Easy Pad Thai with Shrimp

I LOVE Thai food. It's probably a favorite of mine. We only have a few thai restaurants in town, but I frequent them often. I'm a big fan. I love the mix of flavors you find in Thai dishes. Who would have thought that noodles, peanuts and cilantro could all go into the same dish? Like any enthusiastic home cook, I typically find dishes that I love out in the world and try to recreate them at home. That being said this pad thai recipe is anything but traditional. It's a blend of flavors and ingredients that I like and prefer. And it's super easy to make. You can whip this up in about 30 minutes, making it a perfect week night dinner option.Easy Shrimp Pad Thai, makes 2-3 servings. Loosely adapted from here.

1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons ketchup (weird, right?)
2 teaspoons worcestershire
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1/3 lb. home-style wide noodles (or you can use rice noodles if you're feel more authentic)
1/2 lb. cooked shrimp (you can use uncooked if you prefer, just be sure to cook longer than I suggest below)
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1/4 lb brussels sprouts, sliced thin
1/4 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 lime for servingStir together the first seven ingredients (eight if you are using the red pepper flakes). Set aside. Cook the noodles according to your package directions. You want them a tiny bit under cooked. Next stir fry the bell peppers in a bit of oil until just softened. Now stir in the shrimp and sliced brussels sprouts and cook until the sprouts are bright green, 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Pour on the sauce over the stir fry noodles and cook an additional 5-6 minutes until the sauce has somewhat evaporated/cooked into the other ingredients.In the last minute of cooking stir in the peanuts. I like just to top the dish with cilantro—seems more professional that way. But you could stir it in too, either way. Live your life.Serve hot with a few wedges of lime. Don't like shrimp? Add cooked chicken or baked tofu. I'm not holding you back. Enjoy! xo. Emma

P.S. Need a few more easy dinner ideas? Try: mushroom burgers, black bean tortilla soup or red wine pasta.