Prawn pad Thai

This is the blueprint recipe for a tasty prawn pad Thai, but other great additions are tofu, Chinese chives, pickled mooli or turnip, coriander and bird’s-eye chillies. If you swap the prawns for sliced oyster mushrooms and the fish sauce for soy sauce, it’s vegetarian.

QServes 2

150g dried flat rice noodles

4 long red chillies

100g palm sugar

100g tamarind paste

50ml vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

6 raw prawns, peeled and deveined

2 tbsp fish or soy sauce

1 tsp chilli powder, plus extra for serving 10 peanuts, toasted and slightly crushed 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

1 Soak the noodles following pack instructions, then drain.

2 Cook the chillies in a dry non-stick wok over a medium heat for 3 mins, stirring constantly, until they darken and smoke a little. Pound to a powder using a pestle and mortar or food processor. Set aside.

3 Melt the sugar and tamarind paste together in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.

4 Heat some oil in a large non-stick wok over a high heat and cook the eggs for 10 seconds or so. Scrape the pan to form chunks of omelette. Add the noodles, stirring, then spread them across the surface of the wok and cook until they turn translucent. Move the noodles to one side, add a little more oil to the centre, then add the prawns and stir-fry for 1-2 mins until they’re pink. Toss the ingredients back together.

5 Pour the tamarind sugar around the sides of the wok, ensuring it comes into direct contact with the heat so it caramelises as it trickles into the noodles, then toss the noodles with the sauce. Reduce the heat and add the fish sauce, chilli powder and half the peanuts and toss together.

6 Check the seasoning and adjust as needed – it should be sweet, fishy and savoury with a smoky chilli kick; if it’s too sweet, add

1 tbsp fish or soy sauce. Scatter with the remaining peanuts and a little chilli powder, and serve immediately with the lime wedges on the side.