Chicken and Shrimp Pad Thai

A couple years ago, my husband insisted I should try Pad Thai.

I was more willing at this point to try new foods, so I did.

And I loved it.

Unfortunately, that same man who invited me to try it found out that he and Pad Thai did not agree with one another...namely the spices involved.

So that was basically the end of my pad thai days.

I have been craving it for some time now.

Not long ago I found a recipe on Pinterest (of course) for "pad thai". 

I perused the recipe and saw that it was simple and fairly easy to make.  And best of all, no wild spices.

Let me preface the recipe by saying that I know this is not true Pad Thai.

No fish sauce.  No tamarind.  Not even bean sprouts.

Just standard ingredients in my house.

Which I was fine with.

I will admit, my family all looked nervous as I threw it together.

Then we tasted it.

Oh yum.

It was delicious.

A definite "pad thai" taste but all with basic ingredients we could all eat.

And eat we did.

This will DEFINITELY be going into my cycle of recipes.

And next time I am craving pad thai, I will not have to be sad that we aren't having a thai date.

I will just hop into the kitchen and throw it together.

Yum.

Ingredients:
1 box rice noodles (I used brown rice noodles, Annie Chun's pad thai)

Shrimp and chicken, thawed and cleaned (I cut chicken tenderloins into little chunks) and sprinkled with soy sauce

2 Tbsp brown sugar (I actually doubled this)

2 Tbsp lime juice (I just used the juice from a medium lime), lime slices for garnishing

3-4 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I actually used toasted sesame oil...LOVE that stuff)

Onions (The original recipe called for scallions separated by white and green parts...I forgot to get some at the store so I just used some regular chopped onion)

1 garlic clove minced (I used two; I LOVE garlic)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

Directions:

The original recipe called for soaking the noodles in hot water. After reading some comments, I felt like boiling was a better way to go.  So I boiled them according to directions. They don't take long to boil at all.  Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile in a bowl, mix the brown sugar, lime juice, and soy sauce.  You can also add a squirt of Sriracha.  I chose not to.  Set aside.

In a large skilled, heat the oil and add the garlic/white onion.  Cook over medium heat.

Once tender, pour the beaten eggs into the skillet, stirring often until the eggs are cooked.  Remove the eggs.  I just kept the garlic/white onion separate in the skillet.

Add a little more sesame oil if needed.  Cook chicken and shrimp (these are both optional...the original recipe doesn't use either of these) until they are cooked through.

Add the noodles, the sauce, and the green parts of the onions (if you remember to get them :) to the skillet.  Stir together with the chicken, shrimp, and the onions/garlic.  Add the eggs back in.  Stir thoroughly. 

Sprinkle the cilantro and peanuts over the top.

Garnish with lime slices if you prefer.  (We didn't eat them but they added a nice touch and that little bit of extra lime flavor)

Enjoy!

We just ate ours with a side salad.  It was a complete meal (other than the salad) in one skillet.

Like I said, we all enjoyed it.  Those who didn't care for shrimp just picked those out.  There were others of us more than willing to eat the extras. :)

Happy cooking!

Reba

PS My husband said this would be a good "beach" meal.  The limes gave it that "beachy" flavor. :)