Pad Thai

[TheDon]

Anyways everyones opinion is different. But i want to ask, has anyone ever had a bad Padthai??? I always eat Pad thai in Thailand ans here in Sydney and can honestly say ive never had a bad Pad Thai. To me where you cant go wrong with pad thai where ever you go

[britmaveric]

Try Da Da's Jingthing, best Pad Thai around.

[Jockstar]

Best Pad Thai outside of Thailand was in Auckland years ago. Came wrapped in egg. Very nice. BTW it wasnt red.

[Jingthing]

has anyone ever had a bad Padthai???

This is basically what this thread is about.

Yes, I have had bad pad Thais here and in the US.

I don't consider it not being red a problem, that may indeed be an American embellishment.

The usual problem for me in Thailand when it is bad is massive greasiness. The noodles are served on a large pool of oil. Not nice.

The usual problem for me in the US when it is bad is it being made from a commercial bottled spice mix and not made from scratch. I think many people find the taste OK for that but because I have made the spice mix from scratch I understand the difference, and to me, it isn't even the same dish.

Edited November 4, 2007 by Jingthing

[WaiWai]

In Chiang Mai there's an entire restaurant devoted to nothing but phat thai in its various versions.

Which, where ?

[Plus]

Jingthing, you are probably right that most padthai in Thailand is served on the streets as a 25 baht dish and it's not fair to compare it to a proper restaurant food. Horses for courses - I don't think you'd like street padthai if it existed in the US.

However, as Sabaijai pointed out, you are talking about your personal taste, or maybe even general American taste. However important that nation is, it's not up to them to decide what is best Thai/Italian/Indian food. The rest of the world, and Thailand in particular, couldn't care less about your food preferences, while you sound like you are going to preach to Thais how to cook their food. Do they teach you any manners over there?

[Jingthing]

personal taste, or maybe even general American taste

My personal taste for sure. My taste is not even close to typical American taste.

[sabaijai]

I would disagree with the characterization of phat thai as 'street food', it's no more street food than any other one-plate dish, which you'll find both in restaurants and at street vendors. Plenty of middle-class Thai restaurants in Bangkok serve excellent phat thai. In fact I don't see it that often on the street here, to tell you the truth, except of course on Khao San Rd.

I forget the name of the resto in Chiang Mai with all phat Thai but it's on Chang Moi Rd. Next time I'm nearby I'll get the name and exact address and post here.

In the US I've tried phat thai in LA, Chicago, NY, San Francisco, Austin, Dallas, Biloxi, MS, Washington DC, etc. Guess I've just had bad luck. And I mean good phat thai, not necessarily authentic. Even here in Thailand people argue about what's authentic. Ang Thong is authentic.

Yes phat thai is fancier in US Thai restaurants, but not necessarily better. Some of the best phat thai I've eaten has been served at temple festivals in small-town central Thailand.

[Jingthing]

When I am wrong, I'm wrong. I seem to be on a streak.

Mea culpa. Pad Thai egg on my face.

I just had an excellent Pad Thai at a street restaurant in Thailand. 35 baht and worth every satang.

It was pretty much exactly what I wanted, what I remembered from good pad Thai in the US, except it had way too much sugar, but that can be corrected next time.

This Thailand pad Thai kung had:

a big pile of crispy fresh bean sprouts on the side

also a banana thingie (you don't get that in the US)

it was red, but I saw no ketchup or paprika in the cooking ingredients, how did they get it red? Anyone know? Chemical dye? Same stuff they use for the red noodles soup dish?

it was robust, savory, and you could taste the fish sauce

it was packed with dried shrimps

fresh shrimps too, natch

it had some hard tofu

it was not at all greasy

it was delicious

So what happened is probably I just had given up on Pad Thai here because I had randomly come across lousy pad Thai served on a pool of grease every time I tried and I stupidly jumped to the conclusion that this bad pad Thai was normal here. Also, I had been lucky to first be introduced to really good Thai food and pad Thai at really good Thai restaurants in the US. With real Thai taste, yes fish sauce. This was even before I visited Thailand, and the wonderful cooking at those restaurants of course interested me in visiting Thailand one day.

The issue I was getting sensitive about was I thought people were saying, what you remember is some stupid American pad Thai, you know a big pile of noodles cooked in unspiced sauce served on buttered hamburger bun and slathered with a pint of red ketchup.

Case closed. Good (with true Thai flavor) and bad pad Thai in both countries.

Edited November 5, 2007 by Jingthing

[britmaveric]

[chonabot]

Saeb ellee durrr...........................

[Jingthing]

Looks great. Fat shrimp too.

[WentRTW]

The first time I ever had Thai was the first Thai resaurant in my city(1985ish). The first dish? Pad Thai! .

