Pad Thai

I love Pad Thai, but I never order it at restaurants because I feel like it's so... touristy to get when you are at a good Thai place. To remedy my desire for that unique flavor, I found a recipe from the NY Times and went for it at home. All the ingredients should be relatively easy to find at your supermarket except for the tamarind paste, and unfortunately it's a really important ingredient. I ended up going to three different stores, which was annoying but led to me finding two new ethnic markets in our area! I finally found tamarind at an Indian market in Rockville, and have already been back to the Mediterranean market for awesome cheese (no paste, though).

Once you have the ingredients on hand, the Pad Thai is incredibly easy to put together, as stir fries are wont to be. I cooked mine with chicken instead of shrimp.

Pad Thai

from The New York Times

4 oz rice stick noodles

1/4 cup peanut oil

2-4 tbsp tamarind paste (I went with 3)

1/4 cup fish sauce

1/3 cup honey

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1 garlic clove, minced

2 eggs

4 cups Napa cabbage, shredded

1 cup bean sprouts

1/2 lb boneless chicken breast, sliced into 1/4" pieces (or shrimp or tofu)

1/2 cup roasted peanuts,

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

2 limes, quartered

Put noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes, until just tender but not overdone. Drain and toss with 1 tbsp peanut oil to keep from sticking. Set aside.

Mix together tamarind paste, fish sauce, honey, and vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, remove from heat, stir in red pepper flakes and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add chicken pieces. Saute until just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add the rest of the oil, then the garlic and scallions; cook for one minute. Crack eggs into pan; once they begin to set, scramble them up a bit and mix in with the scallions, garlic, and chicken. Add cabbage and bean sprouts; cook until cabbage is wilted. If you were using shrimp or tofu, this is when you'd add it.

Add drained noodles along with the sauce. I only needed half the sauce, so don't go throwing it all in at once. Combine and heat through. Place into serving bowls and top with peanuts and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.