“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well” – Virginia Woolf

Ingredients (should serve 2)

200g rice noodles

½ onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 1 yellow pepper

Bean sprouts

1 egg

As much chicken and/or prawns as you want (optional, tastes just as good as a vegetarian meal)

Sauce

¾ tbsp of tamarind paste soaked in ¼ cup of warm water

2 tbsp of fish sauce

½ tsp of crushed dried chilli flakes or cayenne

3 tbsp of brown sugar

Finishing touches

Crushed peanuts

Spring onion

Soy sauce (to taste)

1 lime

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook rice noodles – follow the instructions on the package exactly, overcooking rice noodles can end in a mushy affair!
2. Make the Pad Thai suace by adding all of the ingredients in a cup and stirring well to dissolve everything.
3. Fry chicken and prawns in soy sauce (if you are choosing to use them). Fry onion and garlic in a tablespoon of the sauce until soft and then add sliced peppers.
4. When rice noodles are ready, add them to the pan with the veg and add the rest of the sauce.
5. Add in one egg scrambled and toss the noodles and veg together until the sauce covers all of the ingredients and has reduced to a pasty consistency.
6. Add in bean sprouts for the last minute or so – the Pad Thai is almost ready!
7. This step turns a good dish into a great dish! Dish it up and sprinkle chopped peanuts and spring onion on top
8. Finally, squeeze the juice of half a lime on top and you’re ready to go!

This is a simplified version of the Pad Thai recipe I got from the cooking lesson I did in Chiang Mai. You should be able to find Tamarind paste in any Asian supermarket. Let me know if you make this recipe by snapping me (imperfectlyfree), tagging me on insta or tweeting me, I’d love to hear. It’s delicious!

Winging it,

R x