Pad Thai

I love to cook, lately I have loved experimenting with other flavors and spices. I have been making some Indian food and Thai food. I first started with pre made mixes and now I am trying to make them from scratch. I found this recipe online and I love it. I think it tasted good, but I no longer have someone to test it on, so if any one wants to sample let me know! :) I can never actually follow recipes, I think I have to add to them or make my own twist to it. I will put the actual recipe and then in parenthesis what I did differently. Sometimes this is bad! Sorry I don't have any photos, because I didn't think I would like it as much; next time I make it there will definitely be some photos.

Pad Thai

Sauce:
1/2 cup of hot water
1 1/2 TBSP Tamarind Paste
(This was way hard to find, I didn't find it in any of the local grocery stores. I went to a Korean market and found it. It looks really gross when you open it, so don't loose your appetite when you look at it)
5 TBSP of fish sauce
(I usually don't like fish sauce as much, so I substituted it for 6 TBSP of soy sauce.)
1 Fresh red chili, minced, or 1 tsp cayenne pepper, or 2-4 tsp chili sauce
(I used the chili sauce and only put 3 tsps in, but you could add more to make it spicier, it didn't end up spicy enough)
5-6 TBSP brown sugar

Directions:
Dissolve tamarind in hot water, stir well to make sure it dissolves. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until it is all mixed in. The mixture lasts for a couple of weeks in the fridge if you don't use it all at once.

Pad Thai Dish
You can use several different things for this, I just kind of added in what I wanted. These directions are from me, so if they don't make sense and the grammar is bad, I am sorry!

Ingredients:
Oil
1 Package of Rice Noodles
1 pound of preferred meat; shrimp, chicken, pork, or tofu.
2 eggs
1-2 Handfuls of Bean Sprouts (cup and a halfish)
10-12 Sprigs of Cilantro
1/3 cup chopped peanuts
Green onions for topping
Lime for Garnish

Directions:
Prepare noodles as directed on the package. There are a lot of different types of rice noodles, if you go to just a general grocery store you won't have as many options. There are Pad Thai noodles, or you can use any rice noodle sticks, they have different thicknesses, but it is just up to you or whatever you can find. The Korean market also had a lot of variety. I bought some really good ones at World Market and Whole Foods. Too bad Logan doesn't have either of those. I used one package, I think it was about 16 oz. That amount will use all of the sauce, but it makes a ton, so if you want to half it that would work. While cooking your noodles start preparing the rest of the dish.

Heat oil in wok (you can use wok oil, sesame oil, or vegetable oil, I used vegetable oil, because that is what I had). Once hot add your meat, you can use shrimp, chicken, pork, tofu, beef or just keep it vegetarian. I used shrimp, I added a little salt and pepper before I began cooking them. I used about 20 shrimp, but for other meats I would do about a pound, but I am not a big meat eater, so add as much or as little as you want. Cook until almost done, they will continue to cook as you add the rest of the ingredients.

Mix 1-2 eggs in side bowl and beat. Once the meat is almost done, mix into the wok. Scramble the egg, separate it as much as possible, because you don't want big chunks of egg in the dish. Add noodles and sauce, simmer until most of the sauce has either thickened or absorbed about 5 minutes. Stir in about a handful and a half of bean sprouts and cook a few more minutes. Add chopped cilantro 10-12 sprigs, just the leaves. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, take off of heat and add 1/3 cup of chopped peanuts. Top with green onions or more cilantro and garnish with a slice of lime.

mmmm... So good. This made a ton! I was kind of just testing out the recipe, so I will now be eating Pad Thai for the next week, but that is okay because it was still great the next day. Following my directions it would probably serve 6-7. So if you are just making it for a few, you could probably half it.

Hope you enjoy!