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This week we have a dish from Thailand: Pad Thai.

Pad Thai

Ingredients

100g Thai rice noodles
55g beansprouts
2 Chinese chives or spring onions
100g firm tofu
1 shallot
125ml/½ cup tamarind sauce
1 egg
1 tbsp ground roasted peanuts
Chili powder, to taste
A piece of lime, to taste
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

Make the omelette net first. Brush a large, heavy frying pan with vegetable oil and set it over a low heat. Beat the egg thoroughly. Drizzle the beaten egg into the warm pan. There are utensils designed specifically for this job but with a bit of practice you can get an impressive effect by letting the beaten egg run off a spoon, and quickly moving the spoon from side to side over the pan, to create a net. You won’t need to use all the egg – save what is left, you will need it later. The ‘net’ will cook almost instantly – the trick is to stop it from getting too crisp and brown by sliding it out of the pan and onto some kitchen towel as soon as it has firmed up – no need to attempt to turn it over! Set it aside to cool.

Peel and finely slice the shallot. Drain the tofu, pat it dry with some kitchen paper and chop it into bite-sized pieces. Heat the remaining cooking oil in a wok, and gently stir fry the tofu and shallot for 2 minutes. Add the noodles and 125ml/ ½ cup boiling water. Stir in the tamarind sauce and cook the noodles gently until the moisture has almost gone. 

Trim the Chinese chives or spring onions. Chop the white part, and set it to one side. Cut the green part into short lengths.

When the noodles are almost dry, stir in the remaining beaten egg, the bean sprouts and the green parts of the Chinese chives or spring onions. Stir everything together quickly and then remove from the heat. 

Pile the Pad Thai onto a serving dish and cover it with the omelette net. Garnish the edge of the plate with the chopped white parts of the Chinese chives or spring onions, chilli powder, fine slices of lime and ground roasted peanuts.