penne a la Maggie: what's for dinner tonight: pad-tunia (veggie pad thai with rice noodles)

Here's a yummy recipe with all fresh ingredients. Thanks to Andy, my BSW co-intern at Practicum for the wonderful play on words for this recipe. I have a kitty named Petunia; I'm obsessed with her and cats in general. It's a cross between pad Thai and Petunia!

I dug up the wok my Grams gave me from a few months back. You can cook this either in a skillet or a wok. I had never used my electric wok prior to this, but it all worked out wonderfully.

And another night of yummy cooking begins! The list is a bit long, but you can substitute the veggies I used with any veggies in your fridge. This is a medium-hot dish. Do not add the chili powder or chili flakes if you are a mild-heat, food eater.

Ingredients:

8 oz. of pad Thai noodles, or in my case, rice noodles

2 tbsp. fish sauce (this can be purchased at any Asian market. I bought mine from the Asian section of Dillions).

2 tbsp. of soy sauce

2 tbsp. of brown sugar

1 tbsp. of Sriracha chili sauce

2 tbsp. of ketchup (my secret ingredient)

1/4 tbsp. of chili powder

1/4 tbsp. of chili flakes

1/2 a lime

1/4 cup of green onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 an onion, chopped

1 cup of brocoli

1 cup of baby carrots, chopped

2 cups of bean sprouts

1/4 cup of olive oil

Chopped walnuts and cilantro to garnish

Take your rice noodles (or pad Thai noodles) and soak in a bowl of hot water for 10-15 minutes.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar, chili powder, chili flakes, Sriracha, ketchup and lime juice. Set aside.

In your wok (or deep skillet!) heat to medium-high and add the oil. Once the oil simmers, stir fry the green onion, onion, and garlic until they start to soften (about 2 minutes).

Add your vegetables to the wok and stir fry for 3 minutes, until they start to soften.

Mix the sauce into the vegetables, stir fry and set the lid on the wok for 5 minutes, to fully cook the veggies.

This next step may involve tongs. Add the noodles into the wok and toss it into the veggies. Apply the lid to let the noodles absorb the liquid for 3 minutes.