Prawn Pad Thai with Rice Noodles & Lime

Ingredients

• 400 g raw king prawns, peeled, deveined
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 100 g bean sprouts
• 200 g flat rice noodles
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly crushed
• 2 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
• 3 spring onions, green tops only, sliced
• 1 long red chilli, sliced, to serve
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp tamari
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Pickled cucumber, to serve
• Fresh coriander, to serve

Method

1. Soak the rice noodles in just-boiled water for 8 minutes, or per packet instructions, until pliable but with a little bite — they'll finish cooking in the wok, so undercook them slightly here. Drain, rinse briefly under cold water to stop them clumping, and set aside.
2. Stir the tamari, fish sauce, rice vinegar and brown sugar together in a small bowl until the sugar fully dissolves. Taste it — it should be salty, sour, sweet, all three loud. The fish sauce and tamari carry the seasoning, so trust them.
3. Pat the prawns dry with kitchen paper and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Wet prawns steam instead of searing, and you want a quick blistering hit of heat on the outside.
4. Heat the garlic-infused oil in a wok over high heat until it's shimmering and almost smoking. Add the prawns in a single layer — don't crowd the wok, do them in two batches if your wok is small — and stir-fry for 2 minutes until they curl, turn pink and just opaque through. Push to one side.
5. Pour the beaten eggs into the empty side of the wok and scramble for about 1 minute, breaking into soft curds before they set hard, then fold through the prawns.
6. Tip in the drained noodles and pour the glaze over the top. Toss vigorously over high heat for 2 minutes, lifting and turning, until the noodles are glossy, coated and starting to catch in places — those caught edges are where the flavour lives.
7. Add the bean sprouts and spring onion tops and toss for a final 30 seconds, just until the sprouts wilt slightly but keep their snap. Taste, season, taste again — most of the salt is in the glaze, but a final pinch ties it together.
8. Divide between bowls. Scatter with crushed peanuts, sliced red chilli and torn coriander leaves, and tuck a lime wedge alongside each portion — squeeze of lime over the top at the table is non-negotiable, it's the lift the whole dish is built around.