Recipe - My Pad Thai

3 One half tablespoon Distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoon Water
2 One half tablespoon Fish sauce
3 tablespoon Tomato paste
2 One half tablespoon Sugar
One half tablespoon Dried shrimp
pounded to a powder
9 ounce Flat rice sticks, 1/8" wide
Vegetable oil
1/3 cup Fresh sweet basil leaves
(Thai or purple basil)
2 Red Serrano chili peppers
seeded & very finely minced
4 Garlic cloves; minced
1 One half lg Boned chicken breast halves
cut crosswise into
3/8 inch thick strips OR
1 pound Lean pork, cut into thin
slices 3/8 inch by 2 inches
8 ounce Small, cooked shelled shrimp
2 Eggs; lightly beaten
2 cup Fresh bean sprouts
beans removed
One fourth cup Roasted, unsalted peanuts
coarsely ground
Cherry tomatoes; halved
Lime wedges
Mint sprigs
OR cut or sliced up green onions

Combine the vinegar, water, fish sauce, tomato paste, sugar, and dried
shrimp in a small bowl; mix until well blended and reserve. In a large pot,
soak the noodles in enough water to cover. In a small skillet or pot, heat
vegetable oil Three fourths to 1 inch deep to 350 degrees, or until a dried rice
noodle puffs instantly when dropped into the oil. Deepfry the basil leaves
a few at a time, turning them once or twice until they are crisp, or 40
seconds to a minute; drain on paper toweling.

Bring the noodles to a boil and cook them 2 minutes, or until they are
almost tender. Drain and rinse them well, then spread them on paper
toweling to dry slightly. Head a wok or large skillet and add about 2 1/2
tablespoons vegetable oil. Fry the Serrano peppers about 30 seconds, then
add the garlic and stirfry until it is soft. Add the chicken or pork and
stirfry until the chicken is almost opaque throughout or the pork is
browned. Stir in the shrimp and the sauce and mix completely. Make a well
in the center of the mixture and pour in the eggs. When they are almost
set, scramble them evenly. Add half the noodles, throughly incorporating
them into the mixture; stir in the remaining noodles and half the bean
sprouts. Cook just until the bean sprouts are nearly wilted.

Heap the meat and noodles onto a platter. Cover one half of them with
ground peanuts and the other half with uncooked bean sprouts. Ring the
noodles with lime wedges, cherry tomatoes, and mint sprigs and garnish the
top with the fried basil.

Source: Asian Pasta, by Linda Burum

From: stigle@cs.unca.edu (Sue Stigleman)

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini