Chippewa Falls Freaks & Geeks

The trouble with most pad thai is that it is so sweet, particularly with brown sugar which I think totally messes up the flavor. This is my variation of an authentic vegetarian Pad Thai. It can be made with bok choy, but I usually just use cabbage.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. dried Pad Thai rice noodles, OR enough for 2 people (linguini-width)
• 2 eggs
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 2" off the top of a head of cabbage, roughly chopped
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 bundle of green onions, cut into 3/4" lengths (a couple extra can be chopped for garnish)
• 1/3 cup fresh coriander/cilantro
• 1/4 cup ground (or well-chopped) peanuts (optional)

• 3/4 Tbsp. Thai Kitchen Roasted Red Chili Paste (or any other paste containing tamarind)
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 3-1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce (or gluten-free soy sauce)
• 1-1/2tsp. chili sauce (to taste)
• 1 Tbsp. genuine West Hill Honey (or any other honey of inferior quality)
• OTHER:
• 3-4 Tbsp. oil for stir-frying
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. Better Than Boullion brand chicken stock

Preparation:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and remove from heat. Based on the steps below you want to soak noodles in the hot water for 6 minutes. Drain and have them ready just in time for step 5. Adjust starting time of noodles accordingly. Tip: Noodles are ready to drain when they are soft enough to eat, but still firm and a little bit "crunchy". The noodles will finish cooking when they are fried.
2. Dissolve the tamarind based paste in the hot water. Add the other pad thai sauce ingredients and stir well to dissolve the honey. Add as much or as little chili sauce as you prefer, but don't skimp on the sugar (you need it to balance the sourness of the tarmaind). Reserve.
3. Place your wok (or large frying pan) over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. oil plus the garlic and shallot. Stir-fry 1 minute to release the fragrance.
4. Add the bok choy plus the stock. Stir-fry 2 minutes, or until bok choy is bright green and slightly softened.
5. Push ingredients aside and add 1/2 Tbsp. more oil to the center of the wok/pan. Add the eggs (if using) and stir-fry briefly to scramble them.
6. Push eggs aside and add a little more oil to the middle of the wok/pan. Now add the drained noodles and 1/3 of the sauce. Stir-fry everything together for 1 minute using 2 utensils and a tossing motion (like tossing a salad). Wooden utensils work best because the noodles are heavy.
7. Add a little more sauce and continue stir-frying in the same way for 1-2 more minutes, or until the noodles begin to soften and become sticky. Reduce heat to medium if noodles begin to stick and burn.
8. Add the bean sprouts plus the remaining sauce. Stir-fry to incorporate everything together for 1-3 more minutes, or until noodles are done. Noodles are cooked to perfection when they are soft but still deliciously chewy and a little bit sticky.
9. Remove from heat and taste-test, adding more vegetarian fish sauce or soy sauce if desired for more salt/flavor.
10. Add the green onion, coriander/cilantro, and ground nuts. Give it one last mix and then serve immediately and ENJOY!. (Thai chili sauce can also be served on the side for those who likes their noodles extra spicy).