Black Duck chef shares secret to great Pad Thai

By Jo Reed

Sam Jotikasthira and his wife, Boom, have been operating the Black Duck Bistro at Wombarra Bowling Club since Valentine’s Day 2014. The bistro has continued to gain popularity ever since, serving up their famous Bowlo BBQ Duck, Pad See Ew, as well as many Australian classics, such as burgers and schnitzels.

Sam is a qualified chef who has worked in many restaurants in Sydney, and although he is of Thai heritage, Sam never worked in a Thai restaurant until he had his very own business.

Cooking is in Sam’s blood, and he spent his younger days driving his very fussy Mum all over Bangkok to try a variety of restaurants. Sam likes to do photography as a hobby in his spare time – and also spending time going out for dinner at other restaurants where the cooking is done for him.

Pad Thai King Prawns

Ingredients

200g package Thai thin rice noodles

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons tamarind pulp

2 tablespoons palm sugar

20g extra firm tofu

6 medium to large fresh king prawns

ground dried chilli pepper

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1 egg

20g preserved sweet turnip

10g chopped Spanish onion

Garnish to top, such as garlic chives, bean sprouts, shallots, lime, crushed toasted peanuts

Method

1. Heat up a wok pan on medium.

2. Add vegetable oil then sauté onion

3. Stir in preserved turnip and then increase temperature to high.

4. Add prawns and stir until cooked.

5. Drain the noodles and add to the wok, stir quickly to keep things from sticking.

6. Add tamarind, tofu, palm sugar and fish sauce – keep stirring it for a minute until all the ingredients are cooked, then add a little bit of water so it helps the noodles to become soft.

7. Crack the egg into the wok and scramble it. Fold the egg into the noodles. The noodles should be soft and a brownish colour. Add bean sprouts and chives. Stir a few more times. Add crushed peanut and lime to the top and serve.