Chicken Pad Thai

By

Our version of pad thai, the satisfying rice-noodle dish from Thailand, is
made with chicken, tofu, bean sprouts, and, in place of hard-to-find rice
noodles, linguine. The fish sauce is available at Asian markets and keeps
forever. If you like, you can use a mixture of soy sauce and oyster sauce
instead. Lime wedges make a nice final touch.

Wine:Anything more than a straightforward white with some residual
sugar would be pointless with the forceful flavors of the pad thai.
A Riesling from California or Australia will be fine.

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  • 4

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • (about 3), cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce
  • 1/2 pound firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons rice-wine vinegar
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3/4 pound linguine
  • 3 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2/3 cup salted peanuts, chopped fine
  • 2 cups bean sprouts
  • 1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves

Preparation

Step 1

1. In a small bowl, combine the chicken and 1/2 teaspoon of the fish
sauce. In another bowl, combine the tofu with another 1/2 teaspoon
of the fish sauce. In a medium glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine
the remaining 5 tablespoons fish sauce with the water, 1 1/2 table-
spoons of the lime juice, the vinegar, sugar, salt, and cayenne.
2. In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the linguine until done, about
12 minutes. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, in a wok or large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the
oil over moderately high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring,
until just done, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove. Put another tablespoon
of oil in the pan. Add the tofu and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Remove. Put the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the pan, add the
garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
4. Add the pasta and the fish-sauce mixture. Cook, stirring, until nearly
all the liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes. Stir in the chicken, tofu,
and 1/3 cup peanuts. Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining
1/2 tablespoon lime juice, the bean sprouts, and half the cilantro.
Top with the remaining peanuts and cilantro.

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