Pad Thai Dumplings

This was the first course of the meal I made for my friends this weekend. The idea here was to use vegetables in pad thai sauce, but to replace the noodles traditionally in pad thai with the wonton wrapper used to make the dumpling. I thought it worked pretty well, although I think I might have made the sauce a little too strong, or put a little too much tamarind in it. Other than the sauce, the measurements in this recipe are just rough estimates, and you should feel free to adjust them to suit your tastes. For a good set of instructions on how to fold the dumplings go here.

Pad Thai Dumplings

Makes ~ 30

2 T tamarind concentrate dissolved in 3 T hot water 

1 T + 1 tsp fish sauce 

1 ½ tsp chili paste (adjust to your taste) 

2 T brown sugar

3 cloves garlic, minced 

¾ cup shredded carrots

3 green onions, green and white parts thinly sliced 

½ cup coarsely chopped peanuts, plus more for garnish 

2/3 cup salad shrimp, coarsely diced 

¼ cup packed cilantro, diced Juice from half a lime (about 2 tsp)

Peanut oil for stir frying 

30 wonton wrappers

Spray oil (like pam)

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with oil (making sure it is well covered, these things stick!) Whisk the first four ingredients in a bowl, this is the sauce, set aside.

2. Put a small amount of peanut oil into the bottom of a wok or pot set over medium-high heat, with just one piece of garlic. When the garlic starts to sizzle add the remaining garlic and stir fry for one minute. Add the carrots, green onions, peanuts, and half the sauce, stir fry for another thirty seconds, and then remove from heat.

3. Move the contents of the wok to a bowl, attempting to leave behind excess sauce. Stir in the shrimp, cilantro and lime juice.

4. Place about 2 tsp of filling in the center of each wonton wrapper. Use a wet finger to dampen the edges of the wrapper, and bring the opposite corners together (so you fold it into a triangle). Press closed the seam and bring the two outer points to the center and pinch the three points of the triangle together (it helps to have damp fingers when doing this, the wrapper will stick to itself better). If this seems unclear, check out the link to instructional pictures above, or those I’ve included at the bottom of this post.

5. Put the dumplings on the cookie sheet. Spray all of the dumplings with oil, and bake them for about ten minutes, or until the wonton wrappers are becoming translucent and look like they’re becoming crispy. Serve promptly with remaining sauce for dipping. Garnish with additional peanuts, green onions, and slices of lime.

Stir Fry Noodles with Peanut Sauce

I’ve had some rice noodles in my pantry for a long time now. I bought them way back when I made pad thai last summer, and then set them in the back of the pantry and forgot about them until today. I wanted to make dinner without going shopping, so I decided to use them this week. I combined the method I learned to make pad thai with one of my favorite peanut sauces for stir fry, and I was very pleased with the results. I made this just for myself, so the recipe makes only one serving. Use whatever vegetables you like in stir fry, I used broccoli, grated carrots, green onion, bean sprouts, and water chestnuts. This recipe is easily made vegetarian by replacing the chicken broth with vegetable broth and omitting the chicken and fish sauce.

Stir Fry Peanut Noodles

For sauce:

1 T peanut butter
2 T Chicken Broth
1 T Low Sodium soy sauce
2 t honey
2 t mirin (rice wine)
2 t rice vinegar
1 t fish sauce
1 t thai chili paste (optional / to taste)

 

For Stir Fry

2 cloves garlic, finely diced 

2 tsp diced ginger 

½ cup rice stick noodles 

½ cup diced chicken 

½ cup vegetables to stir fry 

1 T sesame oil

1. Put the rice noodles in a pot of warm water. Let the noodles sit in the water for 15-20 minutes, until noodles are flexible, but still al dente

2. Put the oil in a wok or large pot over medium high heat. When the oil is hot enough that water boils on contact, add the ginger and garlic. Stir fry for 30 seconds.

3. Add the diced chicken and continue stir frying. Add a tablespoon of the sauce. Some of it will burn to the bottom of your pan, don’t worry about it.

4. When the chicken is cooked through, add the noodles, the vegetables, and the rest of the sauce. Stir fry the mix. Cook until the vegetables and noodles are cooked, 1-2 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and serve. 

Thai Pizza

Whoever it was who invented the Thai pizza deserves to win the Nobel Prize in pizza making. This is a pizza that rests whole heartedly on its sauce, and what a sauce it is. The peanut butter combined with the tanginess of soy sauce and the sweetness of honey , with just a little chili spice is to die for. I tried a little of it on its own, and thought it was only ok, but spread on the pizza it worked its magic. Of all the three pizzas I made, this one definitely outshined the rest.

