What do you get, how much is it and how easy to prepare?
This November, Rosa's Thai Cafe has got together with Tourism Thailand to celebrate 75 years of Thailand's national dish by launching the first cook at home Rosa's DIY Pad Thai kits.
Since opening its first restaurant in Spitalfields, London, 12 years ago, Rosa’s Thai Cafe has sold over 1.4 million portions of Pad Thai. Over the past few years the restaurant has expanded into other cities including Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock (reviewed here) and Manchester’s Deansgate (reviewed here), and they have all been offering a take away service during lockdown.
It’s all pretty straight forward and you can have it ready and piled into a bowl within half an hour
Pad Thai isn’t the easiest dish to recreate at home from scratch. Those distinctive tastes and textures often elude even the most accomplished cook – even if their store cupboards are full of key ingredients like dried turnip, tamarind pulp and palm sugar.
Now, for the first time, customers can make founder Saiphin Moore’s signature dish easily at home – with either king prawns or tofu - without the hassle of sourcing and measuring ingredients.
Each kit contains everything you need to bring an authentic taste of Rosa’s to your own kitchen for four generous portions of Pad Thai.
Rice noodles (sen chan) are sourced from Chanthaburi, a region known for quiet beaches, waterfalls, national parks and weekend gem markets. You also get a packet of dried turnips, fresh beansprouts, a bunch of spring onions, a lime and a pot of Rosa’s ready made pad thai sauce – as well as tofu or plump fresh prawns.
All you need is a wok or non-stick frying pan, oil, an egg per person (although that’s optional) and some extra garnishes if you like, such as crushed peanuts and chilli.
They recommend you cook two portions at a time to avoid overcrowding the pan, but it’s all pretty straight forward and you can have it ready and piled into a bowl within half an hour.
An accompanying leaflet includes a QR link that takes you to a step-by-step cookalong video which shows Rosa’s owner Saiphin Moore showing you what to do.
Soak the noodles in warm water for twenty minutes until soft and while that’s happening cut the spring onions into one inch pieces and cut the lime into four. Scramble the eggs in the hot oil then add the noodles and stir. Throw in the prawns or tofu followed by the dried turnips and keep stir-frying until cooked. Then you need to pour in the sauce until all the noodles are coated, followed by the vegetables and bingo, it’s ready.
Priced at £40, the kits serve 4 and are delivered across the UK on Fridays. The kits are available via Great Food 2 U who has partnered with some of the UK’s best restaurants to bring you their D.I.Y. Meal Kits straight to your door.
If you share your creations on instagram and tag @rosasthaicafe & @fanclubthailand with the hashtag #PADTHAIPARTY you could be in with the chance to win a free Pad Thai Kit.
