When I am in Mexico there is a little place near the apartment that serves very tasty "pad Thai", a stir-fry noodle dish that is typical of Thailand. Alejandro came up with a very good recreation of that restaurant's dish. I cannot vouch for how authentic it is, but it's delicious. Last week while we were chatting on Skype, Alejandro gave me his recipe, and I attempted to make it.
Alejandro uses "tamarindo" syrup mixed with chicken broth to make the sauce. ("Tamarindo" is the pulp of the pods of the tropical tamarind tree.) Since that is not available here, at least not at my local supermarkets, he suggested that I use Oriental sweet and sour sauce. In Mexico, without going to a specialty shop, Alejandro cannot find rice noodles, so he simply uses spaghetti. I probably could have found them here more easily here, but I didn't see them at the store where I shop. I also forgot to buy peanuts.
Knowing full well that this was going to be a variation rather than the authentic dish, I set out to make dinner. I sautéed chopped onions, jalapeños, and garlic and added a package of frozen cauliflower, broccoli and carrots, and a can of chicken breast. When I added the can of chicken broth and the jar of sweet and sour sauce I knew that it was too soupy. The sauce was not thick enough to stick to the pasta.
It tasted all right (I'm having the leftovers tonight for dinner), but it was not nearly as good as what Alejandro makes. And I am sure that a person from Thailand would say, "This is not pad Thai!"
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