Pad Thai

After seeing Mark Bittman, of the New York Times,demonstrate his Pad Thai recipe; I have been itching to make it at home. Once you prep your ingredients, the rest is quite easy.  As you probably know by now, I tend to always stray from recipes. So here we go again, with my  adaptation of  the various recipes I researched.  All to say, add or eliminate some of  the ingredients in the recipe, and tailor the dish to your personal taste.  For the vegetarian version, simply leave out the shrimps. I kept my recipe rather simple. I opted not to use the cabbage nor the carrots and added extra mung bean sprouts.

Ingredients
8 ounces rice noodles
1 tablespoons tamarind paste
1 1/2 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoons honey or granulated sugar
juice of 1/2 small lime 
red pepper flakes (to taste)
1/4 to1/2 cup canola oil
1 garlic clove minced
3 green onions finely sliced
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
1/2 pound tofu cut into large cubes
8 large shrimps, peeled and deveined
2 cups mung bean sprouts (set aside1/4 cup for garnish)
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro (set aside 1 tablespoon for garnish)
4 tablespoons roasted, chopped peanuts (set aside 1 to 2 tablespoons for garnish)
lime wedges
Thai hot sauce 

Place your noodles in a bowl with lukewarm water. Soak for about 15 minutes.
In a small bowl add the tamarind paste to 1/4 cup of water and let soak for about 15 minutes. Mash the tamarind and add ,the fish sauce,sugar, lime.  Combine the ingredients.
In a wok or large saute pan heat the 3 tablespoons of oil on high heat.  Add the scallions,garlic, chili pepper and cook for about 30 seconds. Add your shrimp and cook for about two minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Using the same pan,on medium high, saute the tofu  until golden. and transfer to a plate.  Add some extra oil to the pan and swirl in the eggs. Set aside the scrambled eggs. Drain the noodles Add more oil to the pan and heat until hot and add the noodles. Pour in the sauce and cook until al dente.  Toss in the egg, the shrimp, tofu, 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts, saute for 30 seconds or so. Toss in the 3 tablespoons of the cilantro. Plate and garnish with extra cilantro,remaining bean sprouts, and roasted chopped peanuts .Serve with lime wedges and Thai hot sauce.
Serves 2  (main course)