Thursday, June 7, 2012

Shrimp Pad Thai on the Lighter Side


I've been a huge fan of Rasa Malaysia for many years and recently Bee and I have become friends. Bee spent a few months traveling Thailand and when she returned I asked if she could guest post making a Skinnier version of a Thai Classic. Pad Thai is probably my most requested makeover, so who better than to have Bee give us her authentic version with a lighter touch! Vegetarians, leave out the shrimp and add more tofu or add more veggies!


Hi there, I’m Bee from Rasa Malaysia, a website about easy Asian cooking. I’m also the cookbook author of Easy Chinese Recipes (Tuttle, September 2011) — one of the best-selling Chinese cookery books on Amazon. First of all, I wanted to thank Gina for giving me the opportunity to guest post on Skinnytaste and share my Pad Thai recipe with you. I’m very honored—and thrilled—to grace this space, and I hope you like what I have to share with you here.

I love Thai food so there is no surprise that I’m a big fan of Pad Thai, or Thai stir-fried rice noodles. If you have dined at Thai restaurants, I’m sure you have had Pad Thai. Pad Thai is quite possibly the most famous dish outside of Thailand.

Thai cuisine is prized for its perfect balance of the four main tastes: hot, sour, salty, and sweet. Pad Thai is no exception. The spiciness of this noodle dish comes from the use of chili powder while the tartness comes from tamarind. The saltiness of most Thai food comes from fish sauce, or nam pla, while palm sugar lends the sweetness to the overall dish. For this recipe, I opted to use vinegar in lieu of tamarind juice, as it’s commonly used by the street vendors in Thailand. Palm sugar is not a common ingredient for many people, so I substituted it with sugar. The recipe is very versatile as you can make it healthier by adding more bean sprouts and reduce the rice noodles. Other than shrimp, you can also use chicken breast. The fried firm tofu is a key ingredient in authentic Pad Thai but you can’t find it at your local stores, feel free to opt it out.

I love eating my Pad Thai with a generous squirt (or two) of lime juice. It’s a delightful dish to make at home and a complete meal on its own. I hope you enjoy the recipe. If you have any questions, do leave me a comment! Again, thanks Gina for having me.




Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

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