Salt? And then maybe lime juice? When I’ve made the chili verde, I’ve found it takes much more salt than you expect to get it seasoned properly. If not that, then maybe just some brightness and acidity via lime juice and/or zest, and cilantro?
Wookie is obviously the expert here, so I’d just listen to him. However, in my experience if you throw enough jalapenos (or spicier chilis) in anything, you’re gonna liven it up bigly.
Kenji’s shrimp pad Thai from the wok cookbook. This was soooooooo good, and I didn’t even really nail it this first time I made it. The best part was definitely how savory it was. Between the fish sauce, dried shrimp, shrimp paste, the eggs, and the fresh shrimp themselves, it’s just layer on layer on layer on layer of umami flavor that I haven’t had as intensely in pad Thai before. What didn’t go according to plan were the noodles. The package said to soak for an hour. The recipe said to soak for 20 minutes until just pliable. I think soaking for 30-40 minutes would have been just right. As is, they were too tough after the stir fry, but I rescued it by adding some lime juice, water, and fish sauce and stir frying longer. What also didn’t work so well was my idea to push the noodles to one side of the wok, then tilt the wok to the side to cook the shrimp and then the eggs on the side of the wok with the side of the wok against the burner. I’m not sure here if the best strategy is to conclude that I was impatient with my plan, that I should have let the sides heat up more before adding the shrimp and eggs, or if the better plan was to just free up the bottom of the wok instead of trying to use the side.
But bottom line, find a place where you can get the funky ingredients either locally or online, and make this recipe. I have long considered pad Thai the Thai dish for white people with no taste, but this was amazing. And oh, unless you’re a toddler or a wimp, definitely make the nam pla prik condiment to add some more heat at the end. That really tied the room together.
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I’ll try a bowl with more salt tomorrow and see if that does it.
Some more garnishes might make it good too. I would usually put some avocado, fresh cilantro, fresh lime, and maybe thinly sliced radishes. Also some tortilla chips (will also help with salt) and some paper thin jalapeños as well.
Speaking of acid, what about a green tomatillo hot sauce? Trader Joe’s actually has a pretty good Green Dragon hot sauce with tomatillo and jalapeno.
Anytime I feel like something tastes flat acid usually is the remedy.
Made ramen with this tonight…. That was insanely delicious and my mind is a little blown.
What did you do for noodles and add-ons?
Tasty Joy noodles (only thing the corner store near me had)
Jammy egg
Bok Choy
Scallions
Corn
Nothing too interesting or flavor changing for the broth.
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So good to hear. I’ll have to try it soon.
Kimchi Fried Rice.
The nori and salsa macha come off way darker in the photo than in real life so don’t judge.
Legit the best thing I’ve cooked in awhile. Absolutely delicious. Recipe from NYT.
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CRISPY
EDGES
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Regarding ramen. I have broth stuff coming -
Do you cook noodles/vegetables in the broth or cook everything separately and assemble?
Separate and assemble, I believe.
I think traditionally you put tare and flavored oil in the bottom of the bowl. Then cooked noodles over top. Pour broth over it all. Then stack your veggies/fried egg/chashu over top. That’s restaurant style though. Do whatever you want.
Depends on the starch in the noddles and the type of veggie.
We’re making it tomorrow… How much water did to use per packet?
I did 1.5 cups per packet and it came out perfect for me.
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