Pad Thai

If you are not familiar with some of these ingredients, you can get them at a Thai grocery store. You don't use too much, and they will last long in your refrigerator. You can adjust the sugar, chili pepper, fish sauce and lime to suit your own personal tastes.

Ingredients:

1/2 Lime

1 egg

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

4 teaspoons fish sauce

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons tamarind liquid

1/2 teaspoon ground dried chili pepper

1/2 package Thai rice noodles

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4-1/2 lb chicken or shrimp (I do a combination)

1/2 cup tofu-firm or extra firm (I actually rarely use this, and it's still great)

1 cup chinese chives or green onion

3 Tablespoons crushed peanuts, toasted

2 tablespoons minced sweetened radish

2 cups bean sprouts

Soak the dry noodles in lukewarm water while preparing the other ingredients (10-15 minutes). Cut tofu into 1 inch long mathsticks. Cut chinese chives or green onion into 1 1/2 inch long pieces. Rinse bean sprouts. Mince shallot and garlic together.

In a wok or big pan, heat 2 Tablespoons of the vegetable oil and add chicken or shrimp. Stir fry until cooked, and remove from the pan.

Add shallot, garlic and tofu and stir-fry until they start to brown.

Drain the noodles (they should be flexible, but not expanded), and add them to the pan. You need to stir this quickly so they don't stick. Add more water if you find that they stick, but your Pad Thai should be relatively dry.

Add tamarind liquid, fish sauce, sugar, chili pepper, ground pepper and sweet radish. If your pan is not hot enough, you will see a lot of liquid in the pot. Turn up the heat if this is the case.

Make room for the egg by pushing the noodles to the side of the pan. Add the remaining vegetable oil and scramble the egg until it is almost cooked, then fold it into the noodles.

Stir in the chicken/shrimp, green onion, and bean sprouts in that order. Remove from heat. Bean sprouts should be crispy and the noodles should be soft.

When serving, pour the noodles onto your serving plate and sprinkle with the crushed peanuts. Serve the dish hot with the lime on the side and more raw bean sprouts on the side.