WIAW & Veggielicious Pad Thai

 Horray! Half way through the week! This week has been flying by, ( which I am totally ok with.) I wanted to do a WIAW recap on some things I ate this weekend. My friends came down from Baltimore and Long Island so we had a big reunion of eating drinking and over all bad habits. I love weekends like this. It makes me happy about all the good eating I do during the week!

Breakfast: Home made breakfast burrito with bacon, egg whites and jalapenos

Lunch: Individual portion of nachos, which at this restaurant was a huge plate of nachos for 8+

Dinner: Shared a double cheeseburger with blue cheese yum!

Snack?: Landshark! The only thing I want when the weather turns warm!




On to the Veggielicious Pad Thai!

Pad Thai is by far one of my favorite foods in the world( besides fish tacos.) It has such a complex flavor that gets me every time! I love the texture of the rice noodles and the tartness the squeeze of lime gives it. I usually get shrimp or chicken Pad Thai, but since this was a veggie themed WIAW I wanted to go a veggie dish. For some reason I had far too many rice noodles for the recipe. The box said it had four servings, but it was more like 12+. Eye ball it before you mix. That way you have enough sauce to cover the entire dish. Also remember, there should be enough sauce to coat the noodles, but it should not be swimming in sauce.Pad Thai recipes usually have a ton of ingredients, but I really like the recipe I used from Mark Bittman.

Note to self, next time use wider noodles. I got excited because I found brown rice noodles so I bought them. When I got home I looked at them and I really wanted a wider noodles. Oh well, next time. Also feel free to add whatever you want to this. Some other add ins are tofu, other veggies and other meats.

Ingredients

• 4 ounces wide rice stick noodles
• 4 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
• 4 teaspoons tamarind paste
• 1/4 cup fish sauce 
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 eggs
• 1 small head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts
• 1/2 pound peeled shrimp
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 limes, quartered

Directions

1. In a large bowl, add the rice stick noodles and cover with boiling water. Set aside for five minutes until tender but not too soft. Drain in a colander, and then rinse with cold water. Toss with a tablespoon of the oil to keep the noodles from sticking together.

2.In a medium saucepan, combine the tamarind paste, fish sauce, honey, and rice vinegar. Turn heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add the red pepper flakes and turn off the heat. Set aside.

3. In a large wok or skillet, pour in the remaining three tablespoons of oil and turn the heat to medium-high. When oil starts to shimmer, add the scallions and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about one minute. Crack the eggs in, and let them cook for a few seconds until they start to set. Then scramble them with a wooden spoon. When the eggs are almost cooked, add the cabbage and bean sprouts. Stir well and cook until the cabbage starts to wilt, two to three minutes. Add the shrimp, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they turn pink.

I just added this picture because I liked it :)

4. Add the cooked noodles and the sauce to the pan. Stir until everything is combined. Cook until the noodles are once again warm. Turn off the heat.

5. Divide the Pad Thai mixture between four plates. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro. Serve with the lime wedges.