Helen’s Berlin Pad Thai

Thanks to Sophia Tabatadze for the photos and the company

This pad thai is missing cilantro and bean sprouts because I can’t find them within spitting distance of my apartment. However, if you have them close at hand, a bunch of cilantro and a ¼ lb/100 grams of bean sprouts are a good addition.

Ingredients:

Peanuts, enough to make at least ½ cup when shelled and coarsely chopped

400 g/14 oz. of banh pho rice noodles (¼-inch width is best)

1 liter/4 cups boiling water, plus 1 cup

50 g/2 oz./3 tablespoons tamarind (from a pliable block)

600 g/1.25 lbs. chicken breast

3 tablespoons soy sauce, plus 1 teaspoon

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice (the juice of two squeezed limes)

2 tablespoons fish sauce

¼ cup brown sugar

6 eggs

4 large shallots

monotonous brown in color, delightfully tasty on the tongue

6 green onions

4 cloves garlic

1 ½ cups peanut oil

1-2 limes

Equipment:

Wok

4 large bowls

1 small bowl

1 sieve

Directions:

Find a willing child and ask her to shell the peanuts. Later, you can guilt trip your guest(s) into coarsely chopping the peanuts. Place the noodles in your wok and boil water. Pour four cups boiling water into the wok and finishing covering the noodles with room-temperature water. Noodles should soak 25-30 minutes. Break off a chunk of tamarind and place in small bowl. Pour the rest of the boiling water over it. Stir. Dice the chicken into small bite-sized pieces and dump in a bowl. Drown in soy sauce and let marinate. Resume making the pad thai sauce. Run the tamarind through a sieve, making sure to remove all the seeds. Add the lime juice, the fish sauce, the rest of the soy sauce and the brown sugar. Don’t worry if you pour in too much brown sugar. No one will complain. Stir and set aside.

Put noodles somewhere else. Just make sure they don’t slither onto the floor. Crack all six eggs and whisk. Liberally cover the bottom of the wok with peanut oil and scramble the eggs on medium heat. Remove from wok while they are still moist. Slice shallots finely and chop scallions haphazardly. Douse the wok in peanut oil again. Toss in the shallots and scallions and cook on medium-high heat. Add the chicken. Crush the garlic cloves and chop fine. Throw into the wok. Throw the egg clump into the wok and break apart with spatula as you stir them in. Pick the noodles off the floor. Rinse and dump into the wok. Add the bean sprouts, if you have them. Pour the pad thai sauce over everything and cook on medium heat, stirring with the spatula for about 3 minutes, or until everything is the same shade of monotonous brown. Garnish with chopped peanuts, lime wedges, cilantro (if you have it), and Srihacha if you like it hot. I like it hot.

Pairs nicely with Chianti.