I fell in love with Pad Thai, for long time it was all I would order. I continued to eat at the same restaurant for years. One day I asked the chef if I could watch him prepare pad thai. I was surprised to see him use paprika. Paprika was not a spice I expected and I never thought much of it.

Fast Forward: July '06. I stop over in Thailand for a couple of weeks on an around the world journey. I chose Thailand to visit for my love of Thai food. I ate lots of Pad Thai and was surprised how much varitation there was. While in Thailand I took a couple of cooking classes. One instructor said there are as many pad thai recipes as people, and everybody had their own version of pad thai. He mentioned that in Northern Thailand they liked to wrap their pad thai in an omlet.

As an airline employee I had the oppportunity to try Thai food in many different places. My favorite pad thai was always from my own home-town Thai restaurant. I never knew what made it so different until the cooking lessons. One cooking class taught a recipe that used pickled radish and tamarind. Once I tasted it I immediately knew this was "my" pad thai!

I have been back from my trip for over a year now and have yet to tire of Thai food. I cook Thai at least 2X's per week and usually more often. My friends love it, I give them cooking classes all the time!

Viva Thai Food!!!

[ComicBum]

The worest Pad Thai.......EVER!!

Was at Boston Pizza in Canada, cost like 300baht, the moment I saw it arrive to the table I knew I was in trouble.

I do believe it was red in color.....I had about two fork fulls and shoved it aside in disgust.

I have yet to have anything even close to "good" Thai-food in my part of North America (Edmonton)... tried several resturants,even the "authentic' ones have been disappointed.

I begin to wonder if the chef(cooks) are Thai or Chinese or if the Thai's suddenly lose their skill to cook proper Thai food when they arrive to Farang-Land.

The sad truth is that they make the attempt to tailor the Thai- taste to a western palette by omitting the essential flavor elements

that make Thai food unique.....the food comes out top heavy in one flavor "Sweet"......in short, I call it "chop suey-Thai"

All form and no content.......mmmm...sounds like Amazing Thailand!!

In the world 1+1 = 2.......but in Thailand 1+1= "whatever you want it to be".......you'll never have the same Pad-Thai twice!!

Edited November 22, 2007 by ComicBum

[Jingthing]

One day I asked the chef if I could watch him prepare pad thai. I was surprised to see him use paprika. Paprika was not a spice I expected and I never thought much of it.

Paprika! Aha!!! I do suggest if cooking your own pad thai and you want to make it red, use a cheap paprika (no need for a fancy Hungarian one). I also think adding tamarind paste does amazing things.

[madamtingtong]

One day I asked the chef if I could watch him prepare pad thai. I was surprised to see him use paprika. Paprika was not a spice I expected and I never thought much of it.

Paprika! Aha!!! I do suggest if cooking your own pad thai and you want to make it red, use a cheap paprika (no need for a fancy Hungarian one). I also think adding tamarind paste does amazing things.

I saw a thai chef give a pad thai demonstration and it looked nothing like the one you ate or had some of the ingredients you mention. Never had a greasy pad thai in thailand and don't think its a street food. At least not a common one. Many dishes are different from country of origin, neither better or worse just different. If you like US one then its because its tailored to US tastes and that aint Thai. If Thais eat there then you can bet they are getting something more original than the native americans. Same is true all over the world...order in thai and the food is different than if ordered in english or french or italian. Try ordering som tum baep lao, chances are they wont even serve it to a falang.

[chiliwasabi]

Looks great. Fat shrimp too.

How fat does a "shrimp" have to be before it becomes a prawn?

[Macx]

Looks great. Fat shrimp too.

How fat does a "shrimp" have to be before it becomes a prawn?

I've been pondering the very same thing!

Actually, I've had some very good Thai food in the US, SF in particular.

Sometimes it comes down the ingredients. For instance, the Slanted Door (SF, VN-nouvelle) does the VN cubed steak, but they used fillet mignon so of course they would beat out anything I could find on the streets of HCMC. And, oh, yeah, their prices are pretty high too so no comparison there.

Love pad thai, but don't eat often enough in LOS because the ones I've tried have often been very greasy.

[Goshawk]

Scottish beef is the best.

Just ask the wife.

oche aye the moo..

Pad Thai with a Deep Fried Battered Mars Bar..

Hmm...

now there's food for thought...

[siamesekitty]

dam_n this thread.. i now have an uncontrollable urge for padthai! unfortunately, the one at my paksoi (street in front of my soi) is the really greasy, not so good kind.. ugh, what do i do now??

[Ulysses G.]

Never had a greasy pad thai in thailand and don't think its a street food. At least not a common one.

It is a common enough street food, therefore, I think that I will ignore everything else you had to say!

[britmaveric]

Pad Thai from Da Da's at Tip Plaza.

