I thought about Pad Thai all day yesterday. @matthewdclay had it for lunch and I couldn't stop thinking about it. When I got home, I looked in the fridge and realized, "holy moly basil, we ran out of tamarind!" Time to improvise. What are the 3 substitute ingredients for a kick ass Pad Thai sauce? I introduce to you...... Mananya's Secret Pad Thai Sauce! It's made with 2 pre-made sauces (oyster and sweet chili) combined with lemon [or] lime juice.

First, let me know tell you... for those that think Thai food is about Pad Thai and Crab Rangoon, WRONG!

I've never had Pad Thai prior to coming to the states and Crab Rangoon?? We don't even have cream cheese in Thailand! The Pad Thai commonly known in the U S of A is orange or red in color, sweet, tangy, and salty. A lot of Thai restaurants have various "secret" ingredients when making their Pad Thai. Some use paprika for the color, some ketchup for the sweetness, and others, vinegar in place of tamarind for sourness.

You'll need:

10-14 oz. or 1 package of Thai rice noodles

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 pack of extra firm tofu (or protein of choice), diced

2 eggs

2-3 green onions, cut

Peanuts and cilantro optional

Mananya's Secret Pad Thai Sauce:

1/4 cup of oyster sauce

1/4 cup of sweet chili sauce (common used as a dipping sauce for spring rolls)

1 whole lemon [or] lime, make sure to squeeze the juice out of that sucka!

Allow noodles to soak for 1 hour in cold water, then drain. In a pot, add canola oil, minced garlic, protein, and green onions. Add noodles, Mananya's Secret Pad Thai Sauce, stir fry it until noodles are fully cooked. Now, push your Pad Thai to the sides, making an empty spot in the center. Crack 2 eggs and scramble. Once the eggs are cooked, bring back the noodles to the center and make sure the eggs are evenly distributed. Final touch? Garnish with peanuts and/or cilantro. Aroy aroy! ('delicious' in Thai)