Pad Thai with Squid 'Noodles' - By Ian Thorpe

Ingredients

"Pad Thai is normally made with flat rice noodles, but I like to cut my own ‘noodles' from the squid. This brings down the carbohydrate content of the dish and adds the extra nutrition of seafood. Krachai, also known as lesser ginger, is a long, thin, finger-shaped rhizome that adds an earthy, authentic flavour to Thai dishes like this one. Look for it at Asian grocers – but if you can't find it, it can be omitted. Don't let the long ingredients list intimidate you. The dish isn't hard to make – there's just a bit of chopping to get through, but then the cooking is quick. I like to make Pad Thai when I have friends over and I can delegate some of the chopping to them!" - Ian Thorpe.

120mL vegetable oil
700 g squid tubes, opened out flat and finely sliced into ‘noodles'
2 eggs
5 spring onions, finely sliced
2 Tbs finely chopped garlic chives
2 Tbs finely chopped coriander, plus extra leaves to serve
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
200 g pork fillet, finely sliced
300 g raw prawns, shelled and de-veined
6 small krachai (lesser ginger) fingers, peeled and sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
180 g (2 cups) bean sprouts, trimmed
3 Tbs peanuts, roasted and chopped
Sliced red chilli to serve
Lime wedges to serve

Sauce:

3 Tbs tamarind puree
3 Tbs fish sauce
3 Tbs lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbs grated palm sugar
1 tsp Thai shrimp paste

Method

Sauce:

Mash the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Pad Thai:

Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a wok over high heat. Add a third of the squid and fry for 2–3 minutes, until milky white. Transfer to paper towel to drain and continue cooking the remaining squid in two more batches, using a tablespoon of oil each time.

Lightly beat the eggs, spring onion, garlic chives, coriander and chilli flakes in a bowl and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the wok over medium heat and stir-fry the pork for 2–4 minutes, until browned all over. Add the prawns, krachai and garlic and stir-fry for another 2 minutes, then add the sauce and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Push all the ingredients to one side of the wok and pour in the egg mixture. Lightly scramble the egg as it begins to set, creating bite-sized pieces, then add the squid noodles, bean sprouts and peanuts and toss until well combined and heated through.

Serve with coriander leaves, sliced chilli and lime wedges.

Credits: This is an edited extract from Eat Well Now by Ian Thorpe published by Hardie Grant $29.99 available in stores nationally.

Photo Credits: This is an edited extract from Eat Well Now by Ian Thorpe published by Hardie Grant $29.99 available in stores nationally.