After a brief hiatus from the world of food posting I’m back at it with great little recipe I borrowed from a good friend of mine (can’t even point to him as he’s afraid of the internet!). I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a lot of Pad Thai in my day — from restaurants to dinner parties to potlucks — and I have yet to find one that tastes as good as this one.
The trick in my mind to a good Pad Thai is the noodle not being cooked like spaghetti. In my modification of recipes to suit vegetarians, I have substituted a couple of ingredients, and in particular, had a very interesting time finding a taste that replaces fish oil – but I did it!
Please note that while I have listed amounts for all the ingredients, you will want to vary based on your personal taste and preferences. (Truthfully, I never measure anything for this one. It’s all done by feel.)
Once you are ready to cook, you must have all the ingredients prepped, ready-to-go, because as soon as you add the noodles, it’s all about timing — the order in which ingredients are added — and stirring. If possible, enlist a helper on your first try — someone to hand you items — so you can mix and stir, mix and stir, mix and — etc.
Let’s get to it!
INGREDIENTS:
1 pkg of rice noodles (lately I’ve been using Thai Kitchen’s Stir-Fry Rice Noodles, Linguine-style, 198g box)
1/2 lb of tofu, cut in 1-inch squares
2 eggs
1 bunch spring onions (6-10)
1/4 lb fresh sprouts (traditionally bean sprouts, but you can substitute alfalfa or sunflower)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
10 slices of pickled daikon radish, chopped (Fish Oil replacement..and I seriously can’t tell the difference)
1/2 lemon (or 1 tbs of lemon juice)
2 heaping tbs of nut butter (peanut, almond, whatever you like)
4 heaping tbs of nuts, chopped (again, whatever you like)
3 tbs of Ketchup
2 tbs of tamari (or soy sauce)
a dribble of toasted sesame seed oil
olive oil to cook with (amount according to your taste)
a pinch of hot chili pepper flakes
Specific kitchen items required: A wok (preferably traditional carbon steel, seasoned, large enough to hold the noodles) and a large bowl/pot for soaking the noodles.
Step 1: In a large bowl/pot, soak the noodles in cold water (as cold as possible) for about 3-4 hours. (the wider the noodle, the longer the soak). The idea here is to not pre-cook the noodles but leave them in a “bony” state where they would still kind of snap if you bent them too far. They should also look a little like bones in colour (not transparent…not until you cook them). Drain noodles and set aside.
Step 2: Using the olive oil in the wok on medium heat, sear tofu squares until golden brown, adding minced garlic when the tofu is almost done cooking. (Remember to be constantly turning the tofu in the wok to cook evenly.)
Step 3: Stir in eggs and scramble until cooked (like you would like regular scrambled eggs cooked)
Here comes the fun!
Step 4: After adding each of the items listed below stir/turn/mix/mash for a minute in-between the next item:
- Noodles, with a splash of toasted sesame seed oil
- Radish
- Lemon juice and tamari
- Ketchup and nut butter
- Hot peppers and chopped nuts
Step 7: Add green onions – stir in and turn off heat immediately. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
Step 8: Garnish with sprouts and enjoy!
Notes:
- Even if everything doesn’t seem to be mixed perfectly — it’s hard to get the noodles to combine consistently with the other ingredients — it still tastes great.
- If you like your Pad Thai more “saucy” you can increase the amount of nut butter and ketchup.
- I’ll post additional pics when I have more shots. :)
