Pad Thai

• 1/2 cup palm sugar
  1/3 cup fish sauce
  1/2 cup tamarind juice concentrate
  1 T. lime juice
  4 cloves garlic, minced
  1 T. Siracha sauce (or a little of whatever chili paste/sauce you have, even just some red pepper flakes to spice it up)
• 1/2 package rice noodles
• Olive Oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
  2 Shallots, thinly sliced
  1 cup carrots, match sticks or shredded
  cup green onion cut diagonal in 1 inch segments
  1 cup mung bean sprouts
  2 eggs
• 1 cup cilantro, or more if desired – chopped
  1 cup toasted peanuts chopped
  Lime wedge

Soak rice noodles in water for about 30 minutes. Drain.

Combine first six ingredients in a saucepan and heat to a simmer to dissolve sugar. Taste the sauce and decide if it is sweet or spicy enough for you and add a little more sugar or chili sauce if desired.

Heat a few Tbls oil in wok or large pan and add meat, seasoned with a little salt, pepper, onion powder or whatever you like and sauté until completely cooked. Set aside.

Add a few more Tbls oil to wok and sauté the garlic and shallots for a minute or two. Add carrots, green onions and bean sprouts and sauté about 2 minutes until softened just slightly (they will continue cooking while you finish the rest of the recipe). Add several tbls sauce and drained rice noodles, sauté for another few minutes until noodles are softened, then push over to the side of the pan. You can add a little water to help steam the noodles if you need. Put a dab more oil in pan and scramble the eggs. Once eggs are cooked, stir them into the noodles and veggie mixture, add chicken and rest of sauce and heat through. Toss in cilantro, squeeze lime juice over the pad thai and serve. Garnish with chopped peanuts and a little fresh cilantro. Serves 6