Pad thai is arguably the national dish of thailand. Its a light and bright rice noodle dish made usually with shrimp, fish sauce, a touch of sugar, lemon or lime juice (or vinegar), chilies, bean sprouts, eggs, scallions, garlic and finished with crushed peanuts and sometimes fresh cilantro. It's is a perfect showcase for the addictive spicy, sour, salty and sweet balance of flavors of southeast asian cooking. My family loved this dish, and actually my younger son charlie came in with his friend and said, we smell shrimp and pasta and were not sure what else but it smells amazing. And then they had seconds, which always brings a song to a parents heart, right?Some helpful ingredient notes: rice noodles are made with rice flour, instead of what flour, and very popular in all kids of dishes throughout southeast asia. They go from just cooked to mushy fairly quickly. They can be either soaked for an hour or so in warm water, or you stir them into boiling water for a few minutes until just barely soft, then drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. They have a pleasant slightly chewy consistency. Fish sauce: fish sauce is usually made from just anchovies fermented in salt, and the initial fragrance can be intimidating, but it fades during cooking, and a little bit in so many dishes add fantastic, deep savory flavor with some saltiness. Its like soy sauce meets worcestershire sauce, and its a great key ingredient in southeast asian cooking. Thai chilies: also know as birds chili, or thai red chilies, these are available dried or fresh and a very important part of thai cuisine. When dried, they are a dark red in color, with a pronounced level of heat, and a little bit of smokiness.