[j0hnga1t]

Jingthing, I work down the block from Racha in SF....or rather did. Racha is no more, thus I do not go there any more. They combined with Queen Thai restaurant which was across Polk street but still on Ellis. I vacation in Thailand and it's all a question of taste. I LOVE the Pad Thai in thailand. I prefer the taste of tamarand to vingar and don't like paprika. I took a cooking class at Bai pai cooking school just to learn how to make Pad Thai the traditional way.

[Hadrian1]

I took a cooking class at Bai pai cooking school just to learn how to make Pad Thai the traditional way.

Any chance of sharing the recipe?

[Jingthing]

Jingthing, I work down the block from Racha in SF....or rather did. Racha is no more, thus I do not go there any more. They combined with Queen Thai restaurant which was across Polk street but still on Ellis. I vacation in Thailand and it's all a question of taste. I LOVE the Pad Thai in thailand. I prefer the taste of tamarand to vingar and don't like paprika. I took a cooking class at Bai pai cooking school just to learn how to make Pad Thai the traditional way.

Yes, I know Racha is no more. Tried the new place there a few years ago and didn't like it.

[j0hnga1t]

Hadrian1,

Sorry, haven't checked this post in a while

I'm traveling for business now and will post the recipe this weekend.

[j0hnga1t]

Hadrian1 here it is:

Ingredients:

50grams - Thin rice noodles, 2 med prawns (headed, shelled, and devained), 1 shallot finely chopped, 10 grams hard tofu juilenned 1cm long, 1 salted radish finely chopped (5 grams used OTHERWISE toooooo salty , also as a variation try preserved sweet radishes), 5 grams dried shrimps, 3 tbsp water, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp tamarind paste, 2 teaspoon vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder (just ground red chilies), 1 egg, 15 grams bean sprouts, 10 grams  chinese chives, but into 2cm segments, 1 tbsp roasted peanuts crushed, 1 lime

mix the fish sauce, sugar tamarind paste, vinegar and chile powder together in a little bowl and set aside

on medium heat put half the oil in a wok to fry prawns, once cooked remove and set aside.  

Add remaining oil to the wok, put the noodles and water into the bowl and stir fry until noodles are softened.

Then add the fish sauce, sugar etc....mixture and stir until it's absorbed (it'll look like it's too much liquid but trust me it will be all absorbed in a few minutes )

push noodles to the side of the wok and crack an egg in there and scramble it.  once it's partially cooked (i.e a little runny), scoop the egg on top of the noodles and mix it up. Once combined the put in sprouts and chives and combine well.  

Put in plate and serve with lime wedge, top with the prawns and crushed peanuts.

My mouth is watering thinking about it .  Go to the night market near lumphini park in BKK and go the the outdoor food court, or the food court at MBK, Siam or Emporium and watch them cook.  you'll get the best view at the outdoor food court at lumphini park night market (I forget the name of the market).

It's a simple recipe but you have to get a lot of little ingredients.  It's just as good as the street market food.  I would suggest taking cooking classes in BKK baipai school is awesome and cheap, they even pick you up from your hotel and drop you off after class.....

Good luck!! let me know how it goes!!

[Hadrian1]

Hadrian1 here it is:

Ingredients:

50grams - Thin rice noodles, 2 med prawns (headed, shelled, and devained), 1 shallot finely chopped, 10 grams hard tofu juilenned 1cm long, 1 salted radish finely chopped (5 grams used OTHERWISE toooooo salty , also as a variation try preserved sweet radishes), 5 grams dried shrimps, 3 tbsp water, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp tamarind paste, 2 teaspoon vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder (just ground red chilies), 1 egg, 15 grams bean sprouts, 10 grams  chinese chives, but into 2cm segments, 1 tbsp roasted peanuts crushed, 1 lime

mix the fish sauce, sugar tamarind paste, vinegar and chile powder together in a little bowl and set aside

on medium heat put half the oil in a wok to fry prawns, once cooked remove and set aside.  

Add remaining oil to the wok, put the noodles and water into the bowl and stir fry until noodles are softened.

Then add the fish sauce, sugar etc....mixture and stir until it's absorbed (it'll look like it's too much liquid but trust me it will be all absorbed in a few minutes )

push noodles to the side of the wok and crack an egg in there and scramble it.  once it's partially cooked (i.e a little runny), scoop the egg on top of the noodles and mix it up. Once combined the put in sprouts and chives and combine well.  

Put in plate and serve with lime wedge, top with the prawns and crushed peanuts.

My mouth is watering thinking about it .  Go to the night market near lumphini park in BKK and go the the outdoor food court, or the food court at MBK, Siam or Emporium and watch them cook.  you'll get the best view at the outdoor food court at lumphini park night market (I forget the name of the market).

It's a simple recipe but you have to get a lot of little ingredients.  It's just as good as the street market food.  I would suggest taking cooking classes in BKK baipai school is awesome and cheap, they even pick you up from your hotel and drop you off after class.....

Good luck!! let me know how it goes!!

Thanks j0hnga1t. I will try making this soon.