Late Night Shrimp Pad Thai
Day 1 back from a quick trip to Woodinville with Jordan, & also Day 1 back in the mix of bar life. You know that feeling when you’re back from vacation in the mix of normal life, but really wishing you were still on vacay mode? It hit hard yesterday (my Monday). Pretty instantly, the to-do list started to build, & I knew I had a busy day on my hands that was going to keep me out of my house until roughly 9pm. A hard pill to swallow after a few days away from it all where I was able to truly chill & relax with my husband, & I can’t tell you how much I wanted to be home, having dinner & a relaxing evening with Jordan in place of working through dinnertime. In the midst of working at a bar, missing out on that evening wind-down - cooking dinner, transitioning from work to us time, sitting on the couch with my dogs as they fight to stay awake, maybe diving into a show - is what gets me sometimes. & by “what gets me,” I mean it makes me feel a tad homesick. Pathetic since I’m not away from home, but I’d be lying if I said I just miss having that be part of my everyday routing. But yesterday I made a positive step forward - I looked at my to-do list & my deep desire to still be in vacay mode with Jordan and made the decision to make them both happen. Stay focused on doing my job to the best of my ability during the day was my plan, & then get right back in vacay mode upon returning home for a little late night date night
Late night date night really just means late night dinner. I was not missing my opportunity to end my day in the kitchen, making something great for me & Jordo. It was going to be comforting + delicious + worth the 10 o’clock kick-off. Late Night Shrimp Pad Thai just sounded good, because there is something about sitting on the couch late at night with a warm bowl + pair of chopsticks that just seemed right. When I came home from the bar, I found my husband still working in his office (at 9pm), so I cracked a bottle of wine, walked right into his work-space with a freshly poured glass, & declared “It’s time for us to be done.” We re-convened in the kitchen, whipped up our dinner together, & it was honestly the best way to end the first day back from vacay.
The key is in the prep
I really like late night date night, but I always go through the motion of making sure what I’m trying to make is a feasible option. Like something that literally takes more than 30 minutes to cook - not an option. A good late-night dinner needs to be fun, somewhat quick, & not super complicated. Pad thai (or any stir fry for that matter) is a wonderful option. One pot, cooks pretty quick, & very easy to enjoy a glass of wine while putting the whole thing together. Because booze really should be involved if you’re waiting until 9:30/10 to have dinner.
You can totally make it easy on yourself by getting the prep done ahead of time. In this case, chopping the veggies (cabbage, peppers, garlic, & scallions), placing them all in separate bowls covered with plastic wrap, and setting aside in the fridge for when you get home to start cooking - that’s it. It’s a good 20 minutes of work that I was able to sneak in before heading out for the day, and I did it all on a dishwasher safe cutting board so clean-up was easy. I also set out all my other supplies for the sauce & garnish on a cutting board for easy access when I got home. Lastly, I did give my husband the job of pre-soaking the noods, which took place like 45 minutes before my arrival, so if you’ve got someone at home to help you out with this step, go for it.
Experiment, + make your perfect sauce
Emphasis here is on the your perfect sauce. It’s your dinner, so make it exactly how you want to eat it. Here’s how - pad thai in general is easy (in my opinion) because it’s not a science. It’s one of those things where you can go with the “add a little of this with a little of that and a dash of that,” taste, & adjust. Cooking this way is fun because it’s so customizable. Soooooo, you can make it yours by using a recipe as a guide, & adjusting from there.
In this case, your working with Asian flavors to make salty + sweet sauce. Fish sauce + soy sauce for some savory, sweet chili sauce for the sweet notes, & fresh lime juice for some tang. Whisk all those things together (start with the recipe provided, which was my final concoction after some personal experimenting), add to your pad thai with all the veggies + noodles, snag a little taste after everything has been cooking together for at least 5 minutes, and go from there. It you want it sweeter, add another tablespoon of the sweet chili sauce. Saltier? Go for some more soy. You kind of can’t screw it up if you’re adding additional ingredients slowly, and hopefully what you’re building is your perfect pad thai sauce.
Don’t forget the egg
Some freshly scrambled egg in the midst mixed in does a lot of good, & should not be skipped! It’s so fried rice reminiscent, but with noodles, and that’s just a really happy combo for me.
In all seriousness, the addition of the egg helps thicken up your sauce (which is strangely gratifying to watch), and it’s such a good “blank canvas” ingredient that very much takes on the flavor of what it’s cooked in. In this case, it’s your perfectly crafted pad thai sauce. So for texture + flavor - the scrambled egg is a key component.
All I can say is that a little late-night meal is what I consider a dose of self care, & for me it was needed to ease back into reality. It’s a small, simple way to sort of carry on with the vacation vibes, even when the vacation has ended. For me, it’s a simple concept - protecting the time to be together with my family (even if it’s at 10 o’clock at night) makes me feel like I’m living my best life, & like the kinda odd bar schedule I work within isn’t causing me to miss out on parts of life I enjoy the most. & in this instance, I snuck in the time to unwind in my most favorite way - at home with good food + my husband + my pups. So to sum it up, Late Night Shrimp Pad Thai was a hit, & the best way to end our first day back in reality.
For the sauce
6 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp chili garlic sauce (or sriracha)
For the pad thai
1/2 package of rice noodles (7-8 oz)
4 tbsp butter
1 heaping tbsp minced garlic
1/2 - 3/4 lb shrimp
1 red bell pepper, thinly slice
2 red jalapenos, thinly sliced
3 eggs
1 head of cabbage, thinly sliced
1 bunch of scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 c. peanuts, roughly chopped
More sriracha for garnish
Start by making your sauce. Whisk all sauce ingredients together in a bowl + set aside.
Next, pre-soak your rice noodles. Use package instructions, which should align with letting them soak in super hot water for 30 minutes or so.
To make the pad thai, place a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the butter + garlic, cooking until the butter is melted and the garlic is super fragrant. Add in the peppers, leaving a few of the jalapeno slices aside for garnish at the end, cook for 5-6 minutes, and then throw in your shrimp, cooking until the shrimps turn pink. Add in the sauce & increase the heat to medium high, letting the sauce cook + reduce for 3 minutes. Stir the in egg, cracking the eggs right in the pan + stirring them immediately to give the scrambled effect. Cook for another 3 minutes. Add in the cabbage & noodles, stir to combine, reduce heat to medium low, cover, and let the pad thai cook for 8-10 minutes. Give the noodles a taste and adjust your sauce//seasoning as needed. If it’s all good, stir in the peanuts + scallion, leaving a pinch of each aside for garnish at the end.
To plate it up, use tongs or a large fork to swirl a chunk of noodle together in a tight ball, & set in the center of your bowl. Spoon a few of the shrimps & any extra veggies right on top. Place a few of the sliced jalapeno rings, & a sprinkle of peanuts + scallions right over the top. Drizzle with some extra sriracha if you like it a little spicier. Serve with a set of chop sticks, & enjoy.
