How good is Pad Thai? It was my favourite noodle dish for years. Years I tell you, and I get bored oh so easily. The problem is it’s so hit and miss when you order it at take away places. So I now love making it at home, just the way I like it. I’ll put the prawn and chicken version up next, because that’s the other way I like it.

Whenever I say Pad Thai there’s a little voice in my head that whispers ‘fat thigh’ for no reason at all to do with the dish and more to do with a holiday in Byron Bay when I was like 22. A silly in joke with the closest of friends and I totally can’t remember why it was funny, other than because it rhymes and we were probably drunk. But it was repeated enough that now my brain automatically does it and it still makes me laugh. And I can’t even explain to whoever I’m around why I’m giggling. So glad I shared that with you. I’d delete it but I just wrote it and editing yourself is so boring. Okay back to the food…

This ingredients list might look intimidating, the most time consuming part of preparing it all but to save time you can chop things in a food processor. None of the processes in this are particularly hard. You’ll notice the recipe requires you to only cook two serves at a time, overcrowding your wok or pan will end up giving you a gloopy mess. To avoid eating a gloopy mess I always cook a maximum of 2 serves of any noodle dish (like this roast chicken one!) at a time. It’s easy to do just have all your ingredients ready to go and add 1/2 the first time. Then repeat with remaining ingredients.

Ingredients

2 Tbs peanut oil or coconut oil

1 cup spring onion, finely sliced

1/3 cup finely chopped coriander stalks

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 Tbs ginger, minced

200g mushrooms, roughly diced

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 carrots julienned or spiralised

3 cups shredded cabbage

300g rice stick noodles, cooked and rinsed in cold water

2 zucchini sprialised

1 cup coriander leaves

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

1 cup bean shoots

1 birdseye chilli

1/2 lime

Sauce

1.5 Tbs soy sauce

1.5 Tbs rice wine vinegar

2 Tbs tamarind puree

1 tsp chilli powder

2 Tbs water

juice of 1/2 a lime

Directions

Make sure you have all your ingredients ready to go before you start. Combine sauce ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

Put a wok or large fry pan on high heat. Add 1/2 the oil, then add 1/2 the ginger,1/2 the garlic, 1/2 the spring onion, 1/2 the coriander stalk and 1/2 the mushrooms. Cook, moving around the wok for 1-2 moinutes until mushrooms have softened. Move to one side of the wok

Add 1/2 the egg mix, allow to set, chop with your spatula or wooden spoon into bite sized pieces and mix with mushroom mix. Add 1/2 the carrot and 1/2 the cabbage. If things are looking too dry or your wok is getting to hot add a little water. Cook for 1 minute then add 1/2 the noodles and 1/2 the zucchini. Add 1/2 the sauce and toss to combine and heat through. If too dry add a little extra water.

Divide between two bowls. Repeat above steps with your remaining ingredients.

Garnish each bowl with the bean shoots, coriander leaves, chilli and peanuts. Cut remaining 1/2 of lime in quarters. Serve each bowl with a wedge of lime.

HH. x