Chicken Pad Thai

This dish is AMAZING!! It is so fresh and light and delicious but filling. It is a perfect summer meal. I could literally make it and eat it everyday for lunch!! Making this dish is the first time I have used tamarind paste and who knew that stuff was sooo tasty??

It's interesting that tamarind is used in Hispanic and Asian cooking. My hubby grew up in El Salvador and he remembers his grandma making juice out of the tamarind and also just eating it raw. So on our hunt for tamarind paste (which we found at our local Asian market) we also visited one of our local Hispanic markets and bought some whole tamarind pieces so we could taste that too. Not gonna lie....it was pretty yummy!!

approx. 8 oz  rice noodles

 4 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked

1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly

1 stalk 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, lightly chopped

1/3 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts, lightly chopped

DRESSING:

1/2 cup hot water

1 +3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste

1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar

1/4 cup fish sauce

1-2 Tbsp. chili sauce

 4 cloves garlic, minced

1 thumb-size piece ginger, minced

Cook noodles according to package direction. Drain and cool. In a large bowl place all ingredients.  Make dressing and pour over your noodle mixture. Toss until everything is coated in dressing. Serve.