Shrimp Pad Thai

Shrimp Pad Thai
A Classic Dish Of Thailand!
Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients
8 oz. Thai rice noodles or enough for 2 people
12-15 small to medium raw shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 tbsp. soy sauce
4 green onions, sliced (keep white separate from green)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. grated ginger
1-2 fresh red or green chilies finely sliced
1 egg
2-3 cups bean sprouts
handful fresh coriander/cilantro leaves
1/3 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil for stir-frying (e.g. coconut, peanut, corn, sunflower, etc...)
lime wedges

 Pad Thai Sauce
Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp. tamarind paste (available at Asian/Indian food stores)
1/4 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp. fish sauce 
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. chili sauce, or 1/3 tsp. cayenne pepper, to taste
1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
3-4 Tbsp. palm sugar or brown sugar

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to boil, then switch off heat. Dunk in noodles and soak 5-6 minutes, or until noodles are limp but still firm. Tip: The noodles must remain slightly undercooked at this stage, as they will be fried later.  Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Set aside.
In a small bowl or cup, combine all Pad Thai Sauce ingredients (note that if your tamarind paste is very thick, only add 1 Tbsp). Taste-test the sauce, looking for a very strong-tasting flavor that tastes sour-sweet first, followed by salty and spicy. Set aside.
Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbsp. oil and swirl around, then add the white parts of the onion (reserve green parts for serving), plus garlic, ginger, and chili. Stir-fry 1 minute.
Add shrimp and continue stir-frying 2-3 more minutes, or until shrimp are pink.
Push ingredients aside, making room in the center of your wok/pan and crack in the egg. Stir-fry quickly to scramble.
Add the noodles and drizzle over 1/3 of the Pad Thai sauce. Using 2 utensils and gently toss, stir-fry everything together. Keep heat between medium and high, you want it hot enough to cook the noodles, do not burn the noodles. Add more sauce every 30 seconds as the pan/wok dries out. Continue stir-frying until sauce is gone and noodles begin to get sticky and glossy and taste chewy, approx. 8-10 minutes.
Turn off heat. Fold in bean sprouts and taste-test. Adjust seasoning to suit your taste. Sprinkle over the green onion, nuts, and coriander/cilantro, and garnish with lime wedges .  Squeeze lime wedge over noodles before serving.
Serves 4