Pad Thai

This is one of our favorite meals right now.  I have made this recipe twice and we all love it!  It is even better the next day as leftovers.  A and C can't get enough of it.  Therefore, I usually double the recipe.


Pad Thai

from Artisanal Gluten-free Cooking p. 155

2 tablespoons tamari wheat-free soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I am going away from refined sugar so have been usually coconut palm sugar)
2 tablespoons peanut butter (C doesn't eat peanut butter yet so I use sunflower butter, which I prefer much more than peanut butter in anything that calls for peanut butter)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons ground chili paste (my favorite brand is Thai Kitchen)
8 ounces of wide rice noodles (my favorite brand is Tinkyada Brown Rice Fettucini)
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minched fresh ginger
2 skinless chicken breasts (I use firm tofu instead)
1 egg
1/2 cup bean sprouts (I leave this ingredient out and add a TON of organic veggies - I add chopped red pepper, green pepper, onion, mushrooms, celery, carrots, squash, zucchini - anything you like)
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro leaves (I tend to use more)
1/4 cup peanuts, crushed
1 lime, quartered

Directions:
1. Whisk together the soy sauce, water, sugar, peanut butter (or sunflower butter), rice vinegar, and chili paste in a small bowl and set aside.  The peanut butter will not mix in completely.
2. Place the raw rice nooldes in a bowl and pour very hot water over them.  Let them soak for 15 minutes, until al dente.  Drain well. (If you use the Tinkyada brand, you can boil them on the stovetop for about 14 minutes on medium-high heat and then drain and run cold water over them).
3. Heat about 1 heavy tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add the chicken (or tofu) and cook, stirring, until cooked through.  Remove the chicken (or tofu) from the pan and set aside.
(I then add this step in the recipe, which is not listed in the cookbook - add a little more oil (you don't need much or they become too oily) and saute the veggies.  The more firm veggies should go in first and saute for longer and you can add softer veggies as the first veggies become somewhat soft.  We use a ton so I usually saute them in two different batches in the wok).
4. Add a little more oil to the pan and cook the egg, stirring, for about 45 seconds.  Add the cooked noodles and stir-fry for 30 seconds to separate the noodles.  Add the sauce and chicken (or tofu and veggies), and cook for about 1 minute longer, until heated through.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in the bean sprouts (if you use them, we don't), cilantro, and peanuts.  Toss.  Squeeze one-quarter of the lime over each serving.

My notes:
- This is one of the newer cookbooks I ordered off Amazon.  I do like the cookbook, but I tend to add a TON more veggies than the recipe calls for, I think that most recipes lack enough veggies for our tastes.  I would even make the Pad Thai without Chicken or Tofu, just veggies.
- If you are pinched for time, you could buy a couple of bags of frozen organic veggies.  We did this with first batch and it turned out great.  We used 2 full bags and thought that it could still use a third bag of veggies next time.
- I always use the entire bag of Tinkyada Fettucini noodles (14 ounces) and again, a ton of veggies so I double the sauce, garlic, ginger, and use 2 eggs.
- I serve the cilantro leaves, peanuts, and lime separately (and have plenty of extra) so that we can all add these ingredients to our bowls as we would like (and C can skip the peanuts).  This is my favorite part, the cilantro, peanuts and lime juice make it taste FANTASTIC!  Also, A and C will just sit and eat cilantro leaves while they are waiting.
- If you haven't used rice noodles before, I think they are better than whole wheat noodles and I highly recommend the Tinkyada brand.  We use the Tinkyada shells for Mac N Cheese...coming in an upcoming post.
- If you haven't tried Sunflower butter, try it!  It is awesome, I never eat peanut butter and could eat sunflower butter plain, it's SOOO good.

ENJOY!!!