Soak rice noodles in water for about 30 minutes. Drain.

Combine first six ingredients in a saucepan and heat to a simmer to dissolve sugar. Taste the sauce and decide if it is sweet or spicy enough for you and add a little more sugar or chili sauce if desired.

Heat a few Tbls oil in wok or large pan and add meat, seasoned with a little salt, pepper, onion powder or whatever you like and sauté until completely cooked. Set aside.

Add a few more Tbls oil to wok and sauté the garlic and shallots for a minute or two. Add carrots, green onions and bean sprouts and sauté about 2 minutes until softened just slightly (they will continue cooking while you finish the rest of the recipe). Add several tbls sauce and drained rice noodles, sauté for another few minutes until noodles are softened, then push over to the side of the pan. You can add a little water to help steam the noodles if you need. Put a dab more oil in pan and scramble the eggs. Once eggs are cooked, stir them into the noodles and veggie mixture, add chicken and rest of sauce and heat through. Toss in cilantro, squeeze lime juice over the pad thai and serve. Garnish with chopped peanuts and a little fresh cilantro. Serves 6

1/2 cup coconut milk
2 T Fish sauce
2 T lime juice
2 t. sugar
2 cloves garlic – minced
1/2 t. turmeric
lemongrass or lemon zest
1 T chopped ginger
1 T soy sauce
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. ground pepper
2 t. curry powder

Slice or cube chicken. Mix all ingredients (hold out the lime juice if marinating overnight – add 2-4 hours before cooking), add chicken to marinade and store in fridge for several hours or overnight.