Serves: 3-5 Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 15 min
Pad thai is a team favorite here at Two Peas In A Pod. Who doesn’t love a balance combination of sweet, salty, sour & spicy. There are many variations of how to make it so we wanted to offer our two best options that we have tried & tested. Option 2 is slightly sweeter, but both are just as delicious. We promise that tamarind is the secret to a great pad thai, and want to caution you to avoid places that use ketchup to give it that red coloring. Ingredients Sauce Option 1 3 tbsp brown sugar (palm sugar, if you have access), tightly packed 1/4 cup tamarind concentrate 2 tbsp fish sauce 3 tbsp water **You can add a little bit of water as needed to cut the concentrate ***You can add a touch more sugar, if preferred Sauce Option 2 ½ cup tamarind water (1 cup tamarind paste, 1-2 cup warm water) ½ cup palm sugar 2 tbsp soy sauce 3 tbsp sweet black soy sauce 3 tbsp soybean paste 2 cups water Assembly 1 packet of Fresh Thai Style Noodle, soaked for 25 minutes 1 medium head shallot, thinly sliced 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 package of firm tofu, cut into small pieces 2 tbsp of chili flakes, or to taste (we like it spicy) ¾ to 1 cup of chopped sweet preserved daikon radish 3 large eggs 2.5 cups bean sprouts, rinsed 1 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced ¾ cup chopped roasted peanuts 2-3 limes Carrots, julienned (optional) **You can adjust less or more of any ingredient listed above to suit your needs better! Process
Soak the rice noodles in room temperature water for 25 min, until the noodles turn from translucent to completely white. Drain. (You can even slightly cook the noodles on low right before starting your wok if you are crunched for time or space).
Heat 2 tbsp of oil (or 1 tbsp of oil, 1 tsp of sesame oil, and 2 tbsp of soy sauce) over high heat in a large saute pan. Once the pan is hot, throw in the tofu and let cook with occasional stirring until lightly browned on all sides. Remove and set aside in a prep bowl.
In the same pan, add 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Add the shallots, garlic, preserved radish, and chili flakes. Cook until the garlic + shallots starts to brown. Add the tofu back in.
Push all the ingredients to the side and add the eggs in to lightly scramble. Once the eggs are mostly cooked, toss the ingredients back over and continue to stir.
Push the ingredients back to the sides of the wok and add the noodles. If they did not soak long enough, or still seem to stiff, you can add a little bit of warm water over it to help it cook in the wok. Once they are soft enough to toss around, add the sauce and full incorporate all ingredients back in.
Add bean sprouts, green onions, and half of the peanuts. Toss to fully incorporate, and for this step the hot cooked noodles when placed on top of the bean sprout will help them cook while remaining crunchy.
Taste a noodle from the wok, and more sauce as needed.
If the noodles are cooked, and extra has been added if needed, and bean sprouts have slight cooked. Remove from heat and turn off heat.
When plating, add some remaining peanuts, spice, and carrots if desired. Garnish lime slices on the plate and squeeze over the plate for a extra kick!