Pad Thai was originally created in 1938 by a man called Phibunsongkhram who was looking to ease Thailand's national rice shortage by encouraging locals to eat noodles instead. The campaign was such a delicious success that Pad Thai has been made with noodles ever since - until now that is. Here's our take on Pad Thai - Rice Style!
Based on 4 servings, adjust as needed.
Place 300g basmati rice into a saucepan and add 600ml water and ½ tsp salt. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid, and turn the heat down to low. Set a timer for 10 minutes, don’t be tempted to lift the lid before the timer goes. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes, or until everything is ready.
Meanwhile, make the tamarind sauce by whisking together the tamarind paste, fish sauce, sugar and soy sauce in a small bowl. An experienced cook may wish to taste and adjust at this stage, delicately balancing any excess sour notes from the tamarind paste, salty notes from the fish and soy sauce or sweet notes from the sugar.
Whisk the eggs together in a separate small bowl, heat a splash of sunflower oil in a large wok over medium-high heat and add the eggs, stirring occasionally until scrambled, 1-2 minutes. Remove scrambled eggs from pan and transfer to a separate plate.
Once the rice is ready it's time to fry everything together. Add a splash of sunflower oil (or other flavourless oil) to the same wok over a medium heat. Add the garlic and whites parts of the spring onion and fry until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the chilli flakes (if using), stir fry vegetables and mange tout and fry for 3-4 minutes.
Next add the cooked rice, tamarind sauce and half the peanuts and toss together over a medium heat until everything is hot, about 2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and gently stir in the scrambled egg and green parts of the spring onion.
Serve the pad thai rice, topped with coriander and the remaining peanuts for those who fancy it!