Pad thai with prawns

Step 1: Soak 7 oz dried flat rice noodles in plenty of room-temperature water for 25 minutes, until they bend easily but are still firm in the middle, then drain. Hot or boiling water is the usual mistake: the noodles go soft too early and turn to mush in the wok. Prepare everything else while they soak.

Step 2: Put 4 tbsp tamarind concentrate, 2 ⅛ oz palm sugar, 3 tbsp fish sauce and 2 tbsp water in a small pan over a low heat and stir for 3–4 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the sauce is slightly syrupy.

Step 3: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok over a high heat. Fry 3 ½ oz firm tofu for 3 minutes until golden, then add 9 oz raw king prawns and cook for 1–2 minutes, turning once, until pink and opaque all the way through. Lift out both and set aside.

Step 4: Add the rest of 2 tbsp vegetable oil to the wok and fry 3 cloves garlic, 2 shallots, 1 tbsp dried shrimp and 1 tbsp sweet preserved radish for 30 seconds, until fragrant.

Step 5: Add the drained noodles with 4 tablespoons of the sauce and 2 tablespoons of water. Toss for 2–3 minutes, adding more sauce a spoonful at a time, until the noodles have soaked it up and are chewy rather than hard. Taste one: it should be sour, sweet and salty in that order.

Step 6: Push the noodles to one side, crack 2 eggs into the space and scramble until almost set, then fold them through the noodles.

Step 7: Return the prawns and tofu, add 1 oz garlic chives and 3 ⅛ oz bean sprouts and toss for 30 seconds, just until the chives wilt.

Step 8: Pile onto plates with 1 ⅜ oz roasted peanuts, 1 lime, 1 tsp dried chilli flakes and the remaining ⅓ oz garlic chives and 2 ⅛ oz bean sprouts alongside, so everyone can season their own.