Pad Thai

Pad Thai is one of my favourite dishes, I learnt to cook this dish at the Thai Kitchen Cookery School in Chang Mai Thailand. The important thing to remember with Pad Thai (and with all Thai dishes) is that you have to try to balance the seasoning. For Pad Thai it is important to have fish sauce for saltiness, sugar for sweetness, lime or rice vinegar for sourness and chilli for spice. So, yes even though fish sauce makes your whole pantry smell, you do need it. Taste as you cook to make sure the balance is correct.

Ingredients

200g rice noodles

2 tb soya bean oil

100g tofu

4 cloves garlic

100g chicken

1-2 eggs

2 tb fish sauce

2 tb peanuts

100g beansprouts

1/4 lime

1 tsp sugar

1/2 - 1 tsp dried chilli powder

2 spring onions chopped

1. Place 2 tb of soya bean oil in a wok and turn the gas to medium. Smash the garlic and fry until you can smell it.

2. Add the chicken and sear and then add the tofu.

3. Add the egg and stir rapidly until it becomes scrambled.

4. Add 2 tb of fish sauce and 1 tsp of sugar.

5. Push the mixture up on the side of the wok, pour water into the bottom of the wok and add the noodles. Stir the noodles until they become soft.

6. Add the peanuts, bean sprouts and spring onions.

7. Squeeze lime over the noodles and then taste.