Pad Thai

I've blogged before about my SIL's mom, C, who compiled some of her favourite catering recipes (she & my SIL run a catering business on top of their busy day jobs) into a cookbook she distributed to friends & family two Christmases ago. C called the cookbook "Tried & True" and one night recently I was inspired to tackle the Pad Thai recipe in it.

I've had the Pad Thai before; my SIL has made it for family dinners and it was always delicious. Also, one year my SIL & C and a few other people had a stall at Shambhala, a big giant music festival held in the area, and the Pad Thai was on their menu.

The recipe is simple and quick and it made tons - enough for several meals for me. It's also great cold! I skipped the chili flakes because I don't like spice.

C's Pad Thai

8oz flat rice noodles
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups thinly sliced cabbage (I used coleslaw mix, one of my favourite kitchen allies)
1 medium carrot, julienned (skip if you decide to use the coleslaw mix)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup firm tofu
1 cup of chicken, cut into strips, or an equal amount of cooked peeled shrimp
3 cups bean sprouts
1 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup peanuts

Sauce:

3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/4 cup water or chicken broth
2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1. Cover noodles in hot water & soak for 20 minutes. Drain well.

2. Combine sauce ingredients and set aside.

3. In a wok, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, tofu, and chicken (or shrimp, if using - or live on the edge & use both!). Stirfry until the chicken is done. Add cabbage & carrot. Stirfry until cabbage is tender-crisp.

4. Push veggies to the side of the pan and pour in eggs. Stir to scramble.

5. Add drained noodles and sauce. Heat until noodles are soft & warm, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add bean sprouts, green onion, and cilantro. Transfer to platter & sprinkle with peanuts. Serve!

Enjoy!

Tofu Tuesday #3: Another Stirfry

Time for another installment of Tofu Tuesday!

While searching out new and exciting tofu products, I came across this at my local overpriced grocery store last week:
Yes! Flavoured tofu snacks, complete with dipping sauce, made by someone named Pete! For $2.49, I had to give it a whirl. Out of the package, this is what I was dealing with:
Well, it certainly didn't taste as exciting as it looks, I can tell you that. I had one triangle with the dipping sauce and I can safely tell you the dipping sauce was the best thing about the snack. Luckily, I have more imagination than just biting into a hunk of tofu dipped in sauce - I made a stirfry!
Coleslaw mix is my new favourite thing because it is wicked in stirfries. The udon noodles were OK - probably better in soup. And that is the only brand of Peanut Sauce I like. Here is the finished product:
Actually, all put together this was quite good. A simple, quick, healthy meal - which meant I didn't feel as guilty about the cake I ate from yesterday's post!