Easy Homemade Chicken Pad Thai

If you're one of the many people who has trouble finding special Asian ingredients like tamarind paste, not to worry - you can still create delicious pad Thai without it. In fact, the original pad Thai didn't contain tamarind at all (the makings of pad Thai being brought to Thailand via the Chinese), and the following recipe is based on this earlier version of the dish. When I was last in Thailand, I went back to the same pad Thai street seller every day because of her amazing pad Thai, and it wasn't until just before I left that she told me how she makes it (without tamarind). If you're living in a place where Asian ingredients are difficult to find, then this [tamarind-free] recipe might just make your day. Enjoy!

What You'll Need
9 oz./250 g. pad Thai rice noodles (click on the link to see what these look like)
3/4 lbs./.34 kg. boneless chicken thigh or breast, cut into small pieces or strips
1.5 tablespoons soy sauce*
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh red or green chili, sliced
1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, grated
4 green onions, sliced
1 egg
2-3 cups bean sprouts
1/3 cup dry-roasted unsalted peanuts or cashews, ground or roughly chopped with a knife
1 fresh lime, sliced into wedges
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Pad Thai Sauce (without tamarind*)
1/3 cup good-tasting chicken stock
3 tablespoons rice vinegar (or substitute white vinegar)
1 tablespoon lime juice
3-4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoons soy sauce*
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

How to Make It
Place prepared chicken in a bowl and toss with 1.5 Tbsp. soy sauce. Set aside.
Combine 'pad Thai sauce' ingredients together in a cup, stirring well to dissolve sugar. Note that this sauce needs to taste sweet first, followed by sour and then salty to create good pad Thai. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Dunk in rice noodles and switch off heat. Allow noodles to soak approximately 6 minutes, OR until soft enough to bend easily, but still firm and 'undercooked' by regular standards (this is the key to good pad Thai, so be sure not to over-soak or boil the noodles. They will finish cooking later). Drain and rinse noodles briefly with cold water to keep from sticking. Set aside.
Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in the oil and swirl around, then add the garlic, chili, galangal/ginger, and half of green onion (or just the white parts), reserving remaining for later. Stir-fry 1 minute to release the fragrance.
Add chicken and stir-fry 3-4 minutes, or until cooked. If pan becomes dry, add 1-2 Tbsp. of the pad Thai sauce, just enough to keep ingredients frying nicely.
Push ingredients aside and crack an egg into the center of the pan. Stir quickly to scramble, then combine with other ingredients.
Add prepared noodles plus 3-4 Tbsp. of the pad Thai sauce. Using two utensils, lift and turn noodles to stir-fry and combine with other ingredients. Continue frying in this way, adding more of the sauce every minute or two, until all sauce has been added and the noodles are chewy-delicious and a little bit sticky (8-10 minutes). When sauce has been absorbed and noodles are cooked, fold in the bean sprouts (you want them to stay crispy).
Remove from heat and taste-test, adding more fish sauce until desired taste is achieved (I usually end up adding 1-2 Tbsp. fish sauce, but I like mine on the salty side). Portion out onto individual plates and add a lime wedge on the side. Before eating, top with remaining green onion and squeeze over the lime wedge, then finish with a generous sprinkling of chopped/ground nuts. For those whole like it extra spicy, serve with Thai chili sauce on the side, and ENJOY!

*Note: Although today we associate pad Thai sauce with tamarind, in this authentic southern-Thai recipe, the sourness comes from a combination of rice vinegar and lime juice instead. Traditionally (several hundred years ago), pad Thai was made in just this way - without tamarind - and versions of this original formula can still be found in various regions of Thailand. This particular recipe was taught to me by a local Thai chef in south-western Phuket, Thailand.

Recipe for Mock Mashed Potatoes With Cauliflower

It's hard to find anyone who doesn't adore mashed potatoes -- from toddlers eating their first real food to people on the far side of 80. Great with gravy or drenched in butter, salt, and pepper. Made more interesting with garlic, chives, sour cream and a variety of cheese additions. But ... yeah, this is not what you call health food.

