Chatswood Chase’s new food precinct is all about delectable discoveries and global culinary delights made local. In this series, we deep dive into one iconic dish from the world’s best restaurants and provide you with a recipe on how to recreate the dish at home using produce from Chatswood Chase.

When it comes to dishes so closely associated with a country they’re basically synonymous, Pad Thai is one that probably springs to mind. As the national dish of Thailand, there are countless versions to be found across the country, and here in Australia, we can’t get enough of it. Abb Air, Chatswood Chase’s newest Thai restaurant, is whipping up their own version of the traditional dish at their new outpost, along with plenty of other crowd pleasers that’ll soon become new favourites. 

If you’re keen to bring a little bit of Thailand into your own kitchen though, allow us to help. Thipsamai is one of Thailand’s longest running restaurants and is considered to make one of the best Pad Thais in Thailand, so here, we’re taking our cues from them. In celebration of locally-loved Thai restaurant Abb Air opening in Chatswood Chase, we’re recreating the iconic dish with the bounty on offer from Chase Market. While Thipsamai might not give away their secret recipe (who can blame them?), this recipe from Hungry For More is inspired by the famous Pad Thai and easy enough for you to recreate at home. 

Authentic Pad Thai (Phad Thai)

Ingredients
200 g of rice noodles, soaked in water until they’re soft (from Tong Li Supermarket, Lower Ground)
4 tablespoons of Pad Thai sauce (see recipe below)
300g raw peeled prawns (from Astakos, Lower Ground)
¼ cup dried shrimp (from Tong Li Supermarket, Lower Ground)

1 clove of garlic
½ cup of firm diced tofu (from Tong Li Supermarket, Lower Ground)
1 or 2 egg(s)
2 teaspoons of fermented turnip (from Tong Li Supermarket, Lower Ground)
6 strands of chives
1 or 2 cup(s) of beansprouts
4 tablespoons of crushed peanuts (from Scoop Wholefoods, Lower Ground)
½ teaspoon of chilli flakes (from Scoop Wholefoods, Lower Ground)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the Pad Thai sauce:

Ingredients (find them all at Tong Li Supermarket, Lower Ground)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
150 g of tamarind paste
150 g of palm sugar
50 g of shallots
2 tablespoons of fish sauce

Method
1. For the Pad Thai sauce, heat the vegetable oil in a wok or fry pan until hot.
2. Deep-fry the shallots until golden, drain and keep aside.
3. Add the tamarind paste to the wok or pan and cook for 30 seconds to heat. Add the palm sugar and stir until melted.
4. Turn off the heat and add the fish sauce. Stir until smooth.
5. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the prawns and stir-fry until just cooked. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
6. With the remaining oil, stir-fry the garlic, turnip, tofu and dried shrimp.
7. Add the Phad Thai sauce, the noodles and some water (if the noodles are too dry). Stir fry until the noodles are heated through.
8. Add the eggs and scramble through the noodles. When they’re cooked, add the chilli and the peanuts.
9. Add the beansprouts and the chives. Stir-fry for 10 seconds before removing from the heat.
10. Season to taste with fish sauce, chilli flakes, green lime juice and caster sugar before serving. Serves 2.