Tofu Pad Thai
I’m not going to lie, this recipe intimidated me! It wasn’t a lot of work, but there were a lot of steps. It was so worth it though! I’d suggest making it in a wok like my All Clad wok, as a regular pan might not have enough room to stir fry the noodles and tofu together. My husband thoroughly enjoyed this meal and has asked me to make it again soon.
Ingredients
9 oz./250 g. pad Thai rice noodles
1 block extra firm or firm tofu
1.5 Tbsp. soy sauce
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. grated galangal OR ginger
4 green onions (scallions), sliced (keep white separate from green)
1 egg
1 cup bean sprouts
1/3 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil for stir-frying
lime wedges for serving
Pad Thai Sauce:
1/3 cup good-tasting chicken stock
3 Tbsp. rice vinegar OR white vinegar
1 Tbsp. lime juice
3-4 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. white pepper
Adapted from: About.com
I prepared the sauce to marinate the tofu.
I added the rice noodles to a pot of boiling water, and followed the recipe directions exact.
I sauteed the white part of the scallions.
and added the tofu.
I then added the rice noodles and the rest of the marinade.
I then topped the pad thai with chopped scallions and peanuts.
This recipe was so amazingly delicious that I never even took pictures of it in our bowls before we sucked it down!
I will definitely be making it again!
Directions
Place diced tofu in a bowl and toss with soy sauce (1.5 Tbsp). Set aside. Combine ‘Pad Thai Sauce’ ingredients together in a cup, stirring to dissolve sugar. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Dunk in rice noodles and switch off heat. Allow noodles to soak approximately 6 minutes, OR until soft enough to bend easily, but still firm and ‘undercooked’ by regular standards (this is key to good pad Thai; noodles will finish cooking when you stir-fry them later).
Drain and rinse noodles briefly with cold water to keep from sticking. Set aside.
Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in the oil and swirl around, then add the garlic, chili, galangal/ginger, and the white parts of the green onion (reserve green tops for later). Stir-fry 1 minute.
Add marinated tofu and stir-fry 2 minutes. When pan becomes dry, add 1-2 Tbsp. of the pad Thai sauce – just enough to keep ingredients frying nicely.
Using your spatula or cooking utensil, push ingredients to the side of the pan (if pan is dry, drizzle in a little oil). Crack egg into center and stir-fry quickly to scramble. Then add noodles plus 3-4 Tbsp. of the pad Thai sauce. Using two utensils, lift and turn noodles to stir-fry with other ingredients. Continue in this way, adding more sauce every minute or two, until all has been added and the noodles are chewy-delicious and a little bit sticky (8-10 minutes).
Take 1 more minute to gently fold in the bean sprouts (they will soften down into the heat of the noodles while remaining crispy). Remove from heat and taste-test, adding more fish sauce until desired taste is achieved (I usually end up adding 1-2 Tbsp). Portion out onto individual plates and add a lime wedge on the side. Top with remaining green onion and a small heap of chopped nuts. ENJOY!
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