Gourmet Good: Pad Thai

I love Pad Thai. It is one of my favorite dishes to get at almost any restaurant. I recently got it at this little restaurant Rice and Noodles at 3315 Court Street in Pasco. The owner treats you like family and the food is delicious. This is my attempt to recreate restaurant quality Pad Thai at home. You can use any kind of thin sliced meat or even shrimp or more veggies to make this. I found all the ingredients for a pretty reasonable price at my local Asian Market. Beware though, as you simmer the sauce, it smells really powerful and not necessarily pleasant. But, by the end, everything comes together to taste fabulous.

Sauce:

· 1 cup tamarind paste
· 1 cup palm sugar
· 3 tbs fish sauce
· 3 tbs shrimp paste

Simmer ingredients together on medium-low in a pot for 1 hour, stirring often.

· ½ carton mushrooms- sliced thinly into matchstick sized pieces
· ½ onion diced into small pieces
· White parts of 1 bunch of green onions dices into small pieces

Sauté these ingredients in a large pan or wok over medium heat with 1 Tbs oil till starting to brown. Remove from the pan and reserve. Add 1 more TBS oil to the pan.

· 2 large chicken breasts sliced thinly across the grain
· 2 TBS corn starch
· 2 TBS soy sauce

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl then put in the pan over medium heat until the meat starts to brown. Add back in the cooked veggies.

· 1 package of thick rice noodles prepared according to directions on the box and drained

Then add in the cooked noodles and sauce and stir quickly to mix everything together.

· 3 eggs

Push all the mixture in the pan to the side and crack in the three eggs. Let them start to cook then place the pasta mixture over the top. After about a minute, start stirring. Until the egg is just cooked.