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Pad Thai

Yes, this has a lot of ingredients. That's because Pad Thai is an actual dish and not something you can fake with soy sauce and spaghetti. If the ingredient list scares you, go make a grilled cheese and work your way up.

Prep: 20 min Cook: 20 min Serves: 4 Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients

Noodles

Sauce

Stir Fry

Instructions

  1. Get your mise en place together. That's fancy French for "get all your crap ready before you start cooking." Slice the peppers and onion. Chop the peanuts. Whisk the eggs. This dish moves fast once you start, and you don't want to be frantically mincing garlic while your peppers burn.
  2. Mix the sauce. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir it up. Set it aside. Feel proud that you did something.
  3. Deal with the noodles. Soak or boil according to the package directions. Every brand is different, and I'm not going to pretend I know what noodles you bought. Read the package. You're literate.
  4. Heat the pan. Add 3 tablespoons of peanut oil to a large non-stick pan (or a well-seasoned wok if you're fancy) over medium-high heat. Not medium. Not high. Medium-high. Words mean things.
  5. Cook the vegetables. Add the bell peppers and onion. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. They should soften and get a little color.
  6. Add the garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes. If you smell burning, your heat is too high. Burnt garlic tastes like regret.
  7. Add the chicken. Cook for about 5 minutes until heated through. You're using pre-cooked shredded chicken here, so you're just warming it up and letting it get friendly with the vegetables.
  8. Egg time. Push everything to one side of the pan. Pour the whisked eggs onto the empty side. Scramble them with a wooden spoon. If the pan looks dry, add a tiny bit more oil. Once the eggs are cooked, mix them into the rest of the stuff.
  9. Bring it all together. Add the bean sprouts, drained noodles, and sauce. Toss gently for about 1½ minutes until the sauce is absorbed by the noodles. Don't murder the noodles with aggressive stirring—be gentle.
  10. Finish it. Add the green onions/chives. Toss through quickly. Remove from heat immediately. Residual heat will keep cooking things, so don't dawdle.
  11. Serve immediately. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and a spoonful of that crunchy chili garlic oil. Put extra bean sprouts on the side if you're feeling generous. Eat it while it's hot because cold Pad Thai is sad Pad Thai.

Stuff You Might Need

A big non-stick pan or wok. A wooden spoon. Several small bowls for your prepped ingredients because this isn't a dump-and-stir situation. The ability to read a noodle package. Tamarind paste, which you can find at any Asian grocery store or, let's be honest, Amazon.