Pad Thai

[Ceefer]

My missus loves oriental noodle dishes and I've been making them for many years, with varied success. Recently I've been trying to make the Thai dish 'Pad Thai'. I've used the following 3 recipes:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/291607/phat-thai

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1971/pad-thai

http://www.thai-food-online.co.uk/padthai.asp

The top one, by John Torode, has so far been the most successful but I'm not sure its very authentic and I don't know why its called 'Phat Thai' instead of 'Pad Thai'. I've made it four times and it has gone down quite well, but always seems to be a bit too salty, even when I cut back on the fish sauce.

The second one down I've made just once and it was just OK. I don't think its very authentic.

The third one down I've made 3 times. I sent off to Thai Food Online for all the authentic ingredients but left out the tofu because we don't like it. The results have been a bit varied and I always seem to overcook the noodles until they are just a sloppy mess.

So, has anyone out there got a recommended recipe for Pad Thai, or any other really tasty noodle dish.

[Million]

Hi there,
I went to Thailand with my partner last summer, and ate some really good pad thai (AKA pat thai, paed thai also, in answer to your aside...) around the place, the best of course in the little hole-in-the-wall places for 50p or so!
Anyway, having had it so good I was hoping we could recreate the recipe. The one we used was from Waitrose's food website/iPhone app, and it's amazing how 'authentic' it tasted - uncannily similar to the best ones we had in Thailand.
Check it out and let me know how you get on:
http://www.waitrose.com/content/wait..._pad_thai.html

[Ceefer]

I like the look of that Waitrose recipe. I'll certainly be trying it. I just wish there was a Waitrose near where I live.

My main problem with Pad Thai so far has been getting the right balance of sweet/sour/salt, even though I taste frequently while cooking. I guess I'm not a 'natural' when it comes to balancing flavours. I also have problems with overcooking rice noodles - they seem to go very sloppy very quickly. Maybe I would be better with some other type of noodle eg egg noodles?

[Million]

Well the ingredients don't necessarily need to come from Waitrose, but it is nice...

With the sweet/sour balance, the tamarind paste is key - it's one of those key ingredients for such a flavour, like shaoshing is to Chinese food.

With the rice noodles, cook them for a minute less than you think, then plunge them into cold water to stop them cooking. Then you can put them in the wok and stir them to reheat