Tofu and Shrimp Pad Thai in review

Earlier this month, I made a huge portion of Pad Thai when we had Susan and some of her children over: read about it here. Also gave some to other friends, including Phil and Darbi. Asked Phil for input, and he gave me constructive criticism: the noodles broke into small pieces and the dish wasn't very spicy. The former is something I've been working on and have been frustrated with, to the point of not really enjoying the leftovers. I don't know whether Phil had other things he didn't like about the dish, but those two aren't bad. I'll perfect the former, hopefully sooner rather than later. As for the latter, members of this household do not necessarily appreciate truly spicy dishes.

I made Pad Thai this past Friday. I changed a few things about how I treated the rice noodles. I didn't soak them, to start. Then when I added the water and chicken broth to it, I poured boiling water over the noodles.

Tofu and Shrimp Pad Thai

2010-7-23

Result? Success. Initially, anyways. See how long and luxurious the noodles look?

But, after sitting in the pot for awhile, even with the stove off, the noodles got soggy and broken. FAIL.

Phil said that he and his wife flash boil the noodles and pan fry the rest of the way. That might help take care of the sogginess. But, pan frying noodles isn't my preference, at least not now. So, I must make more adjustments, changes, and refinements.

For now, take a look at some of the component parts of the Pad Thai, which were all cooked separately.

Tasted the rich flavors embedded in the eggs, even after it joined the soup.


Ah, caramelized onion. Love them.


The shrimps could have been a dish by themselves.


The tofu.