Pad Thai

This quickly became a favorite in my home, and I am asked to make it when we have guests.  I am sure that this only vaguely resembles an authentic pad thai, but I use what is easily available and we enjoy it.  This is easy to make, but can take some preparation.  I find white rice noodles at Trader Joe's for $1.39/12oz, and brown (whole) rice noodles at the regular grocery store for about $4.  It's an uncommon enough item that there's little selection or competition.  Use a big saute pan or a wok.

Base:

Rice noodles, flat like fettuccine - 8 oz - 800 cal - $0.92-3.00

Eggs - 3 - 210 cal - ~$0.36

Scallions - 4 - 30 cal - $0.46

Bean sprouts - 1 can or a handful - 80 cal - $1.00 

Peanuts, maybe chopped - 1 oz - 160 cal - $0.16

Oil - 1 tbsp - 100 cal - $0.03

Sauce:

Ketchup - 3 tbsp - 45 cal - $0.06

Sugar - 2 tbsp - 120 cal - $0.02

Vinegar - 3 tbsp - ~$0.05

Lemon juice (or lime) - 1 tbsp - 5 cal - ~$0.05 (from concentrate)

Worcestershire Sauce - 1 tbsp - 12 cal - ~$0.10 (supposed to be fish sauce, but I have none)

Meat (pick one or more as you like):

Chicken, diced breastmeat - 8 oz - ~400 cal - $1.00 

Tofu, diced - 8 oz - ~340 cal - $0.90

Shrimp - 8 oz - 240 cal - ~$3.00-4.00

I like to slice my scallions longways so that they match the beansprouts, but it's more work than necessary if you don't mind them chopped.  Saute your scallions in the oil.  Start a pot of water to boil for the noodles.

Throw your meat in with the scallions and get it cooked.  Cook the noodles according to the package.  Mix up the sauce and set it aside.

Scramble your eggs and fry them up with the scallions and meat.  Add the bean sprouts.

Add the noodles when they're done and drained.  Add the sauce.  Mix everything up and cook for a few minutes.  

Serve onto plates and garnish with peanuts.  Shreds of purple cabbage are also good.  Rooster sauce (Srirachi) is a nice topper for those who like the heat kicked up a notch.

This easily serves four at about 500 calories (with chicken) and $1.60 per person if you get the expensive noodles, and $1.06 per person if you find cheaper noodles and use tofu.  I usually make a 1.5x batch so I'm using a whole package of noodles.  Smaller portions work well too, combined with a vegetable soup appetizer. 

Chicken Soup for the GI

When the big roasting chickens are buy-one-get-one-free, I grab two.  A 6-7lb chicken fits right in my slow cooker.  I throw in some rosemary, a couple carrots, onions and celery ribs, then cook on low for 6-7 hours, until the little plastic gauge pops up.  The chicken meat easily serves 8.  But this is a post about soup.

Slow cooking or roasting a chicken results in three usable byproducts.  After the chicken is removed from the pot or pan, you will have chicken drippings and various debris at the bottom.  I scoop out the big chunks (eat the veggies), and pour the drippings through an old threadbare hand towel (I don't have cheesecloth) into a bowl.  That bowl goes into the fridge where the fat will rise to the top and solidify.  The drippings, full of gelatin, will gel.  I call the fat "chicken butter" and sometimes use it sparingly to add flavor to noodles.  I am sure it is not healthy.  I call the supercooled liquid drippings "chicken jelly" and use it in soups and stews.

When the chicken has cooled for maybe 20 minutes, I cut all the meat off the bones.  There are good small pieces of meat between the ribs and along the back that are easy to get with your fingers.  The legs, breasts, and wings are usually served for dinners with sides of vegetables and rice or noodles for about $1.75 per person.  All the bones, skin, giblets, neck and wingtips go back in a big pot with carrot, celery, onion, rosemary, and garlic.  I use the celery heads and roots that were cut off earlier, and any carrots or onions that are getting on towards bad shape.  You probably won't eat these vegetables after using them for stock.  Bring that pot up to a simmer for a long time.  Since I tend to cook the chicken for dinner, I end up at this step in the evening, and just put everything in the slow cooker on low over night, then deal with it in the morning.  Again, scoop out the chunks and toss them.  Pour the  remainder through a threadbare towel into bowls.  From one chicken I can get a good 5 pints of stock.  It can be safely refrigerated for a few days, or frozen for weeks.

This stock will be a little cloudy.  I don't mind.  This isn't fancy cuisine.  There may be a way to clarify it by slowly and carefully whisking egg whites into warm stock, then filtering through the cloth again, but that's more work and wasted eggs to me.

I had never made a chicken soup before yesterday, and it turned out to be the best chicken soup I've ever had in my life.   I have no idea how many calories are in the homemade chicken jelly or stock.  This ends up being a thick and rich soup. This made 6 quarts for around $6.  This is a delicious meal for no more than $1 per hungry person.  Total time was three hours, but only half an hour or so of it is work, and it can cook in two hours easily.  This is something a 10-year old could make.

All of the stock from one chicken.
All of the chicken jelly from one chicken, with the fat removed.
1 lb carrots, sliced
8 celery ribs, sliced
10 scallions, chopped
2 medium-big onions, largely diced
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 lb noodles, spiral, whole-grain, dry
1/2 lb diced chicken meat (I diced the pieces of rib and back meat and part of a leg)
rosemary, oregano, salt, pepper to taste

Note: I also added some navy beans because they are very nutritious.  I made 1 cup of dry beans in a separate pot, then added them to the soup when they were soft.  The beans were the only not-delicious part of the soup.  They did not ruin the soup by any means.  The soup was still incredible, but if I add beans in the future, I will add half as many and prepare them even further in advance.

Put all of the stock and chicken jelly (no fat) in a 6+ qt pot.  Bring to a boil for a minute or two.  Add the sliced carrots and celery and spices and garlic.  Let rise to a boil again, then reduce to a simmer.  After an hour, add the onions and scallions.  20 minutes before serving, add the dry noodles and diced chicken.  That's it.