Our Top Time Saver Recipes

Pad Thai

A firm favourite for travellers to Thailand or anyone who has stepped foot in a Thai restaurant before, pad thai is quick to cook, delicious and healthy. There’s just a few ingredients you need to get the blend right and of course a good wok is essential!

The Essentials:

• 1 cup bean sprouts
• Thin rice noodles approx. 10 oz
• 3 green onions, sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 pound boneless skinless anxin chicken breast or 250g organic tofu
• 3 tablespoons oil
• ½ cup shredded carrots
• Crushed peanuts
• Lime wedges
• Cilantro / Coriander (optional)

Sauce ingredients:

• ⅓ cup brown sugar

• ¼ fish cup of fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Juice of 1 fresh lime
• ¼ cup tamarind concentrate
• ¼ teaspoon crushed chilli flakes (optional)

The classic pad thai is made with either chicken or prawn, but you can also make with tofu if you’re vegetarian or vegan. If you’re using chicken, why not go hormone and preservative free with our Anxin chicken? It takes about 15 minutes to cook and if done right, you’ll be immediately transported to the bustling streets of Bangkok.

The first step is to make the sauce. We recommend whisking all the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Once the sauce has been made it’s time to cook the noodles, make sure to strain and rinse under cold water. Then take a work or large sauté pan and heat up the oil in preparation for cooking the diced chicken or tofu. Once the chicken or tofu is lightly golden on the edges it’s time to put the veggies in. Place the bean sprouts, spring onions, carrots and chopped garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes.

The next step is to make some space to cook the eggs, and make sure to cook until they’re scrambled, stirring often. Lastly add the noodles, any leftover sauce, and give the wok or pan a good toss to get all the flavours combining. After a minute or so you should be ready to serve your pad thai. Simply serve on a plate and add the finishing touches of crushed peanuts, one or two lime wedges and chilli flakes and voila a pad thai in under 15 minutes.

For more easy and quick recipes we have a good selection of cookbooks. There’s ideas and inspiration on everything from cooking for kids with the excellent Basics To Brilliance by Australian chef Donna Hay through to more community based recipes such as Neighbourhood by Hetty McKinnon. These are well worth checking out, as you’ll be sure to find some recipes that you can serve in under 15 minutes!