note: I experiment with this a great deal. I don't think that I have it quite right. Suggestions welcome (although I am well aware that I should be using tamarind, but it is just not something that I have on-hand). Amounts are all to taste. Really, you should do this empirically, adding and tasting.
my pad thai:
140 g / 5 oz rice ribbon noodles
oil for frying
~12 oz extra firm tofu (or "high protein" tofu, cut into cubes (deep fried tofu, aka age, is better).
4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/2 C vegetable stock
2 T lime juice
1 T hoison sauce
2 T soy sauce
perhaps 2 tsp sugar, maybe less (hoison sauce is sweet).
Thai chilies to taste
a a few to several tablespoons of natural peanut butter. If you have "unnatural" peanut butter, reduce or eliminate added sugar.
1/3 lb. beansprouts (if you have them. these rot real quick)
maybe some broccoli or bell peppers...i like them.
3 spring onions
nori seaweed garnish (in lieu of fish sauce).
salt and pepper to taste
Addl. Tofu seasonings:
sesame oil
sriracha hot sauce
1a. Boil Water. Once it reaches a boil, turn off the heat and dump in the rice noodles to soak.
1b. Concurrently heat oil in a frying pan or wok. You will fry the vegetables here.
1c. Concurrently heat a liberally oiled frying pan. You fry the tofu in here. Skip if you are using age.
Veggies/noodles:
1. Mince garlic and chiles, fry in oil.
2. Chop and add vegetables appropriate to the cooking time required for each type. Add salt and pepper early on.
3. When veggies are nearly finished, add noodles and fry on med-low for just a couple minutes. Add oil as is necessary to avoid sticking.
4. Begin making sauce:
Reduce heat to low.
Add vegetable stock, lime juice, hoison sauce, soy sauce, sugar, peanut butter to frying mixture. Check and adjust seasonings.
5. Add bean sprouts and scallions and heat briefly.
6. Eliminate heat and add diced nori to taste (it is this combined with soy sauce that will make up for our lack of fish sauce).
Tofu:
1. Fry the shit out of it on medium. As crispy as you'd like it. If possible, stir often but take care to leave the cubes intact.
2. Reduce heat to low and add salt, pepper, and a few scattered drops of sesame oil.
3. eliminate heat and add sriracha and soy sauce. taste and adjust. If you are feeling like a health nut, discard the oil.
Finish:
Combine all ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings.
ebola