I *sniffle* hate the f*sniffle*ing Santa Anas.

What is it about these annual winds that makes everyone crazy? I grew up with them, and they're basically the weather equivalent of a full moon. People. Act. Nuts. Besides the normal nutty behavior associated with having to deal with downed trees and power lines, destroyed hair, dirt in your eyes, and head congestion, I mean. It's probably all the electricity in the air? Serious, check Wiki's Health Effects section. It's legit crazytime.

Anyway, I just got back from visiting my parents in the Inland Empire‚ which is like, Santa Ana central. Their house even shakes in these winds, which is actually cool to me, because in So Cal we often like weird things that terrify normal people (i.e. earthquakes, eating raw fish, flip-flop tanlines.) Anyway, it also means I returned with a head full of snot and completely plugged up ears. They got so pressurized on my drive home over the mountains that I literally couldn't hear E whining in the back seat. So, not all negative, I guess.

I woke up this morning and the sore throat was gone and I can hear out of my left ear, so it's getting better, but I still wanted something soupy for lunch. I was going to make this, but I had tofu that needed to be used, and some bean thread noodles my mom sent home with me (she may have discovered they weren't actually another form of bean sprouts and some hilarity may have ensued, but that's for another day), so I did some substituting. And it was delicious. And easy. And I will definitely be making again.

You could probably substitute green curry paste, if that's more your thing (I will be next time, cause I love it), but I had red in the fridge so I went with it.

Red Curry Coconut Soup
1 tsp peanut (or canola) oil
2 tbsp red curry paste
6 cups chicken broth
1 can light coconut milk
5 tbsp fish sauce
juice of 1.5 limes
3 tbsp sugar
1 package extra firm tofu, cubed or thinly sliced
2 small bundles of bean thread noodles (or about 4oz any asian rice noodles)
cilantro, chopped, to top

Heat the oil and curry paste in a stock pot over medium heat. Add broth, coconut, lime juice, sugar and fish sauce, bring to a low boil. Add noodles and cook until soft, anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on the kind of noodle.

NOTE: If you used really thin noodles (like bean thread) take a sharp knife or some kitchen shears, stick it in the soup, and cut, cut, cut. It'll still be a bitch to serve (and will require chopsticks to eat) but this helps a ton.

Add tofu and let cook another minute. Turn off the heat and let sit a couple minutes to let tofu get hot.

Add more lime juice to taste and top with cilantro.

I lied!!!

So, not only did I not lose my Pad Kee Mow recipe, I typed it up and calculated the calories for it. I don't remember doing any of this, but that must have meant I was debating how much of it I could get away with eating in one sitting.

I also don't remember how much of it I did eat, but let's pretend it was a ladylike portion, shall we?

Anyway, Pad Kee Mow is also known as Drunken Noodles, which is obviously the best. name. ever. I've never actually eaten them whilst intoxicated, but apparently that's the thing to do in Thailand, where street vendors sell these deliciously spicy noodles out of food carts at all hours of the day.

The best Drunken Noodles I've ever had are from a little place in San Diego called Saffron, which also, btw, has the best chicken and veggie egg rolls on the planet. I'm hoping to sneak away and grab some next weekend while we're down there...but we're traveling with some non-experimental eaters, so wish me luck. Hopefully I'll be able to blame the fetus-it shouldn't be that much of a stretch, because I crave noodles and Thai constantly these days, and if you add the proximity of Saffron to the mix, my poor body will be going crazy. Mmmm. Now I want egg rolls.

My version adds mushrooms and uses regular rice noodles, instead of the wide flat noodles that are damn near impossible to find.

Pad Kee Mow (Drunken Noodles)
5 oz rice noodles
Canola or peanut oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 an onion, thinly sliced
2 minced garlic cloves
2 green onions, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
8 oz chicken breast, sliced
About 30 basil leaves, sliced
Can straw mushrooms, drained

4 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp chili paste

Soak noodles in hot water for about 20 minutes until flexible and a little soft.

Stir fry in 2 tsp oil about 2 minutes. Add soy sauce and stir fry another few minutes until just soft. Remove noodles. Heat 1 tsp oil and stir fry onions, garlic and bell pepper for about 3 minutes. Add chicken and stir fry another 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add mushrooms and basil.

Combine oyster sauce through chili paste, and add mixture to chicken. Let sauce cook down a bit while stir frying constantly. Add noodles back in, and toss well, cooking another 2 minutes or so.

Serve hot.

1128 total calories
4 servings: 282
3 servings: 377
2 servings: 564

Digging in the Thai pantry

I know I mentioned I was going to post a recipe for the Pad Kee Mow I made last week, but somebody threw away somehow lost the piece of paper I wrote it down on.

By somebody, yes, I mean me. Preggo brain. I blame the fetus.

I also blame it for my laziness—I wanted to make Pad Thai, but I would have had to drive an extra block and a half to the grocery store for lime, tofu, cilantro and bean sprouts. So instead, I went the easy route and just used what I had with a Pad Thai-esque sauce.

Makes two big servings, even for a preggo home alone and willing to eat all of everything in front of her. (I didn't even eat half, and trust me, I tried. Had I not eaten half a box of Wheat Thins earlier, I may have succeeded.)

Easy Thai Noodles
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp peanut oil
one shallot, minced
red chile, minced
8oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thinly
one egg
two servings rice noodles
green onion, sliced

Soak rice noodles in hot water until flexible but not completely soft (10-25 minutes, depending on the brand). Drain.

Mix fish sauce, sugar and vinegar in small bowl.

Heat oil in wok over high. Add shallots and chile and stir fry about 2 minutes. Add chicken and stir fry until completely white. Push chicken aside and crack in the egg. Let cook and then scramble until cooked completely. Stir into chicken. Add noodles and sauce.

Push mixture around until combined. Let sauce cook down until no longer wet, tossing fairly frequently.

Sprinkle with green onion and peanuts. Serve with Sriracha to taste.