Many adults are watching the carbs in what they eat daily, as well as the calories. Now, potatoes offer up some serious nutrition -- one medium red potato is an excellent source of vitamin C and potassium, along with fiber. But it adds about 165 calories and 37 carbs to your daily count. There's a healthier option, at least in the carbs and calories department.

Your guests will probably never guess that these rich and creamy "mashed potatoes" contain no potatoes. They are made from cauliflower -- great for low-carb diets. These are doubly good if you add bacon bits.

What You'll Need
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets (discard core and large stems)
1 14-ounce can chicken or vegetable broth or about 1 3/4 cups homemade
2 tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sliced green onions, white and green parts
1/2 cup (or more) crisply cooked bacon bits, if desired
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

How to Make It
Place the cauliflower florets in a large saucepan.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer until very tender, about 12 minutes.
Drain thoroughly through a fine sieve and return to the pot over low heat.
Cook about 2 more minutes to dry out excess moisture, stirring constantly. (It's OK if they break apart.)
Pour the cauliflower into a food processor fitted with a metal blade.
Add the butter; cream cheese; sour cream; cheddar cheese; green onions; bacon bits, if desired; and salt and pepper.
Pulse to combine.
Reheat before serving.

Cauliflower Gets Points for Diets
Cauliflower is a wonder food for people who are watching carbohydrates and calories. A cup of boiled cauliflower contains only 27 calories (yes, you read that right) and about 5 carb grams, about 2 of which are fiber. Basically, you can just ignore the carbs. As a bonus, cauliflower is an excellent source of vitamin C, with a cup providing nearly the full daily requirement at 85 percent. 

So even though this mock mashed potatoes recipe does pile on calories via its (delicious) dairy ingredients, it still is extremely low in carbs and high in fiber. And that's a real guilt-reliever.

EU needs a modern food policy

Consumers should be nudged into a more climate-smart and healthy diet (Photo: Alex O'Neal)

Agriculture is back on the European agenda.

Decisions are needed on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which accounts for nearly 40 percent of the EU budget.

Last week agricultural ministers met in France to declare that the CAP should be more ambitious, although Brexit means a big net-contributor will leave. We agree and argue that the CAP should be broadened in scope to encompass the entire food chain.
There is little public support for the current level of subsidies for agriculture which benefit the rich and do not reach marginalised farmers. Agriculture is generally seen as damaging the environment and landscapes, while too little is done to improve animal welfare.

The food system of the future should be able to cope with the grand challenges of our society: global food and nutrition security and safety, climate change in relation to water and energy use, ecological impacts, a healthy diet for a lifelong healthy lifestyle, and inequality in farming and between the city and rural areas.

Diets have to become climate-smart

These challenges cannot only be solved by farmers, who are the weakest link in the food chain. The commitment and behavioural change of all the other players in the food chain is required, including the consumer who should be nudged into a more climate-smart and healthy diet.

Although retailers have become dominant, to the detriment of the input and food industries, we still do not pay the true cost of our food.

We need a public and political debate about the functions of the food chain and the willingness to support a transition towards sustainable modes of production.

Genetics

Solutions come from several major innovation areas, including genetics and digitalisation, that allow smart, energy and resource efficient production.

Agriculture and food chains will change dramatically in the years ahead as nutrition will become more personalized and agriculture more high tech, entering new urban spaces and factories.

At the same time the desire for local, artisanal agriculture grows in the middle classes, and it is yet unclear how this can be accommodated in the high tech food chains.

The debate about the future of the CAP should not be left to the agricultural community but be broadened; environmental and consumer NGOs must be involved on an equal footing with the industry and the farming community.

The new CAFP should govern the resilience of the whole food chain and stimulate the interaction between consumption and production, from farm to fork, from seed to meat, from grass to glass.