Pad Thai

4 ounces fettuccine-width rice stick noodles (pad thai noodles)

1/4 cup peanut oil

1/4 cup tamarind paste

1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)

1/3 cup honey (agave nectar might work, never tried it)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1 garlic clove, minced

2 eggs

1 small head Napa cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)

1 cup mung bean sprouts

1/2 pound peeled shrimp, pressed tofu or a combination (I like just chicken)

1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 limes, quartered.

1. Put noodles in a large bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let sit until noodles are just tender; check every 5 minutes or so to make sure they do not get too soft. Drain, drizzle with one tablespoon peanut oil to keep from sticking and set aside. Meanwhile, put tamarind paste, fish sauce, honey and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and bring just to a simmer. Stir in red pepper flakes and set aside. (Increase other ingredients, NEVER the sauce amounts, to make more, the sauce goes FAR)

2. Put remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; when oil shimmers, add scallions and garlic and cook for about a minute. Add eggs to pan; once they begin to set, scramble them until just done. Add cabbage and bean sprouts and continue to cook until cabbage begins to wilt, then add shrimp or tofu (or both).

3. When shrimp begin to turn pink and tofu begins to brown, add drained noodles to pan along with sauce. Toss everything together to coat with tamarind sauce and combine well. When noodles are warmed through, serve, sprinkling each dish with peanuts and garnishing with cilantro and lime wedges.

Yield: 4 servings. (More veggies=more servings)

Tamarind Paste recipe (if you can’t find actual tamarind paste)

Ingredients

•   1 tbsp chopped dates

•   1 tbsp chopped prunes

•   1 tbsp chopped dried apricots

•   1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

Place all fruit into a small bowl and pour enough boiling water over them to cover completely.

Let stand 15 minutes and drain.

Place drained fruit and the lemon juice into a food processor, blend to a thick paste.

Store in the fridge or use immediately.

OR

lime or lemon juice (Substitute two tablespoons juice for every teaspoon of tamarind paste

OR

In one of those mini food processors, just mix raisins and lime juice until you have a thick paste... perfect substitute