Made by: Thai President Foods (Thailand)
Tools Required: Hot Water, Strainer, Bowl, Chopsticks
Snack Size (280 calories per package)
Price: 39¢ (at Uwajimaya in Bellevue)
(available online through
Amazon.com
)
Today I'm having a "non-soup" noodle, an Instant Pad Thai from MAMA brand. I have had this one before, back in Missouri, but since then I have been able to have a "real" Pad Thai at a restaurant here in Woodinville. Let's see if this one still holds up!
The package contains our glassy-looking rice noodles, as well as three seasoning packets, which are themselves enclosed in a plastic wrapper. There is an orange plastic packet with a thick oil in it, a silver foil packet containing powder seasoning, and a small red packet with chili powder. We are supposed to put the noodles into a bowl, add enough boiling water to cover the noodles, then cover the bowl and wait three minutes. Then we drain the noodles (a strainer comes in quite handy here) and put them back in the bowl, add the seasonings, and stir heartily until all the noodles are coated. Not too difficult, although it would pay to have an advance plan for draining the noodles if you were to try to have these "on the go," to avoid having half your noodles go down the drain.
The package is the typical-for-Thai-brands small portion, which is even more noticeable in this case without the cup-and-a-half of broth to pad the size. I could easily have eaten two of these (and actually, at 78¢ and 560 calories, that would be a viable option). The flavor is actually a fairly solid rendition of a Pad Thai, with a nutty, rich flavor and a decent but not overpowering amount of heat. The noodle texture doesn't compare quite as favorably; they seemed a bit clumpy, and somehow sticky and slippery both at the same time. Not horrible, but they just don't seem to have enough substance.
I don't know, there just seemed to be something missing, and I don't just mean more noodles. I have another package in the Stash so I will be revisiting this one with some toppings and additions, and I think it has a lot of promise as a base for a meal. Reviewed as packaged, though, this one was just all right. :|
Hi Jessie,
ReplyDeleteMy 13 year old pescarerian daughter recently introduced me to these noodles. I am totally in love with them, and would eat them everyday if the packaging didn't remind me each time that it contains a lot of salt. To make this pad thai taste more like the restaurant version I:
-use the oil packet to sauté few large shrimp while I wait for the noodles to cook.
-I then turn off the stove add the cooked noodles (and a few tablespoons of the water so it's not and sticks together) and the seasonings to the pot
-I top it off with fresh bean sprouts, cilantro and roasted peanuts
So yummy!