Guest Author - Ciara Sampaio

Pad Thai is the most famous Thai dish, and for good reason. It's tasty! Here's a recipe you can make at home just like the street vendors in Bangkok.

2-3 Servings

1/2 lime
1 egg
4 t fish sauce (substitute soy sauce for vegetarian)
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 t ground dried chili pepper
12 t ground pepper
1/2 t minced shallot
2 T sugar
2 T tamarind
1/2 package rice noodles
2 T vegetable oil
2/3 cup extra firm tofu
1-1/2 cup Chinese chives or green onions
2 T peanuts
1-1/3 cup bean sprouts

Soak the dry noodles in lukewarm water. While it's soaking, cut tofu into small pieces. Cut the Chinese chives into 1 inch long pieces. Set aside some fresh pieces for a garnish. Set aside half the bean sprouts for garnish as well. Mince shallot and garlic together.

Ideally, you have a wok to cook everything in. A wok distributes the heat evenly and makes it very easy to toss food. If you don't have a wok, any large pot will suffice. Heat it on high heat then pour the oil in the wok. Fry the peanuts until toasted and remove them from the wok. Add shallot, garlic, tofu and stir them until they start to brown. The noodles should be flexible by not expanded at this point. Drain them and add them to the wok. Stir quickly to keep things from sticking. Add the tamarind in small bits, as it tends to clump together. Add sugar, fish sauce, and chili pepper. Keep stirring on high heat. If there's a lot of juice at the bottom of the wok turn up the heat to dry it out. Move the noodles to the side, and crack the egg in the empty space. Scramble until it's almost cooked, then fold into the noodles. Alternatively, you can fry the egg seperately to about over medium and throw it right on top the noodles when serving, as they do in Krabi. Add bean sprouts and chives, stir a bit more. The noodles should be soft and very tangled.

Pour onto the serving plate and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve hot with a wedge of lime on the side and sprinkle some raw Chinese chives and raw bean sprouts on top.

Voila! You've just made authentic Pad Thai.