Pad Thai is one of my favorite meals, and delightfully abundant in the Pacific Northwest. (Although not as abundant as teriyaki. We have a weird thing for teriyaki restaurants out here. There are at least as many teriyaki restaurants as there are Starbuckses, and seriously that is not an exaggeration. I think most Pacific Northwesterners would be befuddled by the lack of teriyaki shops in the rest of the country. I had to live in Atlanta for a year, and the entire time I was there I did not find a single dedicated teriyaki restaurant.)
Wikipedia describes pad thai as "a dish of stir fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chili pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts and coriander." It also adds that pad thai is Thailand's national dish. (And for a classic Wikipedia distraction, see also this list of national and state dishes.)
This is the technical detail, but pad thai is one of those dishes which is more than the sum of its parts. The dish is designed to balance flavors and textures - sweet, tangy, salty, sour; crunchy, smooth, noodle-y. Pad thai is also somewhat unique among recipes in that it is completely customizable, so that each chef conceivably creates their own version.
The mixture of the pad thai sauce is the first and most obvious bit of customization. As Pim points out, IGNORE RECIPES THAT TELL YOU TO MIX SAUCES IN THE WOK. Once you start cooking, you won't have time to stop and correct flavors. The cooking of pad thai is a hasty and sweaty affair, and there is no time to dawdle. MIX YOUR SAUCE AHEAD OF TIME.
The classic pad thai sauce has four ingredients: tamarind paste (sour), fish sauce (salty), sugar (sweet), and Thai chili powder (spicy). I will even go out on a limb and say that pre-made pad thai sauce is honestly pretty good. I would call it equivalent to pre-made store bought pie crusts: if you want to take the time to develop your own expertise, then the handmade version is going to be a lot better. If all you want is to make your own pad thai, then save yourself the heartache and expense and just buy pre-made pad thai sauce.
That being said, it is not that hard to mix your own sauce. I buy tamarind paste in a little plastic jar, which makes it easy to dispense. I also go with regular white sugar rather than palm sugar - not as authentic, but much more convenient and affordable. You can also substitute paprika for the Thai chili powder. Mix equal parts tamarind paste and fish sauce, add slightly less than one part sugar, and sprinkle with a pinch of chili powder. Pim suggests 1/2 cup of tamarind, 1/2 cup fish sauce, and 1/3rd cup sugar. I prefer even less sugar than that, and would probably use something more like 1/4 cup.
I can't improve upon Pim's cooking directions, so I will send you there for the actual cooking of it. I would add that you should not be afraid to customize the recipe to your liking. There is not one single thing about pad thai that you "must" include! Personally I usually skip the peanuts, and double the amount of cilantro and lime, which would make some people gag.
Wikipedia describes pad thai as "a dish of stir fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chili pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts and coriander." It also adds that pad thai is Thailand's national dish. (And for a classic Wikipedia distraction, see also this list of national and state dishes.)
This is the technical detail, but pad thai is one of those dishes which is more than the sum of its parts. The dish is designed to balance flavors and textures - sweet, tangy, salty, sour; crunchy, smooth, noodle-y. Pad thai is also somewhat unique among recipes in that it is completely customizable, so that each chef conceivably creates their own version.
The mixture of the pad thai sauce is the first and most obvious bit of customization. As Pim points out, IGNORE RECIPES THAT TELL YOU TO MIX SAUCES IN THE WOK. Once you start cooking, you won't have time to stop and correct flavors. The cooking of pad thai is a hasty and sweaty affair, and there is no time to dawdle. MIX YOUR SAUCE AHEAD OF TIME.
The classic pad thai sauce has four ingredients: tamarind paste (sour), fish sauce (salty), sugar (sweet), and Thai chili powder (spicy). I will even go out on a limb and say that pre-made pad thai sauce is honestly pretty good. I would call it equivalent to pre-made store bought pie crusts: if you want to take the time to develop your own expertise, then the handmade version is going to be a lot better. If all you want is to make your own pad thai, then save yourself the heartache and expense and just buy pre-made pad thai sauce.
That being said, it is not that hard to mix your own sauce. I buy tamarind paste in a little plastic jar, which makes it easy to dispense. I also go with regular white sugar rather than palm sugar - not as authentic, but much more convenient and affordable. You can also substitute paprika for the Thai chili powder. Mix equal parts tamarind paste and fish sauce, add slightly less than one part sugar, and sprinkle with a pinch of chili powder. Pim suggests 1/2 cup of tamarind, 1/2 cup fish sauce, and 1/3rd cup sugar. I prefer even less sugar than that, and would probably use something more like 1/4 cup.
I can't improve upon Pim's cooking directions, so I will send you there for the actual cooking of it. I would add that you should not be afraid to customize the recipe to your liking. There is not one single thing about pad thai that you "must" include! Personally I usually skip the peanuts, and double the amount of cilantro and lime, which would make some people gag.