Chicken Pad Thai

I have perfected Pad Thai. Now before you turn way from what you think is some empty claim, hear me out.

Pad Thai was something I thought you just threw together. Much like any other stirfry. Nothing to it, right? Fry a few things, add some sauce, mix with noodles. Oh but there's so much more to a good Pad Thai! Let me be clear about it though - It.Is.Not.Difficult. Or time-consuming. Or even complicated. But there's a certain order to a proper Pad Thai. You're aiming for the perfect mix of crunchy sprouts and nuts, succulent chicken, fresh green herbs and saucy, glistening noodles. For you to sluuuuurp up.

For this recipe you have to be quick. This is not the time for a leisurely glass of wine and an occasional peek into the pot to see how things are doing. The entire thing will come together in about twenty minutes. And this is one time that you absolutely must have everything ready prepped beforehand. No compromises. I like to pretend that I'm a celebrity chef on television, so it feels less food-geeky.

The verdict? I think I have a new favourite meal. As for TheHusband? He likes the flavour, but "The noodles have a weird texture". Eh, what does he know. I think the pictures speak for themselves on this one!

I'm submitting this to Weekend Herb Blogging #226, hosted by Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with Herbs).

Chicken Pad Thai

Adapted from Chez Pim

Makes 2 generous servings

1 1/2 tbsp (22.5 ml) sunflower oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (approx 250g), thinly sliced into strips

2 small carrots, julienned

100g rice vermicelli noodles 

1/2 cup Pad Thai sauce*

a handful (approx 40g) beansprouts

1 egg

2 tbsp roasted and salted peanuts, roughly crushed using pestle & mortar

a handful fresh chives, snipped into pieces

a handful fresh coriander (cilantro)

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat in a large wok. 

2. Add chicken and cook briefly, stirring vigorously, until just starting to brown.

3. Meanwhile set your noodles in a bowl of warm water to soak. The noodles should just start to become pliable and lose their crispness, but should not be soft before you add it to the wok.

4. Add carrots to the wok and again cook briefly, stirring all the time to keep the food moving, until carrots starts to soften slightly - note it should still be mostly crisp!

5. Now add your (not entirely soft) noodles to the wok, along with the remainder of the oil, stir briefly to coat with oil, then add sauce and stir, cooking for a few minutes until the noodles are cooked. This shouldn't take more than 2 - 3 minutes. Add beansprouts as well during this time.

6. Move the noodles up to the sides of the wok and crack an egg into the bottom of the wok. Leave to solidify slightly for approx 30 seconds, then stir the egg so that it scrambles and cooks through. This will take another 1 - 2 minutes. The egg should still be slightly soft and not cooked dry.

7. Stir again to mix the egg into the noodles, then add peanuts, chives and coriander. Stir everything one last time to combine, then serve at once, accompanied by lemon wedges and little bowls of soy sauce, chillies, peanuts and coriander.

*You can make your own Pad Thai sauce using a combination of fish sauce, palm sugar, tamarind pulp and chillies or cheat and use store bought.

PS: Do check out Chez Pim's post on Pad Thai for beginners - she does a great job of explaining the whole process in great detail.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 563.5, Total fat 24.4 g, Saturated fat 3.3 g, Polyunsaturated fat 11.1 g, Monounsaturated fat 6.2 g, Cholesterol 178.8 mg, Sodium 1,029.6 mg, Potassium 540.0 mg, Total carbohydrate 47.1 g, Dietary fiber 2.8 g, Sugars 28.4 g, Protein 35.6 g

Good source of: Vitamin A 196.4 %, Niacin 78.1 %, Selenium 47.5 %, Vitamin B6 41.3 %, Vitamin E 41.2 %, Phosphorus 34.9 %

Stuffed Aubergines on Tomato Sauce Tagliatelle

Say you need to impress the future in-laws with your cooking skills.

"My what?" "I don't have those."

