Tofu Pad Thai Food

PAD THAI WITH TOFU

Steps:

• Coat tofu with cornstarch in a bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat; fry tofu until lightly browned on all sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
• Place noodles in a bowl and pour in enough boiling water to cover; soak until softened, about 3 minutes. Drain.
• Combine water, sriracha, soy sauce, sugar, tamarind concentrate, and red pepper flakes in a saucepan over low heat. Cook and stir sauce until flavors blend, about 5 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add tofu, noodles, and sliced onion; cook and stir until tofu is golden brown; about 3 minutes. Stir in sauce gradually until noodles are well-coated.
• Push noodle mixture to one side of the wok. Crack egg onto opposite side of wok; stir until beginning to set, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir egg into noodles gently. Garnish with green onions, peanuts, and lime wedges.

PAD THAI

Steps:

• Place the tamarind paste in the boiling water and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.
• Combine the fish sauce, palm sugar, and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
• Place the rice stick noodles in a mixing bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Once the other ingredients are measured out into separate bowls, drain the water from the noodles and set them aside. Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch wide strips, similar to French fries.
• Press the tamarind paste through a fine mesh strainer and add to the sauce. Stir to combine.
• Place a wok over high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil. Heat until it shimmers, then add the tofu. Cook the tofu until golden brown, moving constantly, for no longer than 1 minute. Remove the tofu from the pan to a small bowl and set aside.
• If necessary, add some more peanut oil to the pan and heat until shimmering. Add 2/3 of the scallions and then the garlic, cook for 10 to 15 seconds. Add the eggs to the pan; once the eggs begin to set up, about 15 to 20 seconds, stir to scramble. Add the remaining ingredients in the following order and toss after each addition: noodles, sauce, cabbage, shrimp, and 2/3 of the bean sprouts and peanuts. Toss everything until heated through, but no longer than 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with the remaining scallions, bean sprouts, and peanuts. Serve immediately with the ground chile peppers and lime wedges.
• Wrap the tofu firmly in a tea towel. Place the wrapped tofu into an 8-inch cake pan. Top with another cake pan and weigh down with a 5-pound weight. (Bags of dried beans or grains work well.) Place in refrigerator and press for 12 to 15 hours.
• Place pressed tofu in a 2-cup container. Combine soy sauce and five-spice powder and pour over tofu. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, turning once. Remove the tofu from the marinade and use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days.

VEGETARIAN PAD THAI

Steps:

• For the noodles: Cook the noodles according to the package instructions.
• For the sauce: Stir together the brown sugar, tamarind, sriracha, lime juice and soy sauce in a small bowl until well combined.
• For the stir fry: Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Push the tofu and shallots to the side, allowing the excess oil to drip down into the middle of the skillet.
• Add the beaten egg to the middle of the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally and chopping to break it up, until cooked through, about 30 seconds. Add the peppers and cook just to soften slightly, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked noodles, bean sprouts, scallions and sauce to the skillet. Combine the tofu and egg into the ingredients and stir-fry, coating the ingredients with the sauce, and simmer to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Pile the stir fry onto a serving plate and top with the peanuts and cilantro. Serve immediately with lime wedges.

VEGETABLE AND TOFU PAD THAI

Steps:

• Soak noodles according to package instructions; drain. In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, soy sauce, chili sauce, and brown sugar.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1/2 teaspoon oil over medium-high, tilting to coat pan. Add eggs, swirl to coat bottom, and cook until just set, about 1 minute. Transfer eggs to a cutting board, loosely roll up, and cut crosswise into thin strips. Add 4 teaspoons oil to skillet and heat. Add tofu in a single layer and cook until golden brown on both sides, 7 minutes, flipping halfway through. Transfer to cutting board.
• Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, carrots, garlic, and scallion whites to skillet and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add lime-juice mixture and bring to a simmer. Add noodles and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute. Add eggs and tofu and gently toss to combine. Season to taste with salt. Divide among 4 plates and top with peanuts, cilantro, and scallion greens. Serve with lime wedges.

PRAWN & TOFU PAD THAI

Steps:

• Cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions.
• Meanwhile, make the tamarind sauce. Coarsely grate the palm sugar into a bowl, add the tamarind paste, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, a dash of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of boiling water and mix well so the sugar dissolves. Taste, and adjust the flavours if needed - you're looking for sweet, sour and slightly salty.
• Halve, deseed and finely slice the chillies, then place in a bowl with the juice from 1 lime to make a quick pickle.
• Drain the noodles and toss in a little oil.
• Peel and roughly chop the shallots, then trim and finely slice the chives. Pick and roughly chop most of the basil and mint leaves.
• Slice the tofu into rough 1cm chunks. Run the tip of a knife down the back of each prawn and pull out the vein, meaning they'll butterfly as they cook. Rinse the dried shrimps under cold running water, then pat dry with kitchen paper.
• Place a large wok on a medium heat with a splash of oil, then add the dried shrimps, peanuts and chilli flakes. Toss for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden.
• Take the pan off the heat, transfer half the mixture to a pestle and mortar and lightly crush, keeping to one side. Return the pan to a medium-high heat with another splash of oil, adding the shallots to the mix. Fry for 2 minutes, or until turning golden.
• Toss in the prawns, chives, chopped herbs and shredded radish, then cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes, or until the prawns are almost cooked through.
• Beat and add the egg, cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then fold through and toss in the tofu, noodles, beansprouts and tamarind sauce until well combined.
• Divide the pad Thai between bowls, sprinkle over the crushed nut mixture from the mortar and pick over the remaining mint and basil leaves. Serve with the quick pickled chillies and lime wedges for squeezing over. Delicious!

VEGETARIAN PAD THAI

Steps:

• Soak the rice noodles in room temperature water for 30-45 minutes before you cook. Do not soak in hot water or your noodles will get sticky. You want them to be soft enough to bend, but still firm. When finished soaking, drain, rinse, and set aside. Prepare the tamarind paste by squishing 1/8 cup tamarind pulp with 1/8 cup water in a small bowl with your fingers. Take out all the tamarind veins and seeds, and squish the fruit until the water turns into a thickish paste. Strain the pulp with a strainer and set aside. Prepare the sauce by adding 1 tablespoon of that tamarind paste you just made with the soy sauce & palm sugar in a small bowl. If your palm sugar is rock hard and doesn't dissolve, you can cut into small bits and microwave the mixture for 10 seconds or so. That should soften the sugar enough to dissolve. Fry the tofu in hot oil until medium brown on each side. Remove from oil and set aside. Add more oil to the pan, if necessary. Wait until the oil is hot, and 'dancing' around (look at the surface - is the oil moving?) Add the pickled radish and fry for a few seconds to get the flavor out. Add your noodles and stir. You may want to add about 1/8-1/4 cup water too, depending on how hot your wok is. When the noodles soften a bit, add the sauce and the 1/8 teaspoon of the chili powder (leave the rest for garnish). Mix well - but be careful not to make a noodle mush. Try to keep the noodles separated as much as possible, covering the entire bottom of the pan. Spread them out. Cook until the noodles are soft - it may take a minute or two. Taste to be sure they are done. If they get too dry, you may need to add a bit more water. When the noodles are done, push them to the side to create room for the egg. Crack the egg into the space and scramble it with your spatula and cover the bottom of the pan. Throw the noodles on top of the egg. Add the chives, 1/2 of the peanuts and 1/2 bean sprouts. Mix well, and remove to a plate. You may get egg bits stuck to the pan. Scrape them off and eat them. I call these 'wok crispies'. You actually want to try to get them. Garnish with the rest of the sprouts on top, a slice of lime, and a pile each of the white sugar, the rest of the peanuts and the rest of the chili powder. You can also garnish with a few uncut garlic chives and 1/4 small banana flower too.

PAD THAI WITH TOFU

Steps:

• To prepare sauce, in a bowl, combine first 5 ingredients, stirring with a whisk.
• To prepare noodles, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, carrot, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes.
• Add sauce and tofu; cook 1 minute.
• Stir in coconut milk; cook 2 minutes.
• Stir in next 6 ingredients (lettuce through noodles); cook 1 minute.
• Serve with lime wedges.

EASY PAD THAI RECIPE ( CHICKEN, SHRIMP OR TOFU)

Steps:

• Cook noodles according to package instructions (or place rice noodles in a shallow bowl or baking dish and boil enough water to cover them. Cover with boiling water for 7- 8 minutes, until tender, then drain. They don't have to be totally soft, just bendy and pliable)
• shallot, garlic and ginger and set aside.
• the two eggs in a bowl with a fork and add a generous, 3-finger pinch of salt. Set aside.
• Whisk fish sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce. (see notes) in a small bowl. Set aside.
• slice chicken into very thin strips and season with salt and pepper. Crispy Tofu: Blot tofu with paper towels pressing down firmly. Cut tofu into ¾ inch cubes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and for extra crispy, dredge in a little corn starch. Shrimp: Peel and season with salt and pepper. COOK: Sear the seasoned chicken, shrimp or tofu in a wok with hot oil until cooked through over medium-high heat. Set aside, on top of a paper towel, wipe out the pan. Turn heat off.
• Gather your chopped shallots, whisked eggs, cooked noodles, cooked protein and Pad Thai sauce around the stove. Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in the wok over medium heat, add shallot-garlic-ginger and stir, cooking just a few minutes until golden and fragrant.
• Make a well in the center of the wok, scooting the shallot mixture to the side of the pan, add the whisked eggs. With a metal spatula, scramble them and break them apart into little bits, letting them brown just a little, and incorporate them into the shallots continuing to break them into small bits.
• Add the drained, semi-soft noodles and toss with the egg mixture, stirring, flipping, frying constantly for 3-4 minutes until noodles become soft and pliable.
• and cook 1 minute. It will smell quite fishy at first - turn your fan on - but it will mellow out perfectly. Add the cooked chicken, tofu or shrimp and turn and toss the noodles for a few more minutes. Cook until the noodles are soft (but still a little chewy) adding just a little water if it seems too dry.
• and roasted peanuts (or serve on the side) and sprinkle with chili flakes and scallions. Squeeze with a little lime juice. Taste. Adjust salt, lime and sweetness to your liking adding a pinch of salt, more lime or more a pinch more sugar to taste. Give one more toss and serve immediately. Divide among two plates.
• with more bean sprouts, fresh scallions, cilantro or basil, chili flakes, lime wedges and roasted crushed peanuts. Or make this Peanut Chili Crunch!

TOFU PAD THAI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F Cut the tofu into thirds & lightly coat with 1 teaspoons peanut oil per tofu slice. Once done put tofu into oven until pieces are golden & sizzling. Once the tofu is done cut into small cubes.
• Cook rice noodles according to package directions. Once the noodles have cooked cool off with cold water, drain, & set aside.
• Shred carrots & dice green onions while noodles & tofu are cooking.
• Mix together soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, ketchup & peanut butter. Set aside.
• Heat 1 teaspoons oil in large wok. Add cooked noodles, green onions, bean sprouts, carrots & sauce mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens.
• Add tofu pieces and heat through. Garnish with peanuts or serve on the side as an option.

VEGAN PAD THAI

Steps:

• Cook the noodles following packet instructions. Mix the lime juice, tamarind and chilli sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick frying pan or wok and fry the tofu for 5-8 mins, until golden all over. Set aside.
• Add the remaining oil and stir-fry the asparagus until tender. Tip in the spring onions, beansprouts and garlic. Cook for 2 mins more. Stir in the drained noodles, sauce and some salt. Mix in the tofu and heat through. Serve with coriander, salted peanuts and lime wedges.