Okinawan-Style Pad Thai
This renowned dish, originating from Thailand, boasts variations from cook to cook and region to region. However, this recipe is a commendable effort to replicate the flavors of what I enjoyed at Thai-owned hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Okinawa, Japan. Essential to its taste are the sugar levels, unsalted peanuts, peanut oil, and either oyster or fish sauce.
Ingredients
- ½ cup rice wine vinegar
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp
- 1 (12 ounce) package dried rice noodles
- cold water, as needed
- ½ cup peanut oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
- 12 ounces chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch strips
- 1 ½ tablespoons white sugar, or more to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ cups dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried ground Asian radish
- 1 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste
- ½ cup chopped fresh chives
- 2 cups fresh bean sprouts
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Whisk together rice wine vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, oyster sauce, and tamarind pulp in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes; remove from heat and set aside.
- Place rice noodles in a large bowl and pour enough cold water to cover noodles. Allow to soften, about 10 minutes. Drain.
- Heat peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir eggs and garlic in hot oil until eggs are softly cooked, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir chicken and noodles into eggs and cook until chicken is no longer pink in the center and juices run clear, about 5 minutes.
- Pour rice wine vinegar sauce, 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt into the noodle mixture.
- Stir peanuts, ground radish, and chili powder into noodle mixture; cook until peanuts soften slightly, about 5 minutes. Add more sugar or chili powder if desired.
- Remove from heat and toss chives with noodle mixture. Top with bean sprouts and garnish with lime wedges.
Nutrition
Calories: 597kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 21gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 117mgSodium: 635mgPotassium: 402mgFiber: 4gSugar: 18gVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 60mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!