First Attempt Making Pad Thai

Chicken Pad Thai

I love cooking, but sometimes it is simplier and more pragmatic to just go and buy the entree you want from your favorite restaurant, especially if you live by yourself because you will be eating that dish for many days as leftovers. I have about 10 Thai restaurants within a 5 minute walk around my Seattle apartment, but I thought I would give preparing Chicken Pad Thai a whirl. There are so many recipes out there, but I chose to go with the "Shrimp Pad Thai" recipe from the cookbook What to Cook & How to Cook It. Of course I made some substitutions/adaptations for my preference. Below is the original recipe and in red are how I tweaked the recipe. The recipe was really good but it just felt like a lot of work and preparation and there were plenty of leftovers (and the leftovers were even better than when I ate it fresh).

Ingredients:
14 oz wide rice noodles
12 oz firm, tofu, drained (did not put in)
3 fat cloves of garlic (I put 5, major fan of garlic not so much for the heartburn though)
1 bunch of scallions
1 small bunch fresh cilantro
1 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil (I used vegetable)
3 tbsp tamarind paste (optional) (I could not find this at my local QFC)
3 tbsp sweet chili sauce (I used 9 tbsp because when I used 3 it did not seem to have enough sauce)
3 tbsp nam pla (Thai fish sauce) (I used 9 tbsp because when I used 3 it did not seem to be enough)
1.5 tbsp sugar (I used 3 tbsp since I tripled the other liquids for the sauce, and no I did not mess up the math I just wanted it to be too sweet so I only doubled the sugar)
1 handful roasted peanuts (optional) (did not put in)
4 large eggs
7 oz uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined (I substituted with 2 boneless chicken breasts)
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes (or more if you like) (I used 1 tbsp)
2 limes
3.5 oz bean sprouts (did not put in)

Directions:
- Put the noodles in a large bowl, then pour enough boiling water over them to cover. Stir gently and let soak until you get to step 8.
-Crush the garlic, and thinly slice the scallions. Pick the leaves from the cilantro.
-Put a wok over medium-high heat and cook chicken breasts.
-Meanwhile, put the tamarind paste (if using), chili sauce, fish sauce, and sugar into a small measuring cup and stir together. Roughly chop the peanuts (if using). Crack the eggs into a bowl and loosely beat them with a fork.
-Put cook chicken back in pan, add oil, chili flakes, and half of the scallions. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, until the garlic and scallions smell fragnant.
-Transfer the chicken to a plate, then add the beaten eggs to the pan. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, moving the eggs around the pan a little with a wooden spoon until just set, like an omelet.
-Lift the omelet out of the pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Roll it up like a pancake, then cut across the roll to make long thin strips.
-Return the pan to the heat, drain the noodles and add them to the pan. Add the sauce, most of the cilantro leaves, the shredded egg, chicken, the remaining scallions, and a squeeze of lime juice, and toss well.
-Add peanutes and beansprouts at the end on the plate before serving.