Pad Thai with Prawns and Tofu

Soak the noodles. Cover the rice noodles with hot tap water and leave them to soak for 20-30 minutes, separating the strands with your fingers now and then. They're ready when they turn white and bendy but still have a firm core, since they finish cooking later in the hot sauce. Boiling them fully now would leave them mushy and prone to breaking apart in the wok.

Make the tamarind sauce. Soak the tamarind pulp in the boiling water for 10 minutes, then mash it and push it through a sieve, scraping the underside to collect every bit of pulp before discarding the seeds and fibres. Stir in the palm sugar and fish sauce and warm the mixture for 1-2 minutes until the sugar dissolves completely. Taste it — you're after a clear hit of sour, salty and sweet together, as that balance is what defines the dish.

Line everything up. Set out the tofu, garlic, shallots, prawns, eggs, noodles and sauce in the order you'll use them, along with a mug of hot water close to the stove. Pad thai cooks fast once the wok is hot, so there's no time to chop or measure mid-stir. If your pan is smaller than 35cm, plan to cook in two batches, since a crowded pan steams the noodles instead of frying them and they clump together.

Fry the tofu. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in the wok over high heat and fry the tofu cubes for 3-4 minutes, turning them so several sides pick up a golden colour. Lift them out onto a plate once they're browned and firm. Frying the tofu first and setting it aside keeps its edges crisp instead of going soft once liquids join the pan.

Stir-fry garlic and prawns. Add 1 tbsp of oil to the wok with the garlic and shallot, and stir for 20-30 seconds until fragrant but not coloured. Tip in the prawns and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until they've just turned pink. Garlic burns quickly over high heat, so keep it moving the moment it hits the oil.

Toss noodles in sauce. Add the drained noodles and the tamarind sauce to the wok, then toss everything with tongs for 2-3 minutes, splashing in hot water a tablespoon at a time if the noodles look dry. Keep going until the strands are tender and have soaked up the sauce rather than sitting in a puddle at the base. Taste a strand to check it's fully tender before moving on, as thickness can vary between batches of noodles.

Scramble in the egg. Push the noodles to one side of the wok, pour in the remaining oil and crack in the eggs. Let them sit undisturbed for about 20 seconds so a base sets, then scramble and fold them through the noodles. Giving the egg a moment to set before stirring stops it disappearing into wet, stringy bits.

Add tofu and sprouts. Return the fried tofu to the wok along with the bean sprouts and garlic chives, and toss everything together for about 30 seconds. You want the sprouts to stay crunchy rather than wilting fully, so this final toss should be brief. Check the prawns are opaque all the way through before taking the wok off the heat.

Serve with peanuts and lime. Pile the noodles onto plates and scatter over the chopped peanuts, with lime wedges and chilli flakes on the side for everyone to add to taste. The lime's acidity wakes up the tamarind sauce, while the peanuts add a contrasting crunch. Serve immediately, as the noodles firm up quickly once they cool.