This week’s article features best of cooked and best of nature’s gift to human beings. One is a popular delicacy of southeast Asia and other is a favourite natural food which is eaten in its various forms.
Pad Thai Noodles
The name sounds a little odd but it tastes so well that once you try out this recipe you will be a fan of the same. Pad Thai noodles undoubtedly are the global ambassador for the glories of Thai food. A stir fried noodle, which as the name suggests, originates from Thailand and is a common street and elite food among majority of population.
It is made with soaked flat rice noodles, which are stir fried with a variety of ingredients like egg, tofu, tamarind pulp, fish sauce, garlic, shallots, red chilli paste, vinegar, palm sugar, lime, and peanuts.
It also contains vegetables like bean sprouts, snow peas, beans and coriander. Also, the variants can include prawns, chicken and meats. The list of ingredients is long enough to encourage you not to try it but one or two ingredients here and there will not affect a drastic change in the taste of the noodles.
This dish was introduced by Vietnamese traders and the taste was modified according to Thai taste buds and also the locally available ingredients. Also a story states that around 1930 to 1940, the Thai prime minister promoted Pad Thai as a part of his campaign and popularised this dish to reduce the rice consumption as the economy heavily depended on rice exports. In order to increase the rice available for export he encouraged Thais to make and sell rice noodles in small and big restaurants. Since then Pad Thai has become one of the national dishes of Thailand and has become popular among many other countries of the world too.
Here’s an interesting fact about Pad Thai Noodle — according to a survey it is listed at no 5 among 50 world’s delicious foods in the world.
Ingredients
(Serves 2)
Thai rice noodles 250g
Prawns 8-10 nos
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Garlic, chopped 1 tsp
Lemon grass ½ tsp
Plum sugar 3 tbsp
Sugar 1 tbsp
Chilli paste 1 tsp
Tomato ketchup 3- 4 tbsp
Thai light soya few drops
Lemon juice 1 tbsp
Vegetables 1 cup
(Broccoli, Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, snow peas, beans, asparagus)
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste
Peanuts 2 tbsp
Method
Soak the rice noodles in water and leave aside for 4-5 hours.
Boil all the vegetables and keep aside.
In a pan or a wok heat oil and sauté chopped garlic and lemon grass.
Add tomato ketchup, chilli paste, plum sugar, sugar and continue sauté.
Add the washed and cleaned prawns and add moisture if the mixture starts to stick.
Once the prawns are cooked add the drained noodles and boiled vegetables.
Toss in the pan to mix the sauce with noodles.
Once the noodles are evenly coated with the sauce and are cooked add lemon juice.
Remove from flame and serve hot garnished with roasted crushed peanuts.
Almonds
The word ‘almond’ comes from old French almande. Almond is native to the Mediterranean region of the Middle East. It was spread by humans in ancient times along the shores of the Mediterranean into northern Africa and southern Europe and more recently transported to other parts of the world, notably the United States. Almond is considered to be one of the earliest domesticated tree nuts. Wild almonds are usually bitter, the kernel produces deadly cyanide upon mechanical handling, and eating even a few dozen at one time can be fatal.
Selection of the sweet type, from the many bitter types in wild, marked the beginning of almond domestication. Wild almond species are toxic, domesticated almonds are not.
While the almond is often eaten on its own, raw or toasted, it is also a component of various dishes. Almonds are available in many forms, such as whole, sliced (flaked, slivered), and as flour. Almonds yield almond oil and can also be made into almond butter or almond milk. These products can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes.
Depending on the local customs and traditions different countries use almonds in more specific way than the other like in Europe almonds are used to make a variety of base for desserts and sweets. In Middle East they are roasted in sea salt and eaten as snacks.
Moroccans use almond paste for variety of fillings. In India, almonds are used as ingredient in some rich curries, also almonds mixed with other herbs are used to make refreshing drink known as thandai which gives a cooling effect during summers.
* Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to:
[email protected]
Pad Thai Noodles.
