Chicken Pad Thai

"Hello, may I please have an order of Chicken Pad Thai??"

We all love take out.  But sometimes it can add up to a big chunk of change.  We usually get Chinese, Japanese or Thai cuisine for our choice of take out.  This time I was craving Thai!  I really love Chicken Pad Thai.  Such a simple dish and probably one of the most commonly known. Unfortunately, we don't have many Thai restaurants close to home.  What do you do in a situation like that??  Ignore your cravings and choose something else? NOPE!  You make it yourself!!!!

• 1/2 pound narrow dried rice noodles
• 2 ounces boneless chicken, thinly sliced and cut into small chunks or strips.
• 1 teaspoon sugar (preferably palm sugar, although light brown or granulated will work just fine)
• 1 heaping tablespoon tamarind pulp dissolved in 2 to 3 tablespoons warm water (or substitute 1 tablespoon rice vinegar plus 1 tablespoon water)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 3 large eggs
• pinch salt
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil or mild vegetable oil
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 pound (a scant 4 cups) bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• 3 scallions, trimmed, smashed with the flat side of a knife and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
• 1 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped 

1. Soak the rice noodles in very, very warm water for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place the chicken in a small bowl, add the sugar, and toss to coat. In a medium bowl, combine the tamarind water (or rice vinegar and water), soy sauce, and fish sauce. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and a pinch of salt.
3. Place a large wok or ginormous skillet over high heat. (You need a large wok to prepare this amount of noodles, as the noodles take up a lot of room, and you need to be able to push some ingredients up the sides of the wok while you cook other ingredients. If your wok is small, make this recipe in two batches.) Add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil to the pan. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the garlic and stir-fry briefly just until it begins to change color, about 15 seconds. Toss in the chicken and stir-fry until it changes color but aren’t cooked through, 1 minute or less.  Pour in the egg mixture and let it cook just until it starts to set around the chicken, less than a minute. Use your spatula to cut the omelet into large pieces, then transfer everything to a plate and set aside.
4. Return the wok to high heat. Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and swirl to coat. Toss the drained noodles into the wok and stir-fry vigorously, pressing them against the hot wok briefly to sear them, then turn them and press them against the side of the wok again. The noodles will initially seem dry and unwieldy, but don’t worry, just keep folding them over and pressing them onto the wok - after about 1 minute, they will have softened more and be warm. Move the noodles up the sides of the wok and toss in 2 to 2 1/2 cups of the bean sprouts and the scallions. Stir-fry vigorously for about 20 seconds, pressing them against the hot wok and turning them so they wilt. Add the soy sauce mixture. Stir-fry for about another 30 seconds, gradually incorporating noodles into the bean sprout mixture. Add the reserved egg-meat mixture and toss gently to mix everything together.
5. Turn the noodles out onto a platter or onto individual plates. Sprinkle some of the chopped peanuts onto the noodles.