I picked up this Prawn Phad Thai recipe during my travels through southwest Thailand. I went there solely to explore the flavours of the provinces. Being a hardcore restaurant chef, I know that Phad Thai can either be the most sought-after dish or a dish that confuses the customer with its flavour profile steeped in contrasts. So we tend to tweak it to suit the local palate. But this version is from a local and exactly what it tastes like in that region.

  • Serves

    4

  • Cook Time

    00 h 40 m

Ingredients

For The Sauce

  • ¼ cup palm sugar
  • ¼ cup prawn water (head and shell boiled in cold water, just like stock)
  • 3 tbsp tamarind pulp
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 stalk lemon grass, bashed

For Noodle Stir Fry

  • 200 gm rice noodles
  • 80 gm tofu, diced and lightly fried
  • 10 to 12 medium sized prawns
  • 4 spring onions, cut diagonally in ½-inch segments
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1 shallot, finely sliced
  • 1 egg
  • 1 bird’s eye chilli, finely chopped
  • ½ cup moong sprouts
  • ½ cup finely shredded carrots
  • ¼ cup roasted peanuts
  • ¼ cup coriander leaves, picked
  • Lime wedges
  • Oil

Preparation

For Sauce

  1. Heat a small pan on medium or low flame and add in the tamarind pulp, prawn water, palm sugar, fish sauce, garlic and bashed lemon grass stalk.
  2. Cook the sauce till the palm sugar dissolves completely. You could tweak the sweetness and tanginess to bring about the right balance by adding a little more palm sugar or tamarind. Keep the sauce aside.

For Noodle Stir Fry

  1. Boil the rice noodles on high heat for 2 minutes, drain and refresh by rinsing the noodles with cold water. The noodles should be slightly firm.
  2. In a wok or large pan, add 2 teaspoon oil and place on high flame. Toss in the prawns and stir fry until they turn opaque. Remove the prawns and keep aside.
  3. In the same pan, pour in 1 teaspoon oil and allow it to smoke. Then, add the sliced shallot and stir fry for a minute. Drop in the garlic and keep stirring to ensure the garlic does not burn.
  4. Put in the noodles along with 3 to 4 tablespoon of the sauce prepared in advance and keep stirring until the noodles are nicely coated with the sauce.
  5. Move the noodles to one side of the pan, spoon in 1 teaspoon of oil and crack an egg in it. Scramble the egg for about 30 seconds.
  6. Toss in three quarters of the carrots and moong sprouts, along with the prawns, tofu, spring onions, chopped bird’s eye chilli. Stir fry the ingredients together for another minute.
  7. Add a couple of tablespoons of the sauce while stir frying the vegetables. Finally, pull in the noodles and give it all a good toss.
  8. Remove from heat and serve hot, garnished with the remaining carrots, sprouts, roasted peanuts, coriander leaves and lime wedges.
Written by

Rohan D’Souza

Rohan D’Souza is an award-winning chef who is currently the Culinary Director and Lead Chef Brands at Vii Dubai, Conrad Dubai. A graduate of the Institute of Hotel Management, Hyderabad, with an NVQ level 3 certification in kitchen and larder from Southampton City College, D’Souza has worked on P&O cruises, served as head chef The Bistro run by James Martin for three years, and worked at Marco Pierre White’s The White Room for a year and a half. He has also worked in restaurants like The Lazy Goose and Toro in Goa, Mumbai’s Nom Nom and Estella, and Silver Beach Café in Dubai. Chef D’Souza also does a special guest chef night at Melbourne’s iconic Waterfront Southgate restaurant, with his Australian partner chef Miki Dajanovic.

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