Pad thai 泰式炒麵

I love Thai food. Every time I move to a new city, I must look for a good Thai restaurant for sure, and I will become a frequent guest there. My love to Thai food started in a little Thai takeout place on the side of a street. It was owned by three brothers and sisters. The big brother was around 17 or 18 years old, serving as the chef. And the two sisters were so young and so cute, serving as cashiers. I will never forget the naive smiles on their faces, so simple and so cute. Surprisingly, their food tasted much better than the food in some fancy restaurants. Now I always use "Pad Thai" as my test to a new Thai restaurant: if they can't even do Pad Thai right, they probably can't do anything right. After a while, I try to reproduce it at home so that I can be more generous with the ingredients.

Ingredients (2-3 servings):

• Chicken breast 8 oz., thin sliced
• Shrimp 1 dozen, shell removed
• Shredded carrots 1/4 cup
• Egg 1
• Bean sprouts 2 cups
• Firm or oily tofu 1/3 cup, thin sliced
• Green scallion 1, cut in 2-inch sections
• Shallot 1, minced
• Chopped peanuts 1/3 cup
• Thai rice noodles 8 oz.
• Seasoning: salt, pepper, fish sauce 1/4 cup, sugar 2 Tbsp, water 1/2 - 1 cup

Instructions:

1. Soak the Thai rice noodles in warm water until soft. (Do not soak in hot or boiling water, it will be cooked too soft.) Drained and set aside.

2. Marinate the chicken and shrimps with 1 Tbsp cooking wine. Get the vegetables ready.

3. Heat up 2 Tbsp cooking oil. Fry the minced shallot.

4. Add the chicken and shrimp. Cook until they change color.

5. Add tofu and carrots. Stir to mix together.

6. Make some room in the pan by moving things to the side. Scramble the egg and mix with the rest of the ingredients.

7. Add the soaked noodles. Add the seasonings. Cook until the liquid has reduced (1-2 min).

8. Add the bean sprouts, green scallions and chopped peanuts.