Learning to make Pad Thai was a revelation to me. It’s so different from making any other stir fry noodle dish and dare I say, a whole lot easier. You don’t just stir-fry but boil the noodles to soften them in the pan too. To keep it authentic there are certain ingredients that really need to be used but if you’re not worried about authenticity then see below in the ingredients list for what can be substituted. Either way, I bet once you have made this you will be making it most weeknights.

for the sauce
6 tablespoons tamarind juice, made by soaking dried tamarind in water
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar (or brown sugar)

2 tablespoons groundnut oil
3 small or 1 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
optional: 2 tablespoons dried shrimps (you can find it in all good Asian supermarkets)
optional: 1 tablespoons pickled turnip (you can find it in al good Asian supermarkets)
50g firm tofu, cut into small, bite-sized pieces
8 King prawns, shelled
150g wide rice noodles, soaked for 5 minutes in boiling water so they have lost their firmness but are not yet cooked through.
100ml chicken stock
A large handful of bean sprouts
A small handful of Chinese chives (or sliced spring onions or garden chives)
crushed roasted peanuts, to serve
wedges of lime, to serve

In a small bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, sugar and tamarind paste until the sugar has dissolved. Put aside.

Heat half the oil in a wok and stir in the shallots and garlic, until fragrant. Add the dried shrimp, pickled turnip and tofu and stir-fry until the tofu begins to brown. Add the prawns and stir-fry for 1 minute or until the just begin to go pink.

Toss in the noodles and pour in the stock, and stir until the noodles have absorbed all the liquid. Stir in the tamarind and fish sauce mixture and continue to stir-fry until the noodles begin to go sticky.

Place the noodles back in the pan, then crack the eggs into the space. Scramble them quickly then toss them in with the noodles. Finally mix in the bean sprouts and chives. Serve with a sprinkling of crushed roasted peanuts and wedges of lime to squeeze over them.