Pad Thai | Tom Kha

Ingredients for 5 servings:

• 400 g rice noodles, 3 mm or 5 mm
• 100 ml soy sauce
• 50 g tamarind paste
• 150 g palm sugar
• 2 shallots
• 200 g natural tofu
• 4 eggs
• 3 limes
• 100 g peanuts, roasted
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 4 tbsp oil
• 100 g soy sprouts
• 400 ml vegetable stock
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 50 g galangal root
• 3 small chili peppers
• 1 stalk of lemongrass
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 lime(s)
• 50 g palm sugar
• 200 g mushrooms
• 100 g cherry tomatoes
• 100 g Thai asparagus
• 1 spring onion(s)
• 1 tbsp oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 20 minutes

from the show “The Perfect Dinner” on VOX from 25.03.2025

For Pad Thai à la Pittaya, soak the rice noodles in hot water for about 30 minutes. Combine the tamarind paste and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, then strain through a sieve and set aside the liquid. Slice the shallots into thin rings and sauté in oil in a wok until translucent. Add the soy sauce and simmer. Now add the palm sugar and dissolve, stirring constantly. Then pour in the tamarind liquid and season with sweet, sour, and salty spices. Place the peanuts in a mortar and pestle and lightly crush. Fry the tofu in oil until crispy and set aside. Beat the eggs and let them set briefly in the oil in the wok, then set aside. Drain the rice noodles, add them to the wok and fry, deglaze with 1-2 tablespoons of water – keep the noodles moving. Add the tofu and eggs and mix in the Pad Thai sauce. Mix everything well, toss the bean sprouts briefly, and serve immediately. Serve with the chopped peanuts, lime wedges, and a pinch of chili powder. For the Tom Kha soup, put all of the vegetable stock and coconut milk into a pot. Chop the galangal into small pieces, mash the lemongrass lightly with the back of a knife, do the same with the chilies, and add everything to the soup. Fold the kaffir lime leaves in half, remove the center rib, and add the leaves to the soup. Let everything simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Then season to taste with palm sugar, soy sauce, and lime juice, and continue simmering. After another 10 minutes, remove the soup from the heat, pour through a sieve, and set aside. Quarter the mushrooms, halve the cherry tomatoes, slice the Thai asparagus, and finely slice the spring onion. Briefly sauté the mushrooms and Thai asparagus, then add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and toss everything together briefly. Meanwhile, heat the Tom Kha soup back up. Ladle the vegetables into soup bowls, garnish with some spring onion and 2-3 small chili rings, and pour over the hot Tom Kha soup. Mayo prepared this recipe as an appetizer on the show “The Perfect Dinner” – Day 2 of the AIDA special “On the High Seas II” on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.