Pad Thai

Pad Thai is probably one of Thailand's most famous dishes worldwide. While it is certainly popular in Thailand, it is even considered by some to be their national dish, it has it's origins elsewhere. It probably first appeared in Vietnam and was brought by merchants and popularized in the 30s in 40s... To find out more about the history of Pad Thai just follow this link. But enough about the origins of Pad Thai... Let's get serious and start cooking!

Pad Thai

12-16 oz rice noodles
oil
4 cloves garlic
1 container firm tofu, cubed
6 T. lemon juice
6 T. fish sauce (there are many recipes and ideas for vegetarian options available... just google it!)
2 T. sugar
3 eggs
4 oz. bean sprouts
6 T. roasted peanuts, crushed
8 green onions, sliced thin
4 T. cilantro, chopped finely

It is important to soak the rice noodles first. The package I bought contained 16oz of noodles so I just soaked the whole package. I didn't end up using it all... but I wanted to make sure I had enough. In the past I've had some difficulty with rice noodles... this time, however, I found this helpful tutorial and they came out just right. Just soak them in hot (not boiling) water for about 15-20 minutes and then drain. They will seem a bit tough at this point... but once you add them to the wok with the sauce they will soften up and become a wonderful texture.

Next you will need to assemble your ingredients. Mix together the fish sauce, lemon juice, and sugar in a small bowl. Dice the tofu and chop the garlic. I also prepared the bean sprouts, peanuts, green onions and cilantro and put them all in a bowl to add at the end of the cooking time.

Now it is time to cook. First you will cook the garlic until it is golden. Next gently stir in the tofu. At this point I also added in a couple of handfuls of chopped up celery, cabbage and carrots to add color. You can add whatever you like.

Reduce the heat and then add in the sauce mixture. Stir until the sugar is totally dissolved. While this cooks you are going to want to scramble the eggs. I made a small omelet in a separate pan and then rolled it up and sliced it into thin strips.

Add your noodles at this point and stir until the sauce is absorbed and the noodles seem fully cooked (but not mushy). Now all you do is add the sprouts, peanuts, green onions and cilantro and stir gently to mix. Top with eggs and garnish with lemon wedges and cilantro.

Enjoy!

Jenn