Fishandseafood - Pad Thai

Serves 4 as a noodle course or 2 as a main course

8 oz. Thai rice noodles
1/4 cup tamarind paste
1/4 cup warm water
4 oz. skinless, boneless chicken breast
4 oz. fried tofu
6 tbsp. roasted unsalted peanuts
3 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. lime juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. chopped garlic
8 large shrimps, shelled and deveined (50 oz)
1 cup bean sprouts
2 stems green onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 tsp. roasted chilies
Strips of red pepper
Fresh coriander leaves
Wedges of lime


Soak noodles in plenty of cold water for at least 1 hour.

Combine tamarind paste with a 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl and let soak for at least 15 minutes.

Slice the chicken into 1/4-inch strips. If you find it difficult to cut thinly through fresh meat, leave it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden slightly and then slice. Reserve.

Slice the fried tofu into 3/4-inch cubes. Reserve.

Blend or process peanuts into coarse meal. Reserve.

Return to your reserved tamarind paste in its water. Mash it and transfer the mud-like mixture to a strainer set into a bowl. Mash and push with a spoon, forcing liquid to strain into the bowl. Scrape off the juice that clings to the underside of the strainer. You will have about 5 tbsp. of tamarind juice. Add to it the fish sauce, sugar and lime juice. Beat to thoroughly mix and reserve. Discard the solids left in the strainer.

Heat oil in a wok (or large frying pan) until it is just about to smoke. Add garlic and stir, letting it cook for about 30 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add tofu and shrimps and stir-fry for 1 more minute. Break eggs into wok and let them fry without breaking them up for 1-2 minutes.

While eggs cook, quickly drain the noodles and then add to wok, giving them a quick fold, stir-frying for 1 minute from the bottom up. Add reserved tamarind juice, etc. (from step #6) and continue stir-frying, mixing everything together for 1-2 minutes. Your noodles will have subsided to half their original volume and softened up to al dente.

Add about 2/3 of the reserved ground peanuts and stir. Add about 2/3 of the bean sprouts and all the green onion pieces. Stir-fry for 30 seconds and take off heat.

Transfer noodles to a serving dish and sprinkle with roasted chilies. Top with the rest of the ground peanuts, the rest of the sprouts, some strips of red pepper and fresh coriander leaves. Stick a couple of lime wedges on the side and serve immediately.

Recipe from: Simply Thai Cooking
Wandee Young and Byron Ayanoglu
Robert Rose, Inc.

Notes: 5 tbsp. ketchup can be used instead of tamarind paste.