Note, if you haven’t read my dough post yet, read that first!

Thai Pizza Sauce

Makes ~1 cup

3 ½ Tbs smooth peanut butter
3 Tbs brewed black tea
3 Tbs rice vinegar
2 Tbs low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp chili paste
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
2 tsp honey
½ tsp sesame oil

1. Mix it all up. Let it sit for a little while for some of the flavor of the ginger to combine with the rest of the sauce.

Thai Pizza

Makes one ~14 inch pizza (My pizzas were irregularly shaped, makes it hard to measure)

1 Rolled Out Pizza Dough
½ cup Thai pizza sauce (see above)
1/3 chopped green onions (green and white parts)
1/3 thinly sliced red onion
3-4 Tbs minced garlic (use depending on your tastes)
1/3 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup cilantro leaves
5 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Spread the thai pizza sauce around the crust generously. This sauce is on the liquid side and will run, so be careful.

2. Top first with the green onions, then the garlic, then the red onions. Cover the whole thing with cheese.

3. Bake for about 10 minutes or until dough is cooked and cheese is melted (see dough post for more details)

4. Once the Pizza comes out of the oven, top it with the carrots and the fresh cilantro.

Pad Thai

Pad Thai has always been one of my favorite selections at Thai restaurants. I based the recipe I used on one I got from about.com. I also got a lot of guidance from the Pad Thai entry at Chez Pim. I was happy with the result, and all the people I served it to also seemed to enjoy it.

Most Pad Thai recipes call for Wok, and if you have one you should use it for this. If you don’t that doesn’t mean you can’t make it though. I don’t have a wok, so I just used my big soup pot in its place. I wouldn’t recommend using a regular pan though, the speed with which you’ll need to be moving things in the pan will probably cause you to fling about half your meal onto the stove.

When making this I also followed the advice of Chez Pim and made it one serving at a time rather than trying to make all of it at once. I think this worked out well, it just takes a little prep in advance. Also, while this seems silly, read all the instructions in advance, not as you go. It’s a lot easier if you know what to expect

Pad Thai

Serves 2

8 oz. Rice Stick noodles, medium thickness
1 ½ cups cut up chicken
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
2 tsp corn starch
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
4 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbs minced and pounded lemon grass
4 Green onions, green and white parts, cut up into pieces 2-3 inches long
Peanut oil for stir frying

For Sauce:

3 Tbs tamarind concentrate mixed with ¼ cup hot water
2 Tbs fish sauce
1-3 tsp chili sauce, depending on how you like it
3 Tbs brown sugar

Garnish

Coarsly chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts
Cilantro
Lime wedges

1. Mix the corn starch and the soy sauce, and place it in a bowl with the chicken to marinate. Set aside.

2. Put the noodles in a pot of warm water and let sit. You want the noodles to come to a consistency where they are chewy, but still pretty toothsome. The majority of the cooking of the noodles will be in the stir frying, if you over soak them now they will fall apart when you stir fry. This should take 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Make the sauce by whisking together the diluted tamarind paste, fish sauce, chili sauce, and sugar. I thought that when I tasted the sauce by itself, it was rather disgusting, but when mixed with the rest of the dish it tasted really good.

4. Prep is key when making the Pad thai, especially if you’re making multiple servings. I put each ingredient in a little ramekin or bowl next to where I was cooking, so I would be able to grab things quickly as it was time to add them to the pot. For the chicken I used a big spoon, so that I wouldn’t have to get raw chicken on my hands and then reach into the other ingredients. For the cooking, I’m going to describe how to make one serving at a time

5. Heat the oil in the wok / pot over high heat. When it gets hot, add half the chicken, and stir fry. After 30 seconds or so add a small amount of the sauce. When the chicken is just starting to look cooked on the outside, add some garlic. Continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through 5-8 minutes.

6. Once the chicken is cooked through, add about 2 cups of noodles to the pot, along with 1 cup of bean sprouts (I just did all of this in estimated handfuls) and half the lemon grass. Add about between 1/4 and 1/3 a cup of sauce to the mix. To stir fry the noodles you want to use a sort of lift and turn method. A lot of recipes suggest using two spatulas for this, but I found one worked just fine. The reason for this is because you don’t want to break up the noodles.

7. Stir fry the noodles until they are sticky and translucent, then quickly remove from heat and add some green onions. Dump the Pad Thai out onto a plate, and garnish with some crushed nuts, cilantro, and a wedge of lime.

8. Add more oil to your pot/wok and start again on the next serving.