Pad Thai

How to make it

1. Put the dried rice noodles in a large bowl and cover them with lukewarm water. Let them soak for 30 minutes, until they are soft and pliable but still have a firm core. They finish cooking in the wok; if they're soaked completely soft already now, they'll end up mushy. ⏱ 30 min · passive
   Chef's tip Use lukewarm water, never hot — hot water softens the outside of the noodle before the core hydrates, and it turns to paste in the wok. They're ready when a noodle bends right around your finger without snapping but still looks opaque in the middle.
2. Meanwhile, pat the raw shrimp dry and cut the tofu into 2 cm cubes. Finely chop the garlic, shallots, dried shrimp and the rinsed pickled radish. Cut the chives into 4 cm lengths. Set it all out in small bowls next to the wok, since the actual stir-frying takes under ten minutes and leaves no time for chopping along the way. ⏱ 10 min
3. Put the tamarind paste, chopped palm sugar and fish sauce in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir for 5 minutes, until the sugar has fully dissolved and the sauce is dark brown and thick as syrup. It should taste distinctly sour, sweet and salty all at once, since it's the dish's only seasoning.
   Chef's tip Taste it on its own and expect it to seem almost too sharp and too salty — it gets spread across 400 g of noodles. If it tastes balanced straight from the pan, the finished dish will taste flat.
4. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large wok over high heat and fry the tofu cubes for 4 minutes, until golden and with a firm crust all the way around. Remove them to a plate.
   Chef's tip Blot the tofu cubes on kitchen paper first and then leave them alone for the first minute or two; wet tofu steams and sticks. The cubes release from the wok by themselves once a crust has formed — if you have to pry one loose, it isn't ready.
5. Add the rest of the oil to the wok and turn the heat down to medium-high. Fry the garlic, shallots, chopped dried shrimp and pickled radish for 2 minutes, until it smells sweet and nutty and the shallots are translucent.
   Chef's tip The garlic should only turn pale gold at the edges. If it browns, it flips to bitter in a matter of seconds, and that bitterness stays in the whole dish, because the oil goes on to meet the noodles.
6. Turn the heat back up to high and add the patted-dry shrimp. Fry them for 2 minutes, until pink and opaque all the way through, and remove them to join the tofu so they don't keep cooking.
   Chef's tip Take the shrimp out the moment they've curled into a loose C — once they've rolled up into a tight O, they've gone too far and turn rubbery. They finish warming through when everything gets tossed together at the end.
7. Shake the water thoroughly off the soaked noodles and add them to the wok with the sauce. Toss over high heat for 3-5 minutes, until every noodle is copper-brown and just tender. Add a tablespoon of water at a time if they dry out before they're tender.
   Chef's tip Keep the wok loud and the noodles moving. If the sizzle dies and sauce pools in the bottom, the pan has lost its heat and the noodles will clump and go gummy — add water only a spoonful at a time, so it evaporates rather than boiling them.
8. Push the noodles to one side of the wok and crack the eggs onto the bare surface. Let the eggs set for 1 minute, until the white is white and no longer runny. Then break them into large pieces with the spatula and fold them into the noodles.
9. First set aside a handful of bean sprouts and a few pieces of chives, raw. Then fold the fried tofu, fried shrimp and the rest of the bean sprouts and chives into the noodles. Toss for 1 minute, until the sprouts are heated through but still crunchy.
10. Divide the noodles among four flat plates and arrange the reserved raw bean sprouts, chive pieces and a lime wedge alongside on each plate. Sprinkle the coarsely chopped peanuts over. Put the chili flakes on the table, so everyone squeezes lime over their own noodles and sprinkles on chili to taste — pad thai is seasoned to finish at the table, not in the wok.