There are many versions of Pad Thai, so it’s one of those dishes that can happily adapt to what you have in your fridge as long as you include the core ingredients, these being flat rice noodles, peanuts and bean sprouts. The flavourings are of course key. Galangal or ginger, red chillis, tamarind, soy sauce and Nam Pla, the Thai fish sauce.

Today I have spring garlics, green and red peppers, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, edename beans and Swiss chard leaves, plus of course some peanuts.

Per person

• 45 grams flat rice noodles
• 35 grams raw peanuts
• 35 grams edename beans – in Spain you can now buy these frozen in Mercadona
• red and green peppers
• broccoli
• alfalfa sprouts
• Thumbnail sized piece ginger
• 1 clove garlic or 3 small spring garlics
• red chilli
• teaspoon sized piece tamarind paste or 1 dessert spoon tamarind sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Nam Pla fish sauce – you vegans will have to leave this out, although for me Thai food just doesn’t taste the same without it.
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• oil for cooking – either sunflower or olive oil

Firstly put the noodles to soak in cold water at least an hour before starting to cook.

Shell the peanuts and pod the edename

Cut the peppers into short strips

Wash the chard and cut into thin strips

Cut the broccoli into bite sized pieces

If you are using tamarind paste, which you buy in Asian stores in the uk, separate off a teaspoon sized chunk and put it into a small container with 2-3 teaspoons boiling water and mash the paste into the water to make a sauce. You can use tamarind ready made sauce if need be, but this tastes better.

Finely chop the ginger garlic and chilli

You are now ready to start cooking.

Boil the kettle, drain the noodles of the cold water, return to their container and cover with boiling water.

Heat a wok and add a couple of tablespoons of oil. Add the ginger, garlic and chills. Stir round and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the peppers to the pan. Stir round and cook for a couple of minutes.

Do the same with the broccoli.

Now the chard.

Put in the peanuts, bean sprouts and beans.

Drain the noodles and add to the wok.

Add the tamarind, soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice. Stir well to mix everything. Taste to see if you are happy with the balance of flavours and adjust accordingly if you are not.

Enjoy.