recipe: pad thai

All right people. I've been stuck in a rut of cooking.  Seriously, I blame Mike's MBA.  I like to blame that darn MBA for a lot of things, like never having been to the San Francisco Zoo or not going out to eat frequently. Actually, this one really isn't the fault of the MBA, our wine tastes are to blame for this one. Seriously, we live in northern California, wine lists should not be as poor as it sometimes is.  Even if a monkey from the zoo were picking the wines, they would still pick a few good ones. (There I go talking about the zoo again, maybe for my birthday we can go.) (yes, yes, I may be turning 33 but I have the birthday wish of a 7 year old.)

Anyway, ever since Mike came home from his trip to China and Thailand, he's been raving about Thai food. So we went to a local Thai restaurant and enjoyed it immensely. However, (see wine list complaints) we knew that we should figure out how to make this at home to enjoy a glass of wine that we like with dinner.

Enter Pinterest. Enter Pinterest on every possible area of my life. If you look up the word addict, on Pinterest, you might see my face. I am a bit of a crazy girl when it comes to Pinterest, but, hello! I found the greatest pad Thai recipe ever thanks to Pinterest, so I am going to keep on being that same crazy girl if I can find some awesome recipes, & decorating ideas, & sewing patterns, & outfit inspiration... You get the idea. It's my one stop shop.

Anyway, here's the recipe to the greatest Pad Thai recipe I've found.  I would like to hug the girl that created this recipe. And give her a high five (yes, it's worthy of both).  Mike was very impressed by this dish.  Like I said, having just been to Bangkok, his expectations were pretty high.

This blogger also gives an awesome step - by - step (I just made you sing a New Kids song, didn't I?) pictorial depiction of how to cook this meal...and because I can't for the life of me figure out my new Mac computer and how to copy a picture to the blog...you better go there right away to see the pictures.  Your mouth is sure to water.

Head on over to enjoy the beautiful pictures of the pad thai here: Easy Pad Thai

And because I wish to remember exactly what I tweaked in the recipe - my alterations are below as well.

Easy Pad Thai

(adapted from Everyday Food)

Serves 4

8 ounces dried, wide and flat rice noodles
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 squirt (about 1/8 teaspoon) Sriracha (optional) **I doubled this, we like it spicy food, so doubling it made it spicy but not overly spicy. 
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, separated and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, light beaten (optional)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

** I also grilled up some shrimp to toss in with the pad thai.  Super easy and made this a one bowl dinner (the less dishes dirty, the better in my book).  

1. Soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and Sriracha.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 
5. , until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add eggs and cook, scraping skillet with spatula until eggs are almost set (about 30 seconds). Transfer eggs to a plate.
6. Add noodles, scallion greens, and sauce to skillet. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft (about 1 minute). Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently.
7. Serve noodles with lime wedges, topped with cilantro and peanuts.