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Pad Thai


Pad Thai is such a flavorful dish.  When I first got Simply Thai Cooking (I have the second edition), I wasn't sure if I would make many of the recipes. They really have a lot of ingredients but actually they are pretty simple to make.  I adapted this recipe by omitting the chicken breast and shrimp. I only used tofu. I've also made it with just chicken. The tamarind paste may be a little difficult to source but it stays for quite a long time in the refrigerator once you find it.

Pad Thai (Adapted from Simply Thai Cooking)

8 oz Thai rice noodles
16 oz tofu, extra firm 
3 T tamarind paste (concentrate)
1/4 c warm water
6 T roasted unsalted peanuts
3 green onions, chopped
3 T fish sauce
2 T lime juice
2 T sugar
1/2 c canola oil
1 t garlic, chopped
2 eggs
1 c bean sprouts
1/2 t chili flakes
Fresh cilantro
Lime wedges

Soak rice noodles in cold water for at least 1 hour.  Place tofu on folded paper towels, place two folded paper towels on top.  Put a plate on top of the paper towels and a heavy object on top of plate. Replace paper towels when soaked.  Let tofu drain for at least 30 minutes. (I usually start soaking the noodles and drying out the tofu at the same time).

Meanwhile start preparing other items.  Mix tamarind paste with warm water. Stir in fish sauce, lime juice, and dissolve sugar. Set aside. Rough chop peanuts and set aside. Chop green onions and set aside. 

Make sure you have all of your ingredients prepared before starting to cook. This moves fast once the cooking begins.  Slice the tofu into 3/4 inch cubes.  Heat oil in wok until it starts to smoke.  Stir fry tofu until starting to brown. Add garlic and cook for a few seconds.  Break eggs into wok and let them fry without breaking them up for about 1 minute. Meanwhile drain noodles.

Remove tofu and eggs from the wok and set aside.  Add noodles to wok. Before doing this you may need to add a little additional oil.  Stir fry noodles for about 1 minute.  Add tamarind mixture.  Sort of fold over the noodles to mix in the tamarind mixture. Add tofu back to wok and continue to stir fry.  Add bean sprouts and about 2/3 of the peanuts.  Add green onions and stir.

Remove from heat. Transfer noodles to serving dishes and top with cilantro and remainder of peanuts. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

PREP PREP PREP!

I know this may look very involved but it really goes very quickly. Just have everything prepped and it will go smoothly.  I have all the ingredients ready above except the tofu is not cut yet. They didn't have bean sprouts at the store. I did miss them a little.

There are many other recipes that I want to try in this cookbook but this one is so good that I keep making it and haven't gotten to try the others!
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