Pad Thai Noodle Salad

Ingredients

• 8 ounces rice noodles
• 20 to 25 medium uncooked shrimp (peeled, deveined, tails left on if desired)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal or ginger (minced)
• 1 red bell pepper (sliced thinly)
• 1 rib celery (sliced thinly)
• 3 spring onions (sliced thinly)
• 2 to 3 cups bean sprouts
• 1 cup fresh cilantro (lightly chopped)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil (gently torn)
• 1/3 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts (roughly chopped)
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 3/4 tablespoons tamarind paste
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Thai chili sauce (or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or dried crushed chili)

Instructions

1. Cook the Noodles
2. Gather the ingredients.
3. Lightly boil the rice noodles until cooked to al dente .
4. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Set aside to drain while you prepare the other ingredients.
5. Make the Dressing
6. Pour the boiling water into a cup.
7. Add the tamarind paste, stirring until dissolved.
8. Add the sugar, fish sauce, and chili sauce, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Taste-test—it should first taste sweet, then sour, spicy, and salty. Add more sugar to make it sweeter, or more chili for a spicier salad. (Note that the sugar content must be quite high to balance out the strong sourness of the tamarind.)
9. Prepare the Shrimp
10. Pour 1/4 of the dressing over the shrimp. Stir and set aside to briefly marinate.
11. Place a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in the oil, then add the garlic and ginger.
12. Stir-fry to release the fragrance, 1 to 2 minutes.
13. Add the shrimp together with the marinade. Stir-fry for 3 minutes, or until shrimp have turned pink and plump.
14. Remove from the heat.
15. Assemble the Salad
16. In a large salad bowl, place the red pepper, celery, spring onion, bean sprouts , cilantro, and basil, reserving a little of the coriander and basil for garnishing later.
17. Add the stir-fried shrimp and any liquid from the pan.
18. Add the drained noodles.
19. Pour over the remaining dressing.
20. Toss everything well together. (At first, you’ll have dressing left in the bottom of the bowl, but gradually the noodles will absorb it.)
21. Do a final taste-test, adding a little more fish sauce if more flavor is desired, or more chili sauce if it isn’t spicy enough.
22. Portion out into bowls or plates, adding a final topping of coriander and basil, plus the chopped peanuts. More chili sauce can also be served on the side.