The Pad Thai

Last week when I made this, it was 36 degrees and I felt like something fresh, yummy and requiring minimal time over a hot stove. Today I'm wearing flannelet pajama pants and a hoodie (yeah, I'm not working much at the moment), despite the fact that it is technically the first day of Summer. Still, I think Pad Thai is pretty yummy in any weather, and this is an extra good recipe with all the authentic ingredients, unlike others I'd tried in the past (I'm looking at you, Donna Hay. Haven't you heard of tamarind?). I've adapted this recipe quite a lot to suit my personal tastes and the exotic ingredients I already had lurking about, but the original can be found in David Thompson's book Thai Street Food.

Pad Thai
Serves 2 (can be easily doubled to serve 4 or provide ample leftovers)

Ingredients
125g dried rice noodles, approximately the width of linguini
3 tablespoons palm sugar, finely grated
2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate, dilluted in 2 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon of fish sauce (or more if, like me, you like it extra salty and fishy!)
3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
4 red shallots, or one small onion, corsely chopped
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
2 eggs
5 snake beans, cut into 3cm lengths
50g beancurd (I used freshly made puffs)
1/2 teaspoon shredded salted radish, rinsed and dried
1 tablespoon coarsely crushed roasted peanuts
a handful of beansprouts
a handful of garlic chives, cut into 2cm lengths
Extra bean sprouts, garlic chives, crushed peanuts, lime wedges, chili powder and fried shallots, to serve
NB: all exotic-sounding ingredients should be easy to find at any Asian Supermarket

Method
1. Soak noodles in boiling water for approximately 5 minutes until soft but still quite al dente.
2. Combine the palm sugar, tamarind and fish sauce along with a tablespoon of water in a bowl, and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Fry the shallots and shrimp paste until fragrant and beginning to colour.
4. Crack in the eggs and scramble for about 30 seconds.
5. Turn up the heat, add the noodles and beans, and fry for about 30 seconds, tossing through the eggs.
6. Add the sauce and simmer until it is absorbed.
7. Mix in the bean curd, salted radish and peanuts, then simmer, stirring until almost dry.
8. Add the bean sprouts and garlic chives and stir through.
9. Taste: it should be salty, sweet and sour. At this stage I usually add a glug more fish sauce.
10. Serve topped with bean sprouts, lime wedges, extra garlic chives, peanuts, chili powder and fried shallots.