Preparation:

Preparation:

Soak rice pasta in cold water for 10 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, then turn off the heat. Add the noodles and soak for 3-4 minutes, or until the noodles are soft but still firm and a little "crunchy".

Tip: The noodles should remain cooked at this stage, as they will be fried later. This is the key to fluffy 'al dente' rice noodles. Drain and rinse with plenty of cold water. Set aside.

Cut beef fillet into medium-thick strips. Mix with 2 tbsp. soy sauce and set aside.

In a small bowl or cup, mix all the ingredients for the sauce (note that if your tamarind paste is very thick, add only 1 tablespoon; if it's liquid, add 1 + 1/2 tablespoons). Taste the sauce, looking for a very strong flavor that tastes sweet and sour at first, then salty and spicy. Set aside.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil, then add the chopped white parts of the onion (reserve the green parts for serving), plus the degermed and chopped garlic, galangal / ginger, julienned carrots, lemongrass and chilli. Sauté for 1 minute. Add beef and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Push the ingredients aside, make room in the center of your wok and crack in the eggs. Stir quickly to scramble (30 seconds).

Add the noodles and drizzle with 1/3 of the Thai sauce.

Using 2 utensils and a gentle twisting motion, sauté together.

Keep the heat between medium and high, so that it's hot enough to cook the noodles, but not too hot to burn them.

Add more sauce every 30 seconds to 1 minute as the pan/wok dries out.

Continue frying until the sauce is gone and the noodles start to become sticky, glazed and soft-tasting ("al dente" 5 to 7 minutes).

Turn off the heat. Stir in the bean sprouts and test the taste. If it's not savory or salty enough, add more fish sauce. If too salty or sweet, add a dash of tamarind or a squeeze of lime. If it's not spicy enough, add more chili sauce or freshly chopped chillies. Garnish with chopped onion green, lemon zest, cashew nuts, mandarin orange wedges and coriander, and lime wedges (squeeze before eating). Thai chili sauce can be served on the side for those who like it spicy.