Pad Thai

I’ve been craving Pad Thai for exactly one week. So finally, I perused around for recipes and Jake and I cooked it up. Elliot didn’t help. He doesn’t have thumbs.

Except he did eat the chicken that flew out of the pot, because I stir in a very messy way. So I guess, he did help … in the eating-flying-chicken way.

I had no idea that Napa cabbage was such a big part of this dish. But now I know, for when it’s on Jeopardy or something.

Pretty much, this hit the spot for my Thai food craving and Jake is pretty much always craving it, so it worked out for both of us. I can’t wait to make it again and spice it up even more. So, get your spice on, until it’s just the Pad Thai of your dreams.

Pad Thai
Recipe adapted from The New York Times

Ingredients:

• 3 cups boiling water
• 6 oz. fettuccine-width rice noodles
• 1/4 cup canola oil or peanut oil, divided
• 2-4 T tamarind paste
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 T rice vinegar
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 small head Napa cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)
• 1 cooked chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 cup – 1 cup chopped peanuts
• 1 lemon or lime, quartered

Directions:

1. Put noodles in a large bowl and pour bowling water over them until they are covered. Let sit until noodles are just tender; checking every 5 minutes or so or until barely al dente. (These took about 15ish minutes for us.) Drain the noodles, drizzle with one tablespoon oil to keep them from sticking together and set aside.
2. Make sauce. Heat the tamarind paste, fish sauce, honey and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and bring to just a simmer. Stir in red pepper flakes and keep cooking until tamarind paste has mixed in and isn’t in big chunks. Set sauce aside. (There were weird tamarind bits in the paste that wouldn’t dissolve. I removed them and threw them away.)
3. Put remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat; when oil shimmers, add scallions and garlic, and cook for about a minute. Add eggs and once they begin to set, scramble just until done. Add cabbage and continue to cook until cabbage begins to wilt, then stir in the chicken.
4. Add the noodles and stir, breaking up noodles that are stuck together. Toss everything together to coat with the tamarind sauce and heated through. Sprinkle each serving with peanuts and garnish with lemon/lime wedges.

The secret ingredients that I now have for when I make this again!