Pad Thai

Back again after a long absence due to a broken camera. Meanwhile I've bought a new mobile phone which takes pretty decent pictures and will be using that for he moment. I'll start out with a simple pad thai dish. I'm making the pad thai sauce from scratch but you can find pre-mixed sauces in most asian food stores. I'm making it here with egg noodles though the original pad thai is made with rice noodles. When Thailand was going through tough economical times after the Second World War, the government tried to revive the economy by distributing instructions on how to produce and prepare rice noodles. Ever since, rice noodles have been a key part of the Thai cuisine.

Ingredients:

Pad Thai Sauce:

1.5 dl water

1-1.5 tbsp tamarind paste

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp sambal olek

5-6 tbsp brown sugar

Pad Thai:

3 tbsp neutral oil for frying

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 kg fresh king prawns

300g chicken breast cut into small strips

2 eggs

300 g rice noodles

Pad Thai sauce (see above)

Chopped fresh chili

3 tbsp chopped peanuts

1 handful bean sprouts

1-2 spring onion

1 lime

Fresh cilantro

To make the pad thai sauce, bring the water to a near boil (I do this in the microwave), remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well until the sugar is all dissolved.

Peel the king prawns by first removing the head, then break the underbelly apart (where the feet are) and pull out the prawn meat. Make a small inscision on the top near the tail end and pull out the intestine which is often full of sand. You can eat it, but it might crunch which isn't very pleasant.

Freeze the prawn shells for making a fish stock or lobster soup later.

Bring water to boil, add the pasta. Boil according to the directions on the bag. Better a little too undercooked than too much.

Add the oil to a wok or a large frying pan. Add the garlic but don't turn on the heat yet. Leave to infuse while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Clean and finely slice the spring onion, chop the chili and the peanuts.

Turn on the heat under the wok to maximum. As soon as the garlic starts sizzling, add the chicken. Fry for a couple of minues while stirring constantly.

When the chicken is fried on all sides, add the prawns. Fry a minute while stirring.

Push the chicken and prawns away from the centre and crack the two eggs into the whole. Scramble them.

When the egg is just starting to coagulate, add the drained nooldles. Fry for a minute or two while stirring.

Pour the pad thai sauce over.

Add the peanuts, chili and spring onions. Stir fry for a minute.

Add the sprouts and fresh, chopped cilantro.

Serve with a lime wedge on the side.