Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Veggie Mommy is back with some yummy Pad Thai

Veggie Mommy is home on maternity leave with VeggieBaby (child #3, our first boy!), so now that VeggieBaby is taking longer naps, I am thinking now is the time to start posting to this blog again.  Plus, there have been a few days that I have been able to try out new recipes!  Last week I tried a new pad thai recipe and it was perfect.  I prepared everything during the baby's naps, so it didn't take much come dinner time.

Vegetarian Pad Thai

Ingredients:
12 oz. dried flat rice noodles (1/4 inch wide)
1 1/4 Tbs. tamarind paste
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 Tbs. Sriracha sauce
1 bunch scallions - cut into 2-inch pieces, halve the pale green and white parts lengthwise
4 large shallots - thinly sliced
1 package firm tofu - cut into 1 inch cubes and patted dry
1 1/2 cups peanut oil
2-4 eggs (depending on taste)
4 garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 lime
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Preparation:
  1. Soak noodles in a large bowl of warm water until softened, 25 to 30 minutes.  Drain well and cover with a dampened paper towel.
  2. Make sauce by mixing the tamarind paste with 2/3 cup hot water.  Add soy sauce, brown sugar, and Sriracha, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
  3. Heat the oil over medium heat, then fry half of the shallots until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Remove the shallots and spread on paper towels.  The shallots get nice and crisp as they cool.
  4. Reheat the oil until hot and fry the tofu, turning occasionally, until golden.  Transfer tofu to paper towels. Pour off and save the frying oil, except for 2 tablespoons.
  5. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and cook over medium heat.  Transfer to a plate.
  6. Heat 5 Tbs of the shallot oil over high heat and stir-fry the scallions, garlic and remaining shallots until softened, about 1 minute.
  7. Add the noodles and stir-fry over medium heat for 3 minutes.  Add tofu, bean sprouts and sauce, and simmer, turning noodles over to absorb sauce evenly until noodles are tender, about 2 minutes.
  8. Stir in eggs.
  9. Serve with peanuts, fried shallots, lime wedges, cilantro and Sriracha. 
My girls are all about limes right now so they loved squeezing the lime juice on top.