Pad Thai to the Rescue!
There’s one in every family. There’s one kid that just won’t eat anything. You could put a five star kid meal in front of that kid and they’ll turn their nose up at it. We’ve seen them at restaurants. You know, the kid who wants pasta, butter, and maybe some parmesan cheese. Well, we have one in our household. Our middle child just doesn’t like most foods. He won’t eat anything with tomatoes (except ketchup or pizza) onions, potatoes (except fries), garlic, cucumbers, salad dressing (he likes his salad with just lettuce), peppers, or sauce. Any sauce. No really, any semi liquid flavor enhancer. Well, any sauce except for ketchup or mayo. So finding new things he will eat is a challenge. Well, we found one. I was very surprised to find he likes Pad Thai. At least the way we cook it at home. So, here goes.
3 Chicken Breasts, diced
2 tbsp of Crushed red pepper or more to taste
1 onion, cut
4 garlic cloves, chopped
7 tbsp fish sauce
7 tbsp table sugar
2 tbsp honey
6 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar
4 Green Onion, chopped
3 Limes, wedged
3 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp limes juice
1 package Rice Noodles
3 tbsp canola oil
2 cups peanuts, chopped
Soak rice noodles in cool water for 30 minutes or until soft. Wisk together the sugar, fish sauce, vinegar. Cook the crushed red pepper, onion and garlic 3 minutes in the canola oil over medium to med-high heat. You can use a wok or a skillet if you don’t have one. Add Chicken Breasts, cook until browned. Add egg and cook until solidified. After the egg is cooked, add the 3 tbs of lime juice. Add rice noodles, sauce and honey. Cook until noodles are soft. Place in bowl, garnish with peanuts and green onion. I like to squeeze three lime wedges over mine.
I love the sweetness with the sour in this meal. The tastes cover the entire palate, but the sweet/sour of the honey and fresh lime make this such a treat. I would add more (much more) red pepper flakes, but my family can’t handle the heat like I can. Enjoy with a good quality beer. I would suggest a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale or Founder’s Dirty Bastard. If you like a little more affordable brew (those can be pretty expensive), Bass Ale, Sam Adams, or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale would fit the bill very well.
Food Good 