Vegetarian Pad Thai

Pad Thai is perhaps the most beloved of all Thai dishes, and also the easiest to vegetarianise. This is Thailand's ubiquitous street food, which is almost always made to order and so it's easy to opt out of meat, eggs and the omnipresent nam pla (fish sauce).

The term 'Pad Thai' literally translates to 'fried thai', but it really refers to (usually) flat rice noodles fried with thai spices & seasonings.

I remember at the end of a long trek on the hills of Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, we came upon this little shack which sold only 3 things: Pad Thai, Pepsi and Singha beer! We were so famished that we devoured that pad thai, nam pla and all, because try as we might, we just could not explain 'no fish sauce' to the dear old lady who cooked it. Aside of that, it was the most delicious Pad Thai I have had till date.

Now almost a decade of pad thai-ing later, I still rely on memories of that one's perfect texture and seasoning, to cook this dish at home. The recipe that follows is exactly how I remember it being made and served back then.

Pad Thai

Ingredients:

1. Flat rice noodles , around 100 gms

These need to be soaked for at least 45 minutes to up to 90 minutes in warm water, after which they would be soft and expanded, somewhat like this:

2. Peanuts (1/2 a cup although,the more, the merrier!)

dry roast in a fry pan till till the skin blisters, let cool then rub between your palms to skin them, or use pre-roasted peanuts

1 cup each
Moong bean sprouts
Garlic Chives (can be easily substituted with spring onions)

100 gms
Firm tofu, sliced & roasted without oil in a non stick pan, then cubed

Learn about 'Tofu Geometry' and dry roasting tofu here
Pad Thai sauce:
6 Tbsp of light soy sauce
3 to 4 tbsp of tamarind pulp
1 to 2 tbsp of sugar
salt, a pinch, or to taste
Mix and simmer everything together till the sugar gets dissolved. Taste to check if the balance of sweet, sour & salty is to your liking, the above proportions are broadly how I like it, although by now I have stopped measuring exactly. Add more salt, sugar, tamarind accordingly. Keep aside.
Shortcut: Substitute with common gur imli ( jaggery Tamarind) chutney that you use for chaat, its almost the same, minus the soy sauce, really!
What else:
4 tsp chopped garlic & shallots each
Oil
water as needed
salt, if required
lime and chili powder to garnish
Putting it together:

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok, add 1 tsp garlic, followed by 1 tsp of shallots and fry for around a minute. Now add some tofu, then drain and add the a quarter of the soaked noodles. Fry for around another minute on medium flame and add some of the sauce. Keep stirring to ensure the noodles don't stick, should that happen, or if the noodles start looking too dry, add a splash of water. Now add beansprouts and chives and toss well to mix. Be generous with chives and sprouts as they cook down considerably. Check for salt and other seasonings, like all thai food, pad thai is really all about individual preference.Another 30 seconds or so and it should be done.

Tip: It helps to make only 1 to 2 servings at a time when making this, or any noodle dish for that matter. Even if you use a large wok, a big bunch of noodles almost always tends to get lumpy, or overcooked. Moreover, once you have everything ready, each serving takes only a few minutes to cook. For us , the above serves 3 adults and one child and I usually make it in 2 or 3 lots.

This is a great video I referred to the first few times I made pad thai. Do check it out.
The traditional way to garnish pad thai is with some more chives and sprouts, but it is totally up to your liking for them. As for me, I like them a lot, and like them raw, just as I remember them.

Serve some crushed peanuts, coarsely powdered chili & lime