pad thai

Pad Thai is one of Thailand's national dishes, and after dozens of times experimenting with different ingredients and measurements, I think I've got a pretty authentic recipe. Pad Thai is very easy to mess up - the noodles can become too gluggy, or too oily, and if you eat it at a North American restaurant they often put ketchup in it (VERY BAD!!) for that westernised flavour. The most important thing is to get the rice noodles at the right softness before you throw it in the wok.

INGREDIENTS
* 500g flat rice noodles (good Asian grocers stock good Vietnamese brands that are perfect for Pad Thai)
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
* 1 small onion (finely chopped)

* 1 thai chilli pepper (finely chopped, seeds removed if you don't do well with spice)

* 1 tablespoon soy sauce (wheat-free)

* 3 tablespoons fish sauce

* 2 tablespoon tamarind paste (optional, but it gives it that extra flavour. Good Asian grocers stock it in jars)

* 2 limes (sliced into quarters)

* 200g tofu (medium-firm or extra-firm, sliced into bite-sized pieces)

* 200g bean sprouts

* 2 medium-sized carrots (thinly sliced)

* handful of green onions (or shallots or spring onions, depending where you're from) (chopped)

* garnish: chopped coriander, dry chilli flakes, crushed peanuts, green onions, lime wedges

PREPARATION
Time: 15 minutes to prepare, 15 minutes in the wok
1. Soak the rice noodles in a large pot of hot (not boiling) water.

2. Whilst you wait for the noodles to soften, prepare all the other ingredients and the sauce. To prepare the sauce, combine the thai chilli, soy sauce, fish sauce, tamarind paste and squeeze 1 lime's worth of juice into a small jar. Shake/stir well and set aside.

3. When the rice noodles have softened, put the wok on low-medium heat with the vegetable oil. The rice noodles should be 'al dente' - firm but not hard and not cooked through. If the noodles are too soft, the pad thai will be too gluggy. If the noodles are too hard, the pad thai will be tough, though you can add some more water in the wok if this is the case. It will take practice to get the right level of softness of the noodles.

4. Fry the garlic and onion in the wok, making sure the garlic does not burn (or it will taste bitter).

5. Pour in half the sauce mixture from the jar and stir with the onions.

6. Toss in the tofu, carrots, green onions and bean sprouts and stir with mixture for about 2 minutes.

7. Make a hole in the middle of the wok with your stirring spatula and pour eggs into the gap. When it is half-cooked, stir with the rest of the vegetables until fully cooked.

8. Gradually add the rice noodles and a few tablespoons of water (more if the noodles are too hard) with the remainder of the sauce mixture, stirring through constantly.

9. Stir-fry for about 3-4 minutes or until the noodles are cooked through.

10. Remove from heat, serve and garnish with chopped coriander, dry chilli flakes, crushed peanuts, green onions, lime wedges. Serves 3-4.