ASIA AND I... PAD THAI NOODLES

Growing up, apart from the fast food treats and my mums home cooking my parents favorite cuisine seemed to be Asian. Almost all of their anniversaries were spent with the entire family at a Chinese restaurant somewhere, it was good food and food we didn't have often (as my mother insisted on making everything) so we looked forward March 26th  and maybe a Christmas day when my mum would not be in the mood to cook (that only happened once).

My love for Asian food never waned and why should it? The meals are easy to cook, do not have a lot of ingredients and taste awesome!

Last night i made a stir fry using Pad Thai Noodles and it took all of 20 minutes (preparation time included). Now i must warn that this is no hard set recipe and please for the love of God, do taste as you go along cos i measure by sight and feel so my quantities may be a bit iffy and i do like my food spicy. Anyways here goes...

I soaked about 100grms (a quarter of the pack) in a bowl of lukewarm water for 10 minutes.

Chopped 4 cloves of garlic

Chopped half a medium sized onion

Chopped spring onions

Chopped parsley

Grated a little fresh ginger (about the size of my little finger)

Shelled a few fresh shrimps

Chopped a handful of mushrooms and about 50grms of pork 

Got 1 fresh egg, curry, oriental 5 spice, salt, pepper and light soy sauce on the ready.

My preferred oil of choice is either sunflower oil or olive oil because i already eat too many unhealthy things so i might as well use 0 cholesterol oil. Lol.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan/wok and when its hot (not burning or smoking) add your garlic, ginger and onions and stir until the onions soften.

Throw in your pork, shrimps and mushrooms and let it cook for about 2 minutes.

Crack in your egg and stir vigorously until its all broken up in the pan and turn down the heat on your pan.

Spice it all up with some salt, pepper , half a teaspoon of curry and half a teaspoon of Oriental 5 Spice.

Stir and add about 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce.

Let it simmer for a minute and add your drained noodles. Try to time your cooking properly so you don't drain your noodles and let it stand and begin to dry out.

If you have a pair of tongs, use it to mix it all up properly, if not you can use 2 wooden spoons or 2 forks. Please do not stir like gbegiri or you'll break up the starch in the noodles and if you still have some liquid in the pan, you might end up with a soup.

Cover your pan (this is the only time i covered my pan) for a minute, add your chopped spring onions, mix, plate and garnish with chopped parsley.

I love parsley, its my favorite herb, it can bring almost any meal to life with its unique vibrant taste. It is high in vitamins and folic acid, it neutralizes carcinogens AND freshens your breath!

Fin!

P.S. Thank you Remi for the food photography tips, my food looks more delicious for it! Muah.