Pad Thai has to be one of my all-time favorite dishes.
I love mine with tofu, chicken or shrimp. and it’s best topped with crushed cashews, cilantro and freshly squeezed lime juice.
Mmmmmmm…..drooool…..grrrrgle…grrggle…..
The long list of ingredients for Pad Thai are not things that I keep well-stocked in my family pantry, so when I want this dish on a whim, I whip up a quick and easy alternative.
Now, granted, these are items that I, normally have on hand. you may not find yourself with such a culinarily eclectic stockpile.
If, however, you are a raging Asian Cuisine Addict, as am I, you will already have a full arsenal of the necessary ingredients.
Key #1: Ramen Noodles. Something that my family consumes in obscene quantities. I mean, Hello, you can feed your entire neighborhood on this stuff for just a dollar.
I use 3 bags, when I make this RECIPE for the family at lunch.
Key #2: Boil the noodles for a few minutes, then s::t::r::a::i::n and ?rinse? with cold water.
Next, make a sauce for your noodles:
Stir together in a small bowl,
~1 TBsp. Peanut Sauce (mild or spicy)
~1 tsp. each curry powder and cumin
~1/8 tsp. cayenne (heartburn, optional)
~a few shakes of seasoning salt
~1 TBsp Rice Wine Vinegar (or Mirin)
~1 TBsp. Fish sauce (if you’ve got it)
~1 TBsp. peanut oil (you could also use Safflower oil.)
~About half of a Top Ramen packet (I keep these on hand to season my fried rice. They work wonderfully! It doesn’t matter what flavor you use, shrimp, chicken, beef. All would work great!)
~Now, preheat a couple tsps of oil in your saute pan over medium/hot heat. Then, add the drained and rinsed noodles.
Pan fry and stir constantly until all moisture is gone from noodles and they begin to crisp up. (a couple of minutes)
Now, pour your sauce over the noodles and stir to coat.
Let the sauce soak into the noodles by stirring for a minute and then, remove from heat.
Sprinkle with crushed roasted peanuts or cashews.
And if you already have a fresh lime in your fridge, HOLY COW, squeeze some of that on there too!
The same goes for the cilantro.
Although, I wouldn’t recommend squeezing it, it would just be too messy. Chopping is better.
Now, click on this photo to enlarge.
Lick your screen.
It’s close.
But I would suggest making the noodles, instead.
What are some of your favorite “Quickie” meals?
10 responses to “Cheater’s Pad Thai…”
The sauce sounds fantastic. I will definitely try it.
I have a great quickie dinner (15 min total, with pantry items), but I’m saving it for a writers-block post. I’ll let you know when I put it up!
I am drooling. I am foolish about foods with peanuts in them.
Never had pad thai, but now I’m thinkin’ I should 🙂
and none of my ‘quickie’ meals are at all impressive 🙂
Jenn,
Cool, can’t wait.
I know you have boys, so whatever you make will also be a hit in my house!
🙂
Melissa,
I think if you sprinkled nuts on anything, it could only make it BETTER! 🙂
Sarah,
Definitely try it!
Impressive quickie meals??
Please, do you know how often I do the rice with milk and cinnamon for lunch???!!!!
Or Ramen Noodles with soysauce and an egg!!
This Pad Thai Post was just to show off! ;P
Thanks so much for the recipe! I think I’ll try making this tonight.
mmm…that sounds so yummy. but i know i’d be the only one in the house to eat it. that hasn’t stopped me before though!
quickie meal….the only thing i can think of off the top of my head right now is my lentil soup.
i chopped up a couple carrots and onion. put them in the bottom of the crock pot. dumped in a bag of lentils (cleaned and drained of course). put in a pack of frozen chorizo sausage (i think there were 6?) and prepared chicken broth with boillon cubes ( i think i used 4 cubes? i don’t normally use them but was out of canned broth). it went all day long in the slow cooker. my 4 year old was begging me to make it again the next night for dinner. i was SHOCKED.
I tried the recipe last night but instead of noodles I used rice. It was very good!!! Thanks again for the recipe!
Oh that looks so yummy!
One of my favorite quick meals is a version of Pasta all’Amatriciana. I saute 4 oz. Pancetta (or 5 slices chopped bacon) in olive oil for 3 minutes. Add 1 med. chopped onion and 3-4 tsp chopped garlic. Saute another 8 minutes. Add a 28 oz can crushed tomatoes with juice and 2 tsp. dried parsley. Simmer until ready to serve. Spoon over any kinds of pasta (I like rigatoni) and sprinkle with parmesan.
Dang grrrl, yer speaking my language! one question – what is peanut sauce. I have all the other ingredients – whoop whoop! Can I sub peanut butter? I use the real kind…
And wow, I got some other great ideas from your comments section – thx y’all!
My favorite quickie – sautee spinach (fresh is best), onions and mushrooms in a bit o’oil until just soft, season with salt and pepper and slap it into a pie plate. Next beat 2 eggs and 3 egg-whites with 1/2-1 cup milk (I use almond milk) and pour over veggie mixture. Flop some shredded cheddar on the top and bake for 30 minutes at 350. Yum YUM. Any veggies will do. When I’ve got time, roasted peppers and corn are delish, also asparagus and broccoli – but those aren’t things I have on the “gotta shop soon or we’ll surely starve” days. The others are can’t-live-without staples.
Thx for sharing!
Laura,
I get mine in the Asian section of my grocery store.
But you can make your own and store it in an airtight container or jar in the fridge:
Peanut Sauce:
1 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons red chili paste, such as sambal.
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup hot water
Combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, red chili paste, brown sugar, and lime juice in a food processor or blender. Puree to combine. While the motor is running, drizzle in the hot water to thin out the sauce, you may not need all of it. Pour the sauce into a nice serving bowl and use for dipping or in recipes.
Yield: 3 cups
P.S
Your quickie quiche sounds yummy!
It reminds me of a quiche for dummies recipe I have. 😛