add to shopping list Ingredients

14 oz. rice vermicelli noodles
1/2 cup tamarind concentrate
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter (can be substituted!)
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 block extra-firm tofu
1 dash Onion Powder
1 dash gardlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
3 dashes Thai sweet chili sauce (optional)

Preparation

NOODLES

To start, buy a few packages of noodles. The absolute best kind are called "Banh Pho." In English it's Rice Vermicelli, which as far as I know just means that it's gluten-free. If you're in any Hispanic or Asian market, you ought to be able to find these. In Spanish they'll be "Fideos de Arroz," in Chinese "米粉," or "maifun" in Cantonese. Lots of times in Chinese or Korean shops the noodles will just say "Rice Sticks." Sometimes you can even find packages that say 'Phad Thai' or 'Pad Thai Noodles.' My favorite brand is made here in Seattle, and it's called Ducky.

These noodles are going to be dried, but it's even better of course if you can find them fresh. if you have a market near you and they make noodles, by all means get them. You'll want the extra large variety. They're flat, 10 mm wide, and somewhat opaque but colorless. They shouldn't have a yellowish tinge to them, they should be clear. These are the best kind to get for pad thai.

Now, to cook the noodles, I say get the largest pot you can possibly find and fill it full of water that's already really hot from the faucet or wherever, but NOT BOILING. When you put the noodles in, they should have enough water in a large enough pot that they aren't touching the sides or bottom. Put a package in the hot water. 14 oz. of noodles will feed four or five people. Let them soak maybe 15 minutes, never letting the water boil. You'll know they're ready to drain because they'll be al dente...edible and pliable, soft but not squishy. Remember they're going to cook more later and pad thai noodles are supposed to be sticky, so don't overcook them. It's better to undercook than to overcook, because you can always let them simmer in your wok or frying pan as long as you need to. Go ahead and drain those and just keep them setting near your pan.

SAUCE

The sauce is the part where you really get to be creative. I bombed a few batches, so don't worry if you don't like the way yours turns out the first few times. This is why you should go ahead and make the sauce whenever, even if you don't plan on cooking up pad thai that night. The sauce will keep--once you've got a batch you like, it will stay good in the fridge for a week or more. Trust me, DON'T try and make exactly the right amount for one night's meal--this stuff is tricky and you might wind up having to double certain ingredients to get the flavor you want, which will mean you'll have way too much. THAT'S OKAY! This is the most important part of the meal. Focus on it and put your effort in here, and the food will turn out great.

To start, I use four main ingredients, and just give them all equal parts. To cover 14 oz. of noodles, let's say that you want to go with these basic measurements:

1/2 cup of Tamarind concentrate (found in can or plastic containers at Asian food markets)
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar

This is your base! From here, you might think, "Oh! That's too sour!" Well, add more of everything BUT the Tamarind--it's the sourness. Or you might think, "Ugh, that is SO sweet!" Well, add more of everything BUT the brown sugar and peanut butter. If you trust me and don't plan on changing anything, then use 3/4 of a cup of each in order to have enough. I say to start with 1/2 so that you have plenty of room for adding other ingredients.

Stir these all together over low heat until they're nice and simmery. To make this a vegan product, use an all-natural peanut butter like Adam's. if you're allergic to peanut butter, you CAN skip it--it gives the sauce a different flavor, but it can work. Try using soy sauce powder rather than soy sauce; this will make it less liquidy. Or else try putting the three ingredients together and adding powdered corn starch, which is also at the markets.

From here, grab some onion powder and garlic powder and dash it into the mix. For a mild spice, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of red chili powder and see how it is. It should taste sour when it touches your tongue, then it should knock you over with its sweetness, and finally you should feel a slight warmth in your throat. That's the way it ought to go for this recipe at least. Personally, I add in a few dashes of Thai sweet chili sauce and about 6 tablespoons of chili powder at least, just to get the medium spiciness I like.

WHAT? That's it?? Sure. I know a lot of people who get really complex with it, adding pickled radish and all sorts of things. That's fantastic, too, but for my tastes it's just unnecessary. This provides me with an easy, quick way to make a lot of sauce which can then be personalized later for each person's plate!

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

I take a block of extra-firm tofu (Azumaya Lite Tofu is my favorite) and soak all of the water off of it with a paper towel, and then slice it into three layers, then cut it up into really little bitty cubes or thin strips (I mix it up). The reason I do it this way is so that with more surface area exposed, the tofu can take up more flavor when I season it. This is important to me, since I don't really care for tofu on its own, but like to hide it from myself in strong flavors. I take a really ridiculously hot wok, throw some soy sauce and oil in it, dash on some garlic and onion powder, and fry up the tofu until it's brown and crispy on the edges.

I then ladle in some of the warmed sauce. I alternate, adding a ladle of sauce and adding a scoop of noodles, because these noodles like to clump and you don't want big bits that aren't flavored. I just keep on doing this until all of the noodles are covered in the sticky, thick sauce and the tofu is mixed in really well and is firm and crispy. If you wanted, you could also throw in a few eggs and scramble them up into the mix, or if you are a vegan you could mix in some soft tofu for the scrambled-egg effect--it won't come out as too much tofu, because the extra firm, crispy tofu will seem like a totally different element. Some people also throw in bean sprouts, carrots, chopped peanuts or whatever at this point.

Fry it up until you think it's well-blended. Be sure to test a noodle! Then serve it with something that will cut the sweetness, like a citrus drink. Garnish with limes, peanuts, peanut sauce, chili powder, or anything you think goes well with it! Some people love a little crunch to break the monotony and so you can get some of those crispy Chinese noodles or fried puff noodles and sprinkle them on top, sort of like you've got a green bean casserole. :)

Ta-da! A healthy (well, somewhat healthy!) vegetarian or vegan tofu pad thai. I estimate that a regular-sized plate of this stuff has just about 350 calories, depending on the oil you use, a ton of carbs (about 42! This isn't for your Atkin's dieters), a gram of unsaturated fat and a half-gram of saturated. Sodium will depend on the soy you use, but you're probably looking at about 40 grams. Still, with the tofu in there, you're getting some serious protein, which is important in a vegetarian's diet. Eat a little less of this as a side to go with some veggies and you're looking good!

Hope everyone enjoys this! I know everyone at my house did. My mom would probably throw some chicken or shrimp in at the end of the frying process, which will keep everyone in the house happy. be sure to keep extra chili powder or sauce on hand so that people can customize it! A great option for an alternative to the Cross-Country/Track Spaghetti Feeds which can get really old after a while. :)

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Reviews

8/27/09

mmmeg says:

I should note that if you make your sauce beforehand, it can be used over and over until it's gone, which would cut the total prep+cooking time down to 20 minutes total. :)

9/01/09

Theresa111 says:

How long may you store sauce in the refrigerator? Is the peanut butter used in place of the peanuts the restaurants sprinkle on top? Because I do not choose tofu, what about shrimp? When would you suggest adding this replacement? Thanks!

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