Of course you do. Or at least you can pretend that you do. *Cue sneaky smile.* Trust me on this one, when you place this dish in front of the in-laws they'll think you're the next Nigella. Or Jamie. Or {insert name of your favourite celebrity chef here}. Even though you just mixed a few things together out of some packets and tins. Your secret's safe with me. Leaving you free to go forth and multiply schmooze.  

Oh! And don't forget to buy a bottle of good wine. It tends to smooth over those awkward moments. Another one you can trust me on.

Stuffed Aubergines on Fresh Tomato Tagliatelle

Serves 4

2 medium aubergines

salt & pepper to taste

150g low fat chunky cottage cheese
3 tbsp red pepper chutney

10 almonds, chopped
250g fresh tagliatelle

1/2 cup tinned italian tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp tomato paste

fresh coriander or parsley, chopped (optional)

1. Cut aubergine in half, salt lightly and steam in a bamboo or conventional steamer until soft. Scoop the inner flesh out, leaving a rim around the edges in tact. 

2. Mix the scooped out aubergine flesh with cottage cheese and chutney, season to taste and scoop back into the aubergine shells. 

3. Place aubergine halves on a baking tray and grill in the oven for 5 - 10 minutes or until golden brown. 

4. Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle until al dente (5 - 7 minutes). Warm tinned tomatoes in a small pan and mix with tomato paste. Drain the pasta, then toss with the tomato sauce.

5. Divide the pasta between two serving plates, place half an aubergine on top of each serving of pasta and scatter with herbs.

Serve immediately.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 376.9 , Total fat 5.1 g, Saturated fat 1.4 g, Polyunsaturated fat 1.1 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.8 g, Cholesterol 3.0 mg, Sodium 261.0 mg, Potassium 788.5 mg, Total carbohydrate 66.2 g, Dietary fiber 9.5 g, Sugars 6.4 g, Protein 17.9 g

Good source of: Manganese 24.0 %, Folate 15.3 % Vitamin B6 15.3 %

Fresh Coriander Pasta Ribbons with Spicy Peanut Sauce

So what do you do with fresh pasta once you've made it and congratulated yourself over and over that you did? This is what I did with mine:**

Fresh Coriander Pasta Ribbons with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Serves 3

1 tsp oil

250g firm tofu, cut into bite-size blocks

1/2 red bellpepper, cut into strips

1/2 green bellpepper, cut into strips

handful of beansprouts

1/2 satay sauce recipe

1/2 - 1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp soy sauce

fresh pasta ribbons (make half of recipe and use vietnamese coriander in the dough)

2 or 3 kaffir lime leaves

vietnamese coriander, to garnish

1. Fry tofu in oil over medium to high heat until lightly browned on all sides. Add bellpeppers, beansprouts and garlic, fry briefly.

2. Add chilli powder and soy sauce to the satay sauce, then add to the vegetables. Cook for a few minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Veggies should still be crisp.

3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a big pot of boiling water with kaffir lime leaves added to the pot. It should take about 6 minutes for the pasta to reach al dente stage.

4. Drain pasta, then toss immediately with the tofu and vegetable mix. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 533.3, Total fat 29.8 g, Saturated fat 13.3 g, Polyunsaturated fat 5.9 g, Monounsaturated fat 8.0 g, Cholesterol 163.7 mg, Sodium 227.8 mg, Potassium 469.5 mg, Total carbohydrate 57.4 g, Dietary fiber 5.1 g, Sugars 1.7 g, Protein 26.1 g

Good source of: Vitamin C 87.6 %, Selenium 66.0 %, Manganese 64.6 %, Calcium 59.0 %, Thiamin 45.4 %, Folate 41.8 %, Iron 40.6 %,  Vitamin A 36.3 %, Riboflavin 34.7 %,

*Easily adapted for vegans by using egg-free pasta.

** I probably don't even need to tell you how yummy it was, right?