Pad Thai at Home

Ingredients

• 6 oz flat rice noodles, soaked in warm water 30 minutes (soaked, never boiled — flabby noodles sink pad thai)
• ¾ lb Shrimp
• 2 eggs
• Sauce: 2 tbsp tamarind paste + 2 tbsp fish sauce + 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic + 2 shallots
• 1 cup bean sprouts + 3 scallions in lengths
• ¼ cup crushed peanuts + lime wedges
• 3 tbsp oil

Method

1. Stir the sauce until the sugar dissolves — taste it: sour, salty, sweet in a three-way tie. This balance IS pad thai; everything else is logistics.
2. Sear the Shrimp in a hot wok, push aside; scramble the eggs hard in the corner.
3. Add the garlic, shallots, and drained noodles with the sauce; toss-fry 2–3 minutes until the noodles absorb it and turn glossy-chewy.
4. Fold in the sprouts and scallions for 30 seconds — they ride, they don't cook.
5. Plate with peanuts and lime, extra fish sauce and chili flakes on the side, Thai-table style. Street carts do it in 90 seconds; you're allowed four minutes and full credit.