Prawn Pad Thai
Ingredients
300g wide rice stick noodles
3 tbsp dried shrimp
3 tbsp tamarind paste
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp palm sugar
2 tbsp vegetable or ground nut oil
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
2 finely chopped shallots
2 tsp chilli flakes
2 large free-range eggs, beaten
500g deveined raw prawns
2 handfuls of beansprouts
Bunch of spring onions, shredded
Handful of roighly chopped, unsalted roasted peanuts
2 limes, cut into wedges
Method
1. Place the rice noodles in a large bowl and pour over warm water to cover.
2. Put the dried shrimp in another bowl and add warm water to cover.
3. Leave both to soak for 20 minutes or until soft, then drain well.
4. Mix the tamarind paste with a splash of boiling water to loosen. Add the fish sauce and palm sugar. Mix and taste. Adjust flavour to taste.
5. Heat a wok or large frying pan till it is very hot. Add oil when it is very hot. Fry the garlic and shallots for 1 minute. Add uncooked prawns and cook for 1 minute, then add the drained dried shrimp and chilli flakes and toss together. Add the drained noodles to the wok and stir-fry for a couple of minutes.
6. In another pan, add a tsp of oil and add the eggs, allow to set, then scramble them and mix into the noodles.
7. Add the tamarind paste and mix well. Add the beansprouts, spring onions and half the peanuts. Toss well and cook for a few minutes.
8. Divide the pad Thai into serving bowls, sprinkle with remaining peanuts, and serve with the lime wedges, to squeeze over. Serve Hot.
TIP: When cooking on high tempratures, always add the oil after heating the pan. Otherwise the oil will burn before the pan gets hot enough.