Perfect Chicken Pad Thai

What is Pad Thai?  Pad Thai is a stir fried rice noodle dish commonly served as a street food and at casual local eateries in Thailand.  A dish of stir-fried rice noodles is thought to have been introduced to the ancient Thai capital city of Ayuthaya by Viet traders, and was subsequently altered to reflect the Thai flavor profile. Pad Thai is listed at number 5 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.

The Chicken Pad Thai recipe I'm sharing today is a simple, faster and easier version with the same great taste that will leave you craving for more!

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. Thai rice noodles
• 3 cups cups chicken breast, cubed
• Marinade for Chicken: 2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 fresh red chilies, minced
• 5 cups fresh bean sprouts
• 5 green onions, sliced
• 1 cup fresh coriander
• 2/3 cup peanuts, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• vegetable oil for stir-frying, and wedges of lime
• PAD THAI SAUCE:
• 3 Tablespoons tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (look for tamarind at Asian/Chinese or Indian food stores)
• 1/2 cup fish sauce + more to taste
• 2 Tablespoons chili sauce, or more to taste
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop in your rice noodles. Turn heat to low and keep an eye on them: you will be frying the noodles later, so you don't want to over-soften them now. Noodles are ready to be drained when they are soft enough to be eaten, but still firm and a little "crunchy". Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent sticking. Set aside.
2. Pad Thai Sauce: Combine the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Stir well to dissolve tamarind and brown sugar, and set aside.  
3. Place chicken cubes in a small bowl. Stir together the marinade and pour over chicken. Stir well and set aside.
4. Warm up a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. oil plus garlic and minced chili.  Stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds). Add marinated chicken. When wok/pan becomes dry, add a little chicken stock, 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, to keep the chicken frying nicely (5-7 minutes, until cooked is cooked).
5. Add the noodles, and pour the Pad Thai sauce over in them. Using two utensils, use a gentle "lift and turn" method to fry noodles (like tossing a salad). Stir-fry in this way 1-2 minutes. If you find your wok/frying pan too dry, push noodles aside and add a little more oil to the bottom of the pan.
6. Add the bean sprouts and and continue frying 1 more minute, or until noodles are cooked.  Taste-test for seasoning, adding more fish sauce until desired flavor is reached (I usually add 1 more Tbsp. fish sauce). Toss well to incorporate.
7. Lift noodles onto a serving plate. Top with generous amounts of fresh coriander, spring onion, and chopped nuts. Add fresh lime wedges to squeeze over each portion.
8. Enjoy!