This week I'm back home visiting with my parents in Apex (the Peak of Good Living). My uncle is also up from Miami and he inspired me to make Pad Thai tonight. (And yes, I might be the only person in the world that goes home and cooks for my parents, instead of my parents cooking for me...ha!) He was in the Air Force and stationed in Thailand during Vietnam in the late sixties, so needless to say, he knows good Thai food--I had a lot to live up to! When researching recipes, I found that a lot of them call for some unique ingredients like cane sugar and tamarind paste. I tried to keep it to ingredients you can buy in a normal grocery store. I also wanted to make it healthier, since a lot of the Thai places use a ton of oil. I think the flavor came out great and I didn't miss the extra oil. My uncle had two big servings, and even my Mom, who declared earlier in the day that she didn't like Pad Thai, said she loved it. On a side note, Dad loved it as well, but wished there was tofu in it. Sorry, Dad, keep dreaming. Enjoy!
Pad Thai
Serves 4-5
1 lb rice noodles
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup fish sauce
3 TBSP brown sugar
2 limes, one juiced and one cut into wedges for garnish
1 TBSP toasted sesame oil
2 TBSP peanut or canola oil, divided
3 eggs, scrambled
3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onion, sliced diagonally in 1/2 inch pieces (green and whites)
1 large handful mung bean sprouts
1 large handful pre-shredded carrots
1 large handful cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped
Sriracha hot sauce
Place the rice noodles in a bowl and cover with very hot tap water. Let sit for 30 minutes until soft (they will still be a bit al dente, you don't want them to get soggy).
In another small bowl, stir together 1 TBSP canola/peanut oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
Heat remaining oil on high in large wok or skillet, and add chicken. Saute until brown and cooked through. Reduce heat to medium high and add garlic, white and half of green parts of onion and carrots and saute for about 1-2 minutes. Add sauce and noodles. Thoroughly toss together and cook for about 5-10 minutes, continuously tossing. Once noodles are soft, move some of the noodles over to the edge to make an opening in the bottom of the pan. Pour in eggs and let them cook. Start scraping them up and continue until they are scrambled. Once they are fully cooked, add bean sprouts toss with the egg and pasta and make sure everything is well combined. Remove from heat and add to serving bowl. Top with the rest of the green onion, cilantro and chopped peanuts. Add Sriracha hot sauce to taste for some heat.
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