Sunday 22 September 2019

pad thai


I osam mjeseci kasnije, Tajland je još uvijek postojan u našem tjednom meniju... Barem dva ili tri puta tjedno kuhamo nešto tajlandsko, ali barem! Moja omiljena jela su većinom juhe, pa kada ja kuham uglavnom jedemo razne verzije tom yama i tom kha, ili neki jušnati curry s kokosovim mlijekom i tofuom. Oko pad thaia smo se davno razišli i više ga niti ne kuhamo zajedno jer svatko ima svoj stil (i to spada u taj romantični suživot dvaju kuhara pod istim krovom). On voli da to bude malo jače i zasitnije, ja volim minimalno, svježe i lagano. Obje verzije su super i pojedemo ih s podjednakom slašću, ali naravno da je svakome svoja maaalo draža. Već se neko vrijeme lijenim i odgađam raspisati taj pad thai na blogu, ali upiti i obećanja se gomilaju i malo mi postaje neugodno pisati "evo budem uskoro". Danas me mama pitala za recept, pa u to ime iskačem iz lijenosti i napokon vam predstavljam jedno od mojih sto omiljenih jela.

Pad thai je nastao tek u dvadesetom stoljeću pa nije ono pravo "tradicionalna hrana" (iako tradicija nastaje svakom sekundom ljudskog postojanja na ovom planetu, fluidna je i nema neke stroge granice, i zapravo je sve što stvaramo na neki način tradicija), ali je brzo postao poznat širom svijeta kao tajlandsko nacionalno jelo. U Tajlandu smo naišli na različite verzije pad thaia, a gotovo svima su bile zajedničke neke osnovne karakteristike: ugodno izbalansirana kombinacija slanog, slatkog, kiselog i ljutog - najčešće dobivena upotrebom soja sosa, ribljeg sosa (kada jedeš uličnu hranu, ne možeš uvijek računati da je nešto vegansko samo zato što su ti rekli da je), palminog šećera, tamarinda, limete i chili papričica. Na tanjuru su uvijek bili i pečeni kikiriki, mladi češnjak, klice mungo graha i barem jedna kriška limete. Meni već samo rižini rezanci uz dobar omjer navedenih namirnica čine pad thai, a ostali sastojci mogu biti stvar ukusa, raspoloženja, sezone... Ovdje u Norveškoj je hrana iz raznih dijelova svijeta dosta lako dostupna, "naši" Vijetnamci iz male trgovine su nam vjerojatno među dražim licima Kristiansanda, a imaju i hrpu svježih namirnica iz Tajlanda i Vijetnama koje mi redovito i rado koristimo. U Hrvatskoj je isto moguće nabaviti većinu sastojaka koji će vam trebati za ovo jelo, ali ako i ne nađete, možete malo improvizirati.

što/
{za 2 osobe}
200 g rižinih rezanaca
100 g svježeg polutvrdog tofua
3-4 jušne žlice veganskog morskog sosa*
1 jušna žlica kokosovog šećera
1 limeta
1-2 cm dugačak komadić pulpe tamarinda
1 mala chili paprika ili prema ukusu
5-6 izdanaka mladog azijskog češnjaka (Alium tuberosum) ili 2 europska mlada češnjaka (Allium sativum)
200 g klica mungo graha
1 svježa stabljika limunske trave
150 g pečenog kikirikija
1 manja mrkva ili neko drugo povrće koje nema prejaki okus i neće preuzeti jelo (opcija)

*stavite malu šaku sušenih algi u 150 ml prirodno fermentiranog soja sosa i ostavite da odstoji barem 12 sati (slobodno ostavite i dulje). Procijedite i koristite umjesto ribljeg umaka u jelima. Ja najčešće koristim kombu ili wakame, ali možete koristiti i druge alge - najvažnije je da postignete okus morske hrane.

kako/
Skuhajte rezance i ohladite ih pod tekućom vodom. Ako ih nećete upotrijebiti odmah, možete ih ostaviti u hladnoj vodi da se ne zalijepe. Narežite tofu na kockice. Zamiješajte umak od veganskog morskog sosa, kokosovog šećera, soka pola limete i sitno nasjeckane pulpe tamarinda. Narežite chili na što sitnije. Limunsku travu narežite na sasvim tanke kolutiće, a zeleni dio lišća mladog češnjaka na komadiće od oko 2 cm duljine (nešto manje za europski češnjak). Donje, svijetlije dijelove češnjaka ostavite u komadu. Ako koristite mrkvu, narežite ju na tanke trake. Narežite kikiriki na sitnije komade. Ispecite tofu na malo kokosovog ulja, uz malo soja sosa za okus. Ostavite pečeni tofu sa strane i stavite na tavu pola narezane limunske trave, mrkvu i sav chili. Prodinstajte sasvim kratko, pa ulijte u tavu umak koji ste zamiješali. Dodajte rezance i miješajte oko minutu-dvije, dok rezanci ne budu ravnomjerno prekriveni umakom. Maknite s vatre i dodajte tofu, ostatak limunske trave, narezani češnjak i klice mungo graha. Poslužite uz kriške limete, nasjeckani kikiriki i donje dijelove stabljika mladog češnjaka.
Dobar tek!


[ENG]

pad thai

Eight months later and Thailand is still steadily present on our weekly plates. We cook some kind of Thai food at least two or three times in a week, i mean at least! My favourite dishes are usually soups, so if I'm cooking, we will usually eat some kind of tom yam, tom kha or a soup-like coconut milk curry with tofu and vegetables. We separated in the pad thai story a long time ago and we no longer cook it together because each of us has their own style (that is also a part of this romantic coexistence of two chefs under the same roof). He likes it stronger, a bit heavier and more fulfilling, while I prefer it as a fresher and lighter meal. Both versions are delicious and we eat them with similar amount of joy, but of course each of us slightly prefers their own version. I've been a bit lazy or occupied with other things and just kept promising this recipe but postponing the writing. Today my mom asked me for it, so I finally collected some motivation to type it - I now present you one of my probably hundred favourite dishes.

Pad thai was created only in twentieth century so it is maybe not a "real traditional dish" (although tradition is created with every second of human existence on this planet, it is fluid and doesn't have some strict boundaries, so everything we create can be considered tradition in a sense), but it quickly became famous all around the world as Thai national dish. We tried many different versions of pad thai in Thailand and most of them were really delicious. Some of the main characteristics they all had in common were a good balance of savoury, sweet, sour and spicy notes - usually achieved by the use of soy sauce, fish sauce (when you eat street food, you can't always count on something being vegan just because you were told it was), palm sugar, tamarind fruit, lime and chili peppers. Baked or roasted peanuts, garlic chives, mung bean sprouts and at least one slice of lime were also an important part of a pad thai plate. For me, only rice noodles and a good ratio of the mentioned ingredients make a pad thai, and the other foodstuffs are optional and can depend on a personal taste, mood or season. Here in Norway where we live at the moment, we are lucky to have so many various fresh and packaged Thai foodstuffs (as well as foods from other parts of the world) easily available. Even if you can't get all of them where you live, you can probably still improvise with the ingredients that you can get.

what/
{for 2 persons}
200 g rice noodles
100 g fresh semi-soft tofu
3-4 tbsp vegan mermaid sauce
1 tbsp coconut blossom sugar
1 lime
1-2 cm long piece of tamarind fruit pulp
1 small chili, or up to taste
5-6 Asian garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) or 2 European young garlic shoots (Allium sativum)
200 g mung bean sprouts
1 fresh lemongrass stalk
150 g baked peanuts
1 small carrot or some other vegetables that don't have very strong taste (optional)

*put a small handful of algae into 150 ml of naturally brewed soy sauce and let it soak for at least 12 hours (you can leave for even longer). Strain the liquid and you can use it instead of fish sauce in the recipes. I usually use kombu or walame algae, but you can use other species - the most important thing is to achieve the seafood flavour.

how/
Cook the rice noodles and cool them under running water. If you are not going to use them right away, you can leave them in cold water to stay separated. Cut the tofu into cubes. Prepare the sauce by mixing vegan mermaid sauce, coconut sugar, juice of half a lime and minced tamarind pulp. Mince the chili as finely as possible. Slice the lemongrass into very thin rings; cut the darker green parts of chives into 2 cm long pieces (or a bit shorter if you are using European garlic) and leave the bottom part whole for serving. If you are using the carrot, slice it into thin stripes. Dip tofu cubes shortly in soy sauce and pan fry them on just a little bit of coconut oil. Put them aside to stay crispy on the outside. Shorty sauté the chili, carrot and half of all the lemongrass, add the sauce and the noodles and cook for a minute or two, until all the noodles equally soak up the sauce. Turn the heat off and add the tofu, sliced garlic chives, sprouts and the rest of the lemongrass. Serve with lime slices, chopped peanuts and bottom parts of garlic chives.
Bon appétit!

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