Pad Thai

Ingredients:

8	oz	Thick, flat, and wide rice noodles
1/3	cup	Soy sauce or fish sauce
1/3	cup	tamarind pulp (1 Tbs) mixed with water (1/3 cup), or lemon juice, or lime juice
1/4	cup	Brown or granulated sugar
4	Tbs	Oil
1/3	lb.	Thinly sliced chicken or beef, or peeled and deveined shrimp. Omit for a vegetarian dish.
1/2	lb.	Firm tofu, cut into small cubes
5	cloves	Garlic
3		Green onions
1	L	Egg, beaten
2	cups	Bean sprouts
1/2	cup	Roasted peanuts, chopped
2		Limes, quartered
1/2	bunch	Cilantro

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, cover the rice noodles with boiling water and allow the noodles to soak for 20 to 30 minutes
2. Mix the fish/soy sauce with the tamarind water/lemon/lime juice with the sugar.  Taste to ensure that you’ve achieved your desired sweet-salty-sour balance and make adjustments, if necessary.
3. Cook the garlic and green onions in the oil over medium heat until the garlic begins to brown.  Add the sliced meat or shrimp.  Add the tofu.
4. Add the drained noodles to your pan, pour your sweet-sour-salty sauce over everything, and then toss all of the pan’s contents together.
5. Push the noodles to the side to clear a space on the pan.  Scramble the egg on the empty surface, then break it up into pieces and fold the pieces into the noodles.
6. Serve with the chopped peanuts, lime quarters, and cilantro. Enjoy.