Foods for You

Pad Thai is a traditional Thai noodle made from rice stick noodles, and is often served in many Thai restaurants. Pad Thai is a simple dish made with the simplest ingredients, in order to form the most exceptional dish. Pad Thai comes in many varieties: seafood, chicken, or vegetarian. This dish is known for its tangy taste from the tamarind sauce that gives this noodle its hall of fame. The tamarind is a special Southern Asian fruit that produces pod like fruits, where the fruits are often made into different culinary usages such as jam, ice cream, and even sauces.

Ingredients:

1 package rice noodles
1 lb shrimp
2 cups bean sprouts
2-3 eggs
1/2 cup of roasted peanuts
1 lemon sliced into wedges


Tamarind Sauce:
2 teaspoons tamarind paste
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 teaspoons sugar
2/3 cup water

Steps:

1. Boil the water, and then add the rice noodles. Let the rice noodles soften in water for about 10-15minutes. Then drain the rice noodles with cold water, so that the cold water can shock the rice noodles.

2. Combine all of the sauces needed in the same bowl to make the tamarind sauce.

3. In a hot pan, add the oil and and stir in the garlic. When the garlic is aromatic, add the shrimps and stir fry until it is half way cooked.

4. Push the shrimps to the side, and crack the eggs to the side where it is empty. After a few seconds, break up the eggs up into many pieces. Continue to stir fry the shrimp and eggs.

5. Add in the noodles, and stir fry it. Then add the bean sprouts and chives.

6. Sprinkle with roasted peanuts and squeezed fresh lemon.

Tips and Notes:

* Instead of using shrimps, you can use chicken or tofu.

* At many local Asian markets, ready made tamarind sauce is sold. You can buy that instead to reduce the additional work.

* Some people use Sriracha sauce for extra spice

Ingredients:

1 lb. shrimp
1 shallot
1 bunch of green onion
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon  of black pepper

2 spoons of water
2 tablespoons of sugar

Steps:

1. Marinate the shrimp with the listed ingredients: shallots, green onion, fish sauce, and black pepper.

2 .In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Then add the sugar and stir until the color is caramel and the texture is sticky.

3. In another pan, wait till the pan is hot and add the oil. Then add the shrimps and fry it until it's half way cooked.

4 Once the shrimps are half way cooked, pour the caramel sauce into the pan and continue to stir fry until it's fully mixed.

Tips and Notes:

* This is best when served hot.

* It's optional to leave the shell and head on for the shrimps, but I peeled them off.