Rice noodles- 8 oz (Trader Joe’s sells 14 oz packs)
Tofu- cut into cubes
Veggies—as needed
Fresh- portabella/babybella mushroom, asparagus,red pepper, broccoli, carrot thinly sliced
Canned and drained- Bamboo Shoots, sliced water chestnuts, babycorn
Pad Thai paste— Recipe in the end
Peanut sauce—1 tbs you can either buy this paste, or make it yourself here…
Basil – roughly chopped, or whole leaves
Oil- sesame or peanut or vegetable oil
Minced garlic
Salt
Few ingredients I used
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok/pan. Once sizzling, shallow fry the tofu cubes until browned on most sides. Keep aside. (You can use tofu as it is, no frying, healthier option)I
- In the remaining oil, add the veggies and minced garlic and let them cook for about 5 min.Add the pad thai and peanut paste. Mix the veggies up.
- Now add the noodles. Gently fold in the noodles. Let them cook for about 3 min or so.
- Switch the stove off, add basil, mix. Basil will infuse into pad thai and is very aromatic and flavorful.
- Garnish with cilantro.Boil about 4-5 cups of water. Once boiling, switch the stove off and immerse the rice noodles for about 3-5 min until al dente. (not tender). Remember, rice noodles are flat and thin and will cook faster than you think! Drain and shock the noodles with cold water. Keep aside.
Pad Thai Paste
-1 tsp tamarind paste (or 1 lemon sized tamarind ball)
-1 tbs brown sugar
-2 tsp chilli paste
You might wonder about the sugar, but it balances out the sourness of tamarind.
If using fresh tamarind, soak in hot water for about 10 min and squeeze out the pulp to get tamarind concentrate, about ½ cup.
1. Mix the tamarind paste (or concentrate if using), brown sugar and chili paste in ½ cup water. Mix well.
