Pad Thai, My Way

Strangely enough I am not a fan of cooked veggies.  Never have been.

I shy away from stir frys at restaurants in fear of mushy textures and I cringe when someone asks us for dinner and they suggest we would be eating hot, paste like produce.

I prefer my greens, yellows, oranges and reds cold and crispy, clean, and fresh tasting.  There are of course the ones that HAVE to be cooked but I usually don't eat those.

So why then am I blogging about Pad Thai and going on about cooked vegetables? 
Minimal cooked veggies, lots of noodles and I control the textures! 

Such a control freak.

It's also a great dish to make for 1 or for 12 with a variety of spice levels. Me likey the spicy!

So here's my version of the traditional Thai street food.

I'm Listening to: Take On Me - A-HA

Pad Thai

1/2 lime
1 egg
3 tsp. fish sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 ground dried chili peppers
ground black pepper - a pinch or so
1 shallot, minced
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. sirachi
1/2 package Thai rice noodles
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/3 cup tofu - extra firm (Optional)
1-3 green onions sliced for garnish
1 1/2 c. bean sprouts
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced

Soak the noodles according to package while getting together the other ingredients ready. (picture = boring so I'm not posting this one)

Rinse your bean sprouts too.

Cut the chicken into thin strips

Get your shallots, green onions and garlic ready

One of my favorite new toys is my mortar and pestle and while I used whole peppercorns and chilies and ground them up you can use chili flakes and cracked pepper if you want.

In a few tsp. of oil cook the chicken in a frying pan until no longer pink and set aside. *I like to add a bit of soy sauce while cooking them but that's optional*

In the same pan add a few more teaspoons of oil and fry up the garlic and shallots (a minute or so, you don't want them to burn).

Add the noodles to the pan (I want a wok!). Stir quickly to keep things from sticking. Add sirachi, sugar, fish sauce, chili and black pepper and mix.

Push the ingredients to the side and break your egg and scramble.

Once your egg is scrambled toss all together and add in your chicken and bean sprouts. 

Serve topped with a splash of lime and green onions (with extra sirachi on the side)