This is one of my favorite all-time dinners to order from a Thai restaurant.  I wanted to learn to make it at home, and after a few tries and suggestions from friends, I found a combination of ingredients that tops my list!  You can use meat instead of tofu, if you prefer. Start mild and adjust spicy-ness to your preference.  My kids eat this happily, but they are used to spicy food.  I’d say the way the recipe is written, it is about med. spicy.  I serve it with Indian Rice Pudding for dessert as it has a soothing, cooling effect. Use fresh, organic ingredients for a big difference in flavor and nutrition.  All these ingredients can be found at most organic food coops or Asian grocery stores.  I’d like to try substituting honey for the raw sugar sometime!

Tofu Pad Thai

6 oz dried rice noodles

1/2 c rice vinegar

1/2 c soy sauce

1/2 c raw sugar, sucanat, or brown sugar (reserve 1 t.)

1/3 c grapeseed oil

8 cloves garlic (use less if you’re not a fan)

1 T garlic, chopped

5 eggs

3 whole red chilis, dried

2 t chili powder

1 1/2 T sesame seeds

1 package firm tofu (12-14 oz)

1 1/2 c crisp bean sprouts

1 c peanuts, crushed

1 T paprika

1/2 c green onion, sliced into small rings

Juice of 1 lime

2 limes, sliced

Soak noodles in very hot water until soft.  While noodles soak, combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar in a pot on the stovetop just to a light simmer over med-low heat, mixing well.  In wok, cast iron pan, or a frying pan, roast the garlic in the grapeseed oil. You can use sunflower, vegetable, or olive oil if you prefer.  Grapeseed is just light and heats very quickly.

Wisk the eggs and then add them to the garlic and scramble, adding in the chilis, chili powder, and the sesame seeds.   (The eggs will be crumbly because of the oil. It will be very spicy at this point so beware of tasting, it will mellow down with more ingredients to be added.  Use less chili powder if desired, you can add always more later.) Drain the tofu and slice it into 1/2″-1″ or so squares.  Crisp the tofu and the bean sprouts with a little oil and then add to the egg mixture.  Drain the rice noodles and add them to the mixture.  At this point, your vinegar/soy sauce mixture should be at a nice low simmer.

Add half of the ground peanuts to the vinegar/soy pot and stir for just a minute or still over heat, then remove and pour all over the noodle and egg mixture and toss lightly, adding in the paprika and green onion.  Top with the remaining ground peanuts, 1 t of remaining sugar, juice of 1 lime, and lime slices.  Makes enough for about 4-5. Serve and enjoy!

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