Abandoned Edibles: fish sauce
Leftover Edibles: veggie assortment
(additional ingredients: rice noodles, shrimp, tamarind paste, brown sugar, chili pepper, garlic, lime, spices, etc.)
What I did: I'll be honest, folks--it's been a busy week for me, which translates to low fridge content in regards to meat and produce. That being said, I peered into my refrigerated abyss the other night in search of some dinner, only to find a small container of leftover vegetables (from a spinach & artichoke dip appetizer at a local restaurant), and an arsenal of condiments on the fridge door. I spotted a bottle of fish sauce, given to me by a friend who purchased it and 'didn't like it', and decided to whip together a leftover pad thai dish using the abandoned fish sauce and leftover veggies. I had rice noodles and 1/2 bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer, so it was destined to be! I made a simple pad thai sauce using tamarind paste, brown sugar, fish sauce, hot water, and chili pepper. The veggies and shrimp I sauteed on high heat with a little bit of olive oil and garlic. The rice noodles I soaked until they were ALMOST soft enough, and finished them off by combining them with the pad thai sauce and veggie/shrimp mixture. And lastly, I halved a lime to squeeze over the entire dish, once it was done--a bit of acid goes a long way!
The Verdict
Yummy! I sure do love me some pad thai. Okay, okay--I'll confess--this dish wasn't *really* pad thai...more like leftover noodle surprise, with a pad thai 'element' to it. However. It WAS delicious, I used up all my leftover veggies (I even found a bit of lettuce in the refrigerator for a small side salad!), I got to use fish sauce (I love that stuff), and I no longer had a growling, grumbling hunger monster in my stomach. Success!
Taste: 8
Appearance: 7
Creativity: 6
Improvements for next time: celery in pad thai? Um...I think next time, I'll forgo that veggie, even if it IS leftover and begging to be used.
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