Chicken Pad Thai

Here’s our take on the famous quick and easy Thai rice noodles dish, “Pad Thai”. Most Pad Thai recipes usually have bean sprouts and tofu. However, since these ingredients are hard to find here in the Maldives, we have omitted the tofu and substituted bean sprouts with green cabbage.

As for the rice noodles, we have used the Aroy-D Rice Stick provided to us by one of our partners, KDM. These gluten-free noodles have a nice chewy texture when cooked and goes very well in various rice noodle dishes like stir-fries, Pad Thai and Pho.

Serving size: 2

Ingredients:

For the Pad Thai sauce

• ¼ cup tamarind pulp
• ¼ cup hot water
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp fish sauce

For cooking the rice noodles

• 3 cups of water
• 100g Aroy-D Rice Stick

For stir-frying Pad Thai

• 2 tbsp oil
• 250g boneless chicken strips (1-2 inches long)
• 1 ½ tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 medium sized onion (finely diced)
• 3 large cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
• ½ cup green onion stalk (green part)
• 2 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts

For extra topping

• Lime wedges
• Chopped roasted peanuts
• Chilli flakes

Instructions:

1. Soak ¼ cup tamarind pulp in ¼ cup hot water for 10 minutes. Strain out the seeds and add the remaining tamarind paste to a small bowl. While straining, scrape the pulp on the seeds on the strainer using a spoon to make sure you get as much of the pulp as possible.
2. Then, to the tamarind paste, add 3 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tbsp fish sauce and mix well. Set aside.
3. In a large pot, add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil on high heat (for around 5-6 minutes until rapid bubbles forms). Add 100g Aroy-D Rice Stick and cook for 3 minutes until softened. Drain and set aside.
4. Next, in a large pot, heat up 2 tbsp oil for 30 seconds on high heat and add in 250g boneless chicken strips (1-2 inches long) and 1 ½ tbsp dark soy sauce. Stir and cook for 6 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. When you cut through the chicken, it will be white inside when cooked properly.
5. Then add in 1 medium sized onion (finely diced), 3 large cloves of garlic (minced), and 1 tsp chilli flakes to the chicken. Continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes until the onions softened.
6. Now, add the cooked rice noodles and the Pad Thai sauce. Stir and cook for around 1-2 minutes until most of the sauce is dissolved into the noodles.
7. Set the noodles to a side of the pot and crack 2 eggs to the other side. Scramble the eggs for 30 seconds (it will be semi cooked), then mix with the noodles and cook for another 30 seconds.
8. Lastly, add 1 cup thinly sliced cabbage, ½ cup green onion stalk (green part), and 2 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts. Mix well and cook for 2 more minutes.
9. You can serve the Pad Thai with extra chopped roasted peanuts, chilli flakes, and a squeeze of lime.