM on July 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
Mod note: A couple deleted. Sorry, but Ask Metafilter isn't for chatting, discussion, or similar. Feel free to do that in the main section, or in community (chatty) Metatalk threads, but please stick to responses directly related to the question in Ask Metafilter. Thanks!
posted by taz (staff) at 11:12 PM on July 29, 2023
posted by taz (staff) at 11:12 PM on July 29, 2023
Carrots, white onions, scallions & thin-sliced white cabbage all appear regularly in the pad thais I've eaten at various restaurants. Cooked just enough that they retain a bit of crunch (probably lightly stir-fried), but not raw. If you eat eggs, there's also often scrambled egg pieces in the mix. Tofu is great, as mentioned by other commenters.
Seconding chopped peanuts, cucumber, more uncooked scallions as garnishes. I've also seen it served with a lemon rather than a lime wedge for squeezing over the finished dish (I like lemon way more than lime, so this is my personal preference).
posted by terretu at 7:13 AM on July 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Seconding chopped peanuts, cucumber, more uncooked scallions as garnishes. I've also seen it served with a lemon rather than a lime wedge for squeezing over the finished dish (I like lemon way more than lime, so this is my personal preference).
posted by terretu at 7:13 AM on July 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Fresh lime and crushed peanuts are the two easiest upgrades to instant Pad Thai in my book. To get a little more complex, if you go to an Asian grocery store, you'll find some Pad Thai sauces that a little squirt will help improve instant noodles - look for tamarind in the ingredients list.
the noodles were just a thicker spaghetti
This is incorrect (in that anything about Pad Thai can be incorrect). It's generally made with thin, flat rice noodles, not wheat noodles.
Keep in mind that Pad Thai is a recently made up dish that's derived from but not authentic to Thai tradition, so there is no really "wrong" way of making it.
posted by Candleman at 8:26 AM on August 5, 2023
the noodles were just a thicker spaghetti
This is incorrect (in that anything about Pad Thai can be incorrect). It's generally made with thin, flat rice noodles, not wheat noodles.
Keep in mind that Pad Thai is a recently made up dish that's derived from but not authentic to Thai tradition, so there is no really "wrong" way of making it.
posted by Candleman at 8:26 AM on August 5, 2023
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
Ms. Windo made homemade the other day. Needed vegan fish sauce, vegan oyster sauce and dark soy sauce. Was really good. Hard to mess up noodles and sauce. Experiment!
posted by Windopaene at 4:02 PM on July 29, 2023 [1 favorite]