Vegetable & Tofu Pad Thai

"An authentic Pad Thai recipe for real vegetarian Thai food lovers, or those who want a lighter noodle dish without the meat. This Pad Thai recipe offers lots of protein in the form soft tofu and ground nuts. And because it's made with rice noodles, Pad Thai can also be made gluten-free. Although vegetables are not strictly part of traditional Pad Thai, but feel free to add your choices."

Cuisine: Thai | Recipe Category: Lunch & Dinner
Prep Time: 20 Minutes | Cook time: 20 Minutes | serving:  2-3

Ingredients:

For the Sauce:

1.	Tamarind paste	4 Tbsp.
2.	Soy sauce	3 ½ Tbsp.
3.	Red chili sauce (like Sriracha)	1 Tbsp.
4.	Lime juice	1 Tbsp.
5.	Rice vinegar	1 Tbsp.
6.	Brown sugar	3-4 Tbsp.
7.	Water/vegetable stock	¼ cup

For the Noodles:

1.	Dried pad Thai rice noodles	8 oz.
2.	Vegetable/Peanut oil	2-4 Tbsp.
3.	Garlic, minced	4-6 cloves
4.	Shallots	4 (or 1 red onion)
5.	Carrot	2 medium size
6.	Red bell pepper	1 medium size
7.	Firm tofu, drained, thinly sliced, and patted dry	1 cup headful
8.	Bean sprouts	½ cup
9.	Green onions/scallions(white and green parts separated)	2-3
10.	Fresh coriander/cilantro	¼ cup
11.	Roasted peanuts , coarsely chopped	¼ cup
12.	Crushed red pepper	1 Tbsp.
13.	Salt	To taste
14.	Lime wedges	For garnishing

Step By Step Instruction: [Hide Images]

For the Sauce:

1. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a cup, stirring well to dissolve sugar and set aside.                                                                                              OR
2. Pour all the sauce ingredients in a nonstick sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer on low till the sauce has thickened just a little or around 2 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

For the Noodles:

1. Tofu: Slice rinsed and drained tofu into 1 inch thin cubes and pat very dry. Heat 1 Tsp f oil in a large nonstick skillet or pan over medium heat. Fry tofu in 1 layer, gently turning occasionally, until golden, from both sides to 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer tofu to paper towels and set aside.
2. Rice Noodles: Soak and drain the rice noodles as per package instructions. If the package doesn’t have instructions, soak rice noodles in a large bowl with boiling water  for 20 to 30 minutes or till they become pliable (a little firmer than al dente). Check every 5 min or so to make sure they do not get too soft. Then drain. At this stage noodles should be slightly under-cooked in order to come out right when they are stir-fried.
3. Vegetables: Cut scallions green diagonally into 2 inch pieces. Halve pale green and white part lengthwise or diagonally.Cut red bell pepper and shallots in thin slices.Peal carrots and cut into narrow stripes or julienne shape.

Proceed:

1. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat until hot.
2. Add the crushed red pepper. As soon as they sizzle, add minced garlic, shallot, sh and spring onion whites, Stir-fry 1 minute to release the fragrance. 
3. Add bell pepper n carrots Stir-fry 2 minutes, or slightly softened.
4. Add pan fried tofu and mix.
5. If pan is dry, push ingredients aside and add a little more oil to the middle.
6. Add the drained noodles, 1/3 of the sauce and the bean sprouts, green onions;stir-fry on medium high heat for 1-2 minutes using 2 utensils in a gently tossing motion (like tossing a salad). Keep adding remaining sauce and continue stir-frying 3-6 more minutes, or until everything is well combine and the noodles are cooked and chewy but not mushy.
7. Turn off heat; 3/4 of the coriander and 3/4 of the peanuts, mix well. 
8. Garnish with remaining coriander and peanuts. Serve with lime wedges on the side to be squeezed over just before eating. Enjoy!

Quick Tips:

1. The Pad Thai sauce should have a strong tasting flavor but same time must have a balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy. Everyone likes it a different way. Follow my sauce recipe to start with, and then feel free to adjust the sugar (for sweetness), soy sauce (for salt), lime juice (for sourness), red chili sauce (spiciness)
2. Pad Thai noodles are known as Banh Pho and the ingredients must only have rice or rice flour and water. Look for the flat wide ones, sometimes labeled as size “XL
3. Make sure you soak the noodles correctly (see package instructions). Noodles don’t have to soften all the way; they should become pliable, and are no longer stiff. And if you don’t soak them long enough they will be crunchy.
4. Over soaking and over cooking of noodles can result noodles to get mushy.