Hello hi everyone! This is a pad thai recipe that I've made more times than I can count. It leans heavily on the use of tamarind paste and fish sauce, which you will find are two of the most quintessential "Thai" flavors that you associate with Thai food. It's also one of my favorites cause it's made primarily of pantry and/or freezer ingredients, so it's a great one to bring up if you haven't gone to the grocery store in a while. Hope you try it!
serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS (dry)
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ginger (about 1 inch)
1 pepper (thai chile, jalapeno, serrano, or similar)
2 medium carrots
2 green onions
3 eggs
vegetable oil
8 oz rice noodles
1 lb firm tofu
1/4 cup peanuts
cilantro
INGREDIENTS (sauce)
6 tbsp fish sauce
4 tbsp tamarind paste
4 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 lime
kosher salt
PREP
CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
PEEL and mince the ginger, set aside
DICE the pepper, set aside
JULIENNE the carrots, set aside
SLICE the green onions, set aside
COMBINE the fish sauce, tamarind paste, brown sugar, lime juice, and a pinch of kosher salt, stir, and set aside
SOAK the rice noodles in boiling water, agitating constantly so they don’t clump together
WHISK the eggs until fluffy, and set aside
CRUSH the peanuts, and set aside
ON THE STOVE
HEAT a wok as hot as possible, then add 2 tbsp vegetable oil
ADD the garlic, ginger, and pepper, and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes
REMOVE the the aromatics from the wok and add it to the sauce mixture. Stir to combine, then set aside
ADD 4 additional tbsp vegetable oil to the wok
SEAR the tofu for 2-4 minutes until browned, then add 2 tbsp of the sauce mixture
ADD the carrots to the wok, season with 2 tbsp sauce mixture, and toss to combine
ADD the noodles to the wok, season with 2 tbsp sauce mixture, and toss to combine
ADD the egg mixture to the wok, and toss to combine
ADD the green onions to the wok, and toss to combine
ADD the remaining sauce mixture, and toss to combine
REMOVE from heat, and finish with crushed peanuts and cilantro (not parsley)