Mimi Chaihuadjaroen is an incredible Thai cook, and her recipe for vegetarian Pad Thai is just the right dish to make after a busy day at work. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 4 oz thin rice noodles, 2 mm wide
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup slice carrot
- 1 head shallot, small, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- ¾ cup garlic chives, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 2 Eggs options
Sauce
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 ½ Tbsp fermented soybean paste or “tao jiew”
- 3 Tbsp tamarind juice
- 2 Tbsp Sriracha Sauce to add color
- ½ – 1 tsp chili flakes, to taste
- 3 Tbsp palm sugar, chopped
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 cup of hard tofu
Method:
Soak rice noodles in room temperature water for 1 hour or until they turn white. Drain and set aside. You can soak the noodles in advance, drain, and keep in a sealed container in the fridge until ready to use.
Make the sauce: Add tao jiew to a small bowl and mash roughly with a fork to break up the soybeans ) Add all remaining sauce ingredients and stir to mix.
- Add just enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a wok or a large sauté pan, heat over medium high heat until hot, then add tofu. Remove from pan and set aside.
- To the same pan, heat about 2 1/2 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium high heat.
- Add garlic, shallots and palm sugar and cook, stirring frequently until the sugar caramelizes into a deep brown color.
- Add the rice noodles, carrot and tofu. Keep tossing until all the sauce has been absorbed. Taste the noodles, and if they are still undercooked, add a splash of water and let cook until dry again.
- If you want to add eggs: Once the noodles have absorbed most of the sauce, push the noodles to one side. Add eggs into the empty space, break the yolks and let the eggs set about half way. Then put the noodles over the eggs and let the eggs cook for 30 more seconds until the egg is set. Then toss to break up the eggs.
- Turn off the heat, add bean sprouts and garlic chives and toss to mix. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Want to learn more? Join us for a Thai cooking class, or