Tofu Pad Thai

Ever since I completed my quest for ideal meatball and tofu-ball recipes, thanks to the patient instruction of my wonderful friend Kathleen, Pad Thai has become my new culinary nemesis. I've fixed countless different recipes, read innumerable pages on the theories of Thai cooking, and even had a professional chef give me a step-wise explanation of the process while I took notes, and still, every time, my Pad Thai came out lackluster, mushy, or just simply wrong. Never before have I encountered a recipe so capable of confounding me. I've even fixed other Thai dishes with gleeful success, but Pad Thai itself has stubbornly remained the lone dish in our slim, "Restaurant Only" file.

Until, that is, I read the post written by wonderful, inventive Steph of Steph Chows, detailing her triumphant victory with Pad Thai. Suddenly, I had new hope. I reread Steph's recipe with reverence and growing optimism, and was immediately arrested by its pure, unflustered qualities. Perhaps, I wondered, with sudden dawning realization, my troubles all along lay in over-complicating... I promptly decided to attempt a vegan Pad Thai of the very simplest, subtlest nature. Naturally, the vegan component excluded fish sauce and dried shrimp, thus conceding some authenticity, but I was searching instead for a recipe encapsulating simply the essence of Pad Thai, in all its subtleties of the perfect balance between sweet and sour, salty and spicy.

The results were magical. Each flavorful note sang out in perfect harmony, transported by the myriad of textures found in the tender tofu, silky rice noodles, crisp bean sprouts, and crunchy peanuts.

Pad Thai, it seems I was simply looking too hard for you, when you were actually hiding in my own cupboards all along, waiting to come home.

Tofu Pad Thai

*Adapted from Steph Chows' gorgeous, life changing recipe!

3 T soy sauce
1 tsp potato starch
1 lb tofu, pressed dry and cut into 1" x 2" pieces
10 oz rice noodles
1/4 cup tamarind sauce (basically tamarind paste already dissolved in water for you, so you don't have to worry with dissolving the sticky paste in hot water... I've found this at Asian grocery stores and sometimes even at Whole Foods)
1 rounded T chili sauce
3 T canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 cup bean sprouts
1 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
Sriracha hot sauce
Minced green onion
Roasted peanuts

~ Whisk together the soy sauce and potato starch. Pour the mixture over the tofu cubes, and set aside.
~ Soak the rice noodles in boiling water until they are just tender. Drain the noodles, rinse with cold water, return them to the cooking pot, and toss with a bit of olive oil to keep the noodles from sticking together.
~ Whisk together the tamarind sauce and chili sauce, and set aside. Go ahead and taste the sauce, and if it's not quite sweet enough for your tastes, feel free to stir in some honey.
~ In a large wok over high heat, begin stir-frying the garlic and carrots in the canola oil until the garlic is just browned.
~ Add the tofu with the soy sauce marinade, and stir-fry until the tofu is heated through.
~ Reduce the heat to medium-high, and stir in the broth a little at a time, until a nice, thick sauce forms. (This will happen very quickly!)
~ Add the rice noodles, and pour in the tamarind sauce mixture. Toss the noodles frequently until heated through.
~ Add the bean sprouts, and stir-fry for 1 to 2 more minutes.
~ Remove the wok from the heat, stir in the cilantro, and season to taste with Sriracha hot sauce.
~ Serve warm, topped with minced green onion and roasted peanuts!