1 lb. package of wide fresh rice noodles (chow fun)
4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
2 small Thai chilies, chopped
1-2 jalapeños, sliced
½ red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 medium firm tomato or zucchini, sliced
About a cup of Thai basil leaves
1 lb. of beef, chicken or shrimp
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the sauce
¼ cup of oyster sauce
¼ cup Golden Mountain sauce (or Maggi seasoning)
⅛ cup fish sauce
2 teaspoons black soy sauce
⅛ cup sugar
Instructions
Mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Slice, chop and prepare all the vegetables as needed and set aside. Slice the meat very thin. Today I am using lean flank steak.
Prepare the noodles. They are much easier to deal with if they were never stored in the refrigerator. It is always better to buy them on the day you plan to use them. You will need to separate them into a bowl. The easiest way to do this is to pop them in the microwave for about a minute, check on them, and continue in 15 second intervals until they easily separate. You can also do it in warm water, but if they soak up too much water, they with get mushy.
When you are ready, heat the wok, add the oil, and when it is hot, add the garlic and Thai chilies. When they begin to turn golden add the beef and stir fry. When it is cooked, add the bell pepper, onion, and jalapeños when they soften a bit, add the tomato. Don't over cook at this point, the vegetables need to be cooked, but crisp. Next add the noodles, they are cooked already, so you just need to heat through, and they begin to soften, and the sauce. Stir the sauce in well, but don't over do it, you don't want the noodles to get mushy and fall apart. Stir in the basil leaves at the end.
You are now ready to plate and serve.
Recipe by Have You Eaten, SF? at https://haveyoueatensf.com/pad-kee-mao/