More than a week ago, I saw Mark Bittman's recipe for Pad Thai in the NYT. I love Bittman and Pad Thai. It was like the article was written just for me.

The big challenge was finding all of the ingredients to make the dish in Sofia, Bulgaria. I kept thinking I was going to make a trip to the Chinese food shop but then between Hit and Billa I found nearly everything I needed to make the recipe. Who knew? Truthfully I was kind of surprised but in a good way.

[caption id="attachment_2768" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="My Pad Thai"]<a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/dsc01666.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2768" title="My Pad Thai" src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/dsc01666.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a>[/caption]

On Friday afternoon at Billa, I was buying some last minute ingredients.  I ended in the checkout line of this sort of nutty woman. She's got tons of dyed black hair and always wears a little too much lipstick.  A few weeks ago she started telling me my total in Bulgarian and then saying in English: only and the price.  Then she smiles very proud of herself. I smile too because I am proud of her and I think it's funny.

Well, Friday we go through this same routine.  Only this time, in Bulgarian, she asks me what I am cooking. (Wow! All of my smiles and have a good-days have paid off.) I don't know how to tell her Thai food so I tell her Chinese food.  She nods knowingly.  I nod back. Then she asks me if I have kids. I am not sure how cooking Chinese food leads to asking me if I have kids but I am not sure about how a lot of things work here. I tell her no but I am a teacher. She smiles and asks me at the American College of Sofia? Yes!

Anyhow, it was a really nice conversation even if I don't understand the connection between Chinese food and children.

At home, I threw together the Pad Thai.  <!--more-->It turned out great. It wasn't quite restaurant-perfect but that's okay. Heck, it's nice to have something to work on. But I mostly I was overcome by the thought: I've got you Pad Thai. I am the boss of you. Then my only thought was this: why, oh, why didn't I make more of you? Thank-you, Mark Bittman, thank-you!

A few hard to find ingredients, a lot of chopping and a little bit of cooking later and I had at-home-pad thai worth writing about.

[caption id="attachment_2769" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Making Thai Food "]<a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/dsc01662.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2769" title="Making Thai Food " src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/dsc01662.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a>[/caption]

Here's my take on the Bittman recipe with some Bulgarian substitutions.  Make it. You won't be sorry. It's the perfect mix of tangy and sweet with a crunch of vegetable.  I will not be opening a Thai food restaurant any time soon but I'll be adding this recipe to my repertoire.

<strong>Pad Thai</strong>
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4 ounces fettuccine-width rice stick noodles

1/4 cup peanut  oil (Bulgarian substitution sunflower oil)

2 to 4 tablespoons tamarind paste (Bulgarian substitution two tbs lime juice and 1 tbs ketchup)

1/4 cup fish sauce  (nam pla) (Bulgarian substitution soy sauce--although I am sure fish sauce would be better)

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons rice vinegar (Bulgarian substitution white wine vinegar)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/4 cup chopped  scallions (Bulgarian substitution spring green onions)

1 garlic clove, minced

2 eggs

1 small head  Napa cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)

1 cup mung bean sprouts

1/2 pound peeled shrimp, pressed <a title="More articles about tofu." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/tofu/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier">tofu</a> or a combination

1/2  cup roasted peanuts, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2  limes, quartered

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1.  Put noodles in a large bowl and add boiling  water to cover. Let sit until noodles are just tender; check every 5  minutes or so to make sure  they do not get too soft. Drain, drizzle  with one tablespoon oil to keep from sticking and set aside.  Meanwhile, put tamarind paste, fish sauce, honey and vinegar in a small  saucepan over medium-low heat and bring just to a simmer. Stir in red  pepper flakes and set aside.

2.  Put   remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat;  when  oil shimmers, add scallions and garlic and cook for about a  minute. Add eggs to  pan; once they begin to set, scramble them until  just done. Add cabbage and bean sprouts and continue to cook until  cabbage begins to wilt, then add  shrimp or tofu (or both).

3.  When  shrimp begin to turn pink and  tofu  begins to brown, add drained noodles to  pan along with  sauce. Toss  everything together to coat with  tamarind sauce and combine well. When   noodles are warmed through, serve, sprinkling each dish with peanuts  and garnishing with  cilantro and lime wedges.

Yield:  4 servings.