Pad Thai

I remember the first time I went to a Thai restaurant. I must have been about 9 years old and it was in Bayswater. The first bite of pad thai I had was like love at first taste. Since then I've had a lifetime of disappointment when restaurants get it wrong and probably for that reason I haven't had a go at making it. Weirdly it's probably the recipe I've googled most.

I was having dinner at a friend's and they said they fancied pad thai. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a bash. We encountered a few problems... lack of large flat rice noodles was the main problem, in fact it was thin egg noodles or udon noodles. We went for udon as they're my second favourite, but ideally it would be made with flat rice noodles.

This recipe (as with the last one I wrote), probably isn't totally authentic, but it tastes pretty nice and I'll certainly be making it again.

Ingredients (serves 2)

Flat rice noodles (2 portions)

100g pork loin

200g raw king prawns

Beansprouts

1 egg

Thai fish sauce

Brown sugar

Tamarind paste

2 cloves garlic

2 red chillies

2 spring onions

Crushed peanuts

Coriander

Lime

Vegetable oil

How to...

1. Finely chop garlic and chillies and soften in frying pan with a generous splosh of vegetable oil.

2. Finely slice pork loin and add to pan. Cook for 5 minutes.

3. Cook noodles according to packet instructions.

4. Add raw prawns to pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

5. Add noodles, finely sliced spring onion, a generous splash of fish sauce, a tablespoon of brown sugar, a teaspoon of tamarind paste and the juice of a lime.

6. Tilt the pan to one side and push noodles away from the flame. Add a beaten egg to the side of the pan nearest the flame and scramble it.

7. Mix the egg in with the rest.

8. Throw 2-3 big handfuls of beansprouts in the pan.

9. Cook for another 2 minutes.

10. Serve topped with crushed peanuts, coriander leaves and a wedge of lime.
Whilst cooking I was listening to... Coyotes by Jason Mraz.