Thai Street Food 4. Pat Thai

Pat Thai

PAT THAI (Stir-fried noodles ผัดไทย ) A quintessential Thai street food.

(by David Thompson)

This is a relatively new addition to the Thai repertoire, emerging during a period of ultra-nationalism in the late 1930s and early 40s, under the military regime of Marshal Phibun. He declared that the people should endeavour to incorporate noodles into their eating habits, so competitions were held to devise new recipes, including the winning one that included tamarind and palm sugar. It was given the name pat thai to distinguish it from Chinese noodle dishes, even though it has much in common with them.

Thin, flat, quite chewy rice noodles are preferred here: fresh ones make a much better dish, but they are hard to find outside of Thailand. However, the dried versions, also known as rice sticks, are readily obtainable.

There is now a gentrified version of pat

thai that uses fresh prawns. Add six medium-sized cleaned raw prawns as the shallots begin to fry – and omit the dried prawns later in the recipe.

To make the tamarind water, break off an amount of the pulp, rinse, and then cover in a similar amount of warm water and leave for a few minutes to soften. Squeeze and work the pulp to dissolve it, and then strain the liquid to remove any fibres or seeds. It is best to make it quite thick, as it can be diluted.

SERVES 2

fresh pat thai noodles 125g or dried thin rice noodles (rice sticks) 100g

shaved palm sugar 3 tbsp

tamarind water 2 tbsp

white vinegar (optional) a dash

fish sauce 1 tbsp

oil 3 tbsp

red shallots 4, coarsely chopped with a pinch of salt

eggs (some cooks will use duck eggs) 2

yellow bean curd or firm bean curd 30g, cut into small rectangles or squares – about 2 heaped tbsp

dried prawns 1 tbsp, rinsed and dried

shredded salted radish ½ tsp, rinsed and dried

roasted peanuts 1 tbsp, coarsely crushed

trimmed bean sprouts a handful

Chinese chives a handful cut into 2cm lengths

To serve: extra bean sprouts and crushed roasted peanuts, lime wedges, roasted chilli powder and raw vegetables (such as Asian pennywort, banana blossom, cabbage or snake beans)

If using dried noodles, soak them in water for about 15 minutes until soft but not overly so. Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil. Drain the noodles well then blanch them in the boiling water for a moment only and drain once again (this prevents the noodles from clumping together when they are stir-fried).

Mix the palm sugar with the tamarind water, vinegar (if using), fish sauce and 1-2 tablespoons of water in a bowl, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Heat the oil in a wok over a medium heat and fry the shallots until fragrant and beginning to colour. Crack in the eggs and stir for a few moments until they begin to look omelette-like.

Turn up the heat, then add the drained noodles and fry for about 30 seconds while breaking up the eggs. Add the tamarind syrup and simmer until absorbed. Mix in the bean curd, dried prawns, salted radish and peanuts then simmer, stirring, until almost dry. Add the bean sprouts and Chinese chives and stir-fry for a moment.

Check the seasoning: pat thai should be salty, sweet and sour. Divide between two plates and sprinkle with the extra bean sprouts and peanuts. Serve with lime wedges, roasted chilli powder and raw vegetables.

The cost from a street food vendor is usually 30baht or slightly less than $1.