By Mary Jo Spiegel
Enquirer contributor

Ketchup is giving Sam Gordon in Winton Place some doubts about her pad Thai recipe's authenticity.

"No, no," laughs Chanaka Delanerolle who, with his wife, Suran, own Teak Thai Cuisine in Mount Adams, "Ketchup is definitely not authentic!"

They would know. Their pad Thai is considered the best in town and is the most popular item on their menu. Since the Delanerolles (he's from Sri Lanka, she's from Cambodia) opened their eatery nine years ago, Thai chef Ubolwan "Noi" Hearld has been in charge of making the noodle dish. Like all of their chefs, says Chanaka, Noi takes pride in making the food the right way.

Much like Donna Mohler of Hidden Valley Lake who fell in love with ethnic cuisines while living in Los Angeles. Then she moved to Delaware.

"I realized if I wanted to eat certain things, I'd have to cook them myself," she says, which led to her recipe for pad Thai. There are a lot of ingredients, and you'll have to go to Jungle Jimžs or another specialty store, but the results are worth it."

"One of the great things about Thai food," Donna says, "is that it's sweet, sour, salty and spicy all at the same time."

All that without ketchup.

Donna Mohler's Pad Thai

8 ounces rice noodles

1/2 teaspoon tamarind concentrate

2 tablespoons warm water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Cayenne pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 eggs, lightly beaten

6 scallions (or green onions), cut in 1/2 inch pieces

3/4 cup bean sprouts

1/4 cup scant cider vinegar

GARNISH

2 tablespoons chopped peanuts, toasted

Thinly sliced radicchio (optional), lime wedges and bean sprouts

Soak noodles according to package directions. Make sauce by dissolving tamarind in warm water. Whisk in soy sauce, peanut butter, fish sauce, brown sugar and cayenne; set aside.

Heat peanut oil in large (preferably non-stick) saute pan or wok over medium high heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Add shrimp; cook until pink. Add eggs, stirring, until just set (like scrambled eggs). Remove egg mixture from pan.

Deglaze pan with water, then add drained noodles, scallions, bean sprouts and sauce. Stir constantly to prevent sticking. When noodles are soft (about 4 minutes), stir in egg mixture. Finish with vinegar, remove from heat. Garnish and serve. Makes 4 servings.

• Ada Eng in Dillonvale sends this recipe for Lady Bates in Green Township. The name "wedding soup" refers to the marriage of flavors.

Italian Wedding Soup

1/2 pound ground veal or beef

1 egg

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup milk (or as needed)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

8 cups chicken broth

1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 cup tiny pasta or broken noodles

Make meatballs by combining beef, egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, enough milk to hold the mixture together, salt and pepper. Roll meat into tiny balls, the size of a hazelnut.

Refrigerate meatballs on foil while bringing broth to a boil. Reduce broth to a simmer, drop in meatballs, simmer 10 minutes, then add spinach and pasta. Simmer until pasta is tender. Do not boil. Makes 6 servings.

Can you help?

We need our baked goods!

The old Moellinger's Bakery on Queen City Avenue had the best butter crumb Danish and coffee cake. Who has the recipe?

Or maybe you have the butterscotch roll recipe from the former Schmitz Bakery in Norwood for Jean Kieffer of Mason?

Send food questions, tips, recipe requests and recipes to Saucy Cook, the Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202. E-mail: maryjo@saucycook.com. Include name, neighborhood, e-mail and phone number.