Pad Thai with Tofu

2010-6-4

Pad Thai with Tofu

This is my first try at making Pad Thai from scratch. I am far from being a Thai food expert and I haven't got any clue what authentic Thai food is supposed to taste like, but my husband rated this high on the taste list.

I wouldn't rank this as a super quick and little effort recipe. Takes work to make this one. But, part of this may be a reflection of my state of being and weariness.

I'm also experimenting with how I go about posting recipes. Input and feedback on what you like and dislike are welcome. Been posting way too many photographs, so I am going to try and cut down on the number and still keep it interesting.

I'll start with the recipe simpliciter, followed by a longer version complete with photographs.

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Pad Thai with Tofu

Ingredients:

• 1 14 oz package of rice noodles (Thai style - Pho)
• 2 14 oz packages of firm tofu
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten with chicken broth added
• 4 green onions - rinsed, whites separated from the greens - whites cut extremely thin and greens cut roughly half an inch
• 1/2 sweet onion, cut very thin
• 5 minced garlic cloves
• chicken broth - 1/2 to 1 1/2 cups
• water - several cups
• olive oil - just enough to caramelize the onion, stir fry the eggs and the tofu; all individually
• lime - cut into wedges
• fresh bean sprouts - rinsed - roughly three handfuls for cooking and more to serve when ready to eat
• 20-25 crushed cashews

for the sauce:

• 3 tbsp (tablespoons) soy sauce
• 2 tbsp tamarind paste
  
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp (teaspoons) chili powder
• 3 tbsp cane sugar
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce

Directions:

• Mix the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.
• Soak the rice noodles in hot water and set aside.
• In a pan, with some olive oil and some minced garlic on low medium heat, once the garlic sizzles for a bit, cook the onion until it starts turning clearish and then set aside in a bowl (leave any juices and oil from cooking the onion in the pan).
• In the same pan, add a bit more garlic, leaving the stove on lower medium heat. Like the previous step, with until the garlic is sizzling and cook the lightly beaten eggs that were mixed with some chicken broth. Once done, put in a bowl and set aside.
• In the same pan, add some more minced garlic and olive oil. Like the preceding three steps, wait until the garlic is sizzling and then drop in the cut tofu, adding some soy sauce (a few tablespoons?). Cook for a few minutes and then set that aside in a bowl of its own.
• Drain the rice noodles.
• In a large pot - drop in the rice noodles, water, chicken broth, the remainder of the minced garlic, the whites of the green onions - on higher medium heat. Make sure there's enough water and chicken broth that the noodles are barely submerged. Once the mixture has been boiling for 5-10 minutes (be careful not to wait too long, or the noodles will start breaking quite easily), add the sauce mixture, caramelized onion, eggs, tofu, and three-ish hands-full of bean sprouts. Stir well. Then add the greens of the green onions. Mix well and when the stuff is once again boiling, the Pad Thai is ready to serve with fresh bean sprouts, crushed cashews, and lime wedges.

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Here's a more picturesque version of the recipe:

Cast of characters -

You need. . .

soy sauce. oyster sauce. rice vinegar. olive oil. fish sauce. chili powder. tamarind paste. cane sugar.


You also need:

4 green onions. half a sweet onion. 4 garlic cloves.


Also needed:

fresh, rinsed bean sprouts


a package of Thai (not Taiwanese or Chinese) rice noodles

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Once the food is ready server, also needed are limes and cashews (or peanuts - cashews just seem better in my opinion)


Tofu and 3 eggs. Instead of tofu, you can use chicken or shrimp. To be honest, I didn't care much for this brand of tofu; broke too easily. Not firm at all.


Don't forget water. That's an important ingredient. Sorry, I forgot to include a picture of chicken broth. Hmm. Forgetful, forgetful.


Thus ends the cast of characters and thus begins the process of making the Pad Thai.


Rinse, cut, and separate the whites and greens of the green onions.


Peel the skin off the garlic cloves and dice. I have a lovely garlic press that does all that work for me.



Soak the rice noodles in hot water.


Lightly beat the eggs. Add a bit of chicken broth and stir. Chopsticks are my "whisk" of choice.


Drain the tofu and cut into skinny rectangles like such.


The goodies ready to be combined in a pot.


The same stuff in the above photograph but closer in view.



To serve with the Pad Thai once ready to eat. Oops, forgot to add fresh (uncooked) bean sprouts in the photograph.


Viola.


A plate full of goodness.