Authentic Pad Thai Chicken with Rice Noodles

This is a recipe for traditional Pad Thai.
Let the noodles soak while you watch them
and refrain from moving on to prepare this recipe.
If they are forgotten in the water and soak too long,
they become mushy when added to the wok and
your meal will become one big mushy mess.

Ingredients:
8 oz. Thai rice noodles (or enough for 2 people), linguini-width
1 to 1.5 cups raw chicken breast or thigh meat, sliced
Marinade for Chicken: 1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 3 tbsp soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced or chopped
1/4 cup chicken broth/stock
3 cups fresh bean sprouts
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup fresh coriander/cilantro
1/3 cup crushed peanuts
sprinkle of freshly ground pepper
PAD THAI SAUCE:
3/4 tbsp tamarind paste/concentrate dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
2 tbsp fish sauce
1-3 tsp chili sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
OTHER:
oil for stir-frying
wedges of lime for serving

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and remove from heat.
Dunk your rice noodles in the water. Let the noodles soak while you prepare the other ingredients. NOTE: the noodles will be fried later,
so don't over-soften them. Noodles are ready to be drained when they
are soft enough to be eaten, but are still firm and a little "crunchy".
Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
Pad Thai Sauce: Combine the sauce ingredients together in a cup.
Stir well to dissolve the tamarind paste and brown sugar. Set aside.
Place chicken slices in a small bowl.
Pour the marinade (1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 3 tbsp soy sauce)
over the chicken. Stir well and set aside.
Heat a wok (or large frying pan) over medium-high heat.
Add 1-2 tbsp oil plus the garlic. Stir-fry about 30 seconds.
Add the chicken (along with its marinade) to the wok.
Stir-fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
When wok becomes dry, add some of the chicken stock
(1-2 tbsp at a time), enough to keep the chicken frying nicely.
Continue stir-frying in this way, gradually adding the
chicken stock until the chicken is cooked (5-8 minutes).
Add the noodles to the wok and pour the Pad Thai sauce over.
Using two wooden spoons, immediately turn and stir-fry the noodles.
Use a gentle "lift and turn" method (like tossing a salad)
to prevent noodles from breaking.Stir-fry in this way for 1-2 minutes. More oil can be added if the wok is too dry.
Add the bean sprouts and sprinkle with pepper.
Continue "lifting and turning" for 1 more minute until cooked.
Noodles are done to perfection when they are no longer
"hard" or crunchy, but chewy and sticky.
Lift noodles onto a serving plate.
Top with generous amounts of fresh coriander, green onion, and crushed/chopped nuts. Add fresh lime wedges to the side
of the dish so they can be squeezed on top of the pad thai once served.