Pad Thai, my all time favorite dish!

This past winter we travelled to Thailand for the first time. While in Chiang Mai we attended a full day cooking class, A lot of Thai, where we learned to cook traditional dishes from a Thai woman at her home. All of the dishes we cooked were amazing, my favorites were what we call pad thai and cashew chicken in the western world. The key ingredient missing in many recipes for Pad Thai is tamarind puree, it is found in many Asian markets. In Portland Maine there is a good Asian market on Forest Ave, Haknuman Meanchey. My favorite variation of Pad Thai uses crab and asparagus.

Pad Thai (Stir fried noodles in Thai sauce) with Crab and Asparagus

2 servings:

3 tbsp peanut oil

1/4 cup firm tofu cut into small sticks

1 tbsp shallot - chopped

1 tbsp garlic - chopped

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp tamarind puree (heaping tbsp)

1 1/2 tbsp raw sugar (not white sugar, I use sugar in the raw or palm sugar)

200g fresh narrow rice noodles (if using dried noodles use 150g soaked in cold water for 15 minutes and drained well).

4-6 tbsp water, more if necessary

1/3 lb asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces

100g or more to taste of bean sprouts

100g chinese chives cut into 1 inch pieces (4-6 scallions)

1/4 lb fresh crab meat

2 eggs

2 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts

lime wedges and cilantro (optional) to garnish

Fry tofu and shallot in peanut oil over medium heat until light brown in a wok using a wooden spoon. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the rice noodles and immediately add 1 tbsp water, cook until the noodles are soft adding water as necessary. Next add the fish sauce, soy sauce, tamarind puree, and sugar (make sure to use sugar in the rawest form you can find, processed sugar will not work), cook for about 1 minute. Add crabmeat, asparagus, bean sprouts, and chinese chive (scallions), cook until the chinese chives and asparagus are bright green. Move the mixture of noodles, sauce, and vegetables to one side of the wok and add 1 tbsp peanut oil to the other side. Add the eggs and cook in the peanut oil, when the eggs are almost cooked slowly mix together with the noodle mixture. Remove from heat. Serve promptly adding roasted peanuts, lime wedges, and cilantro to garnish. Happy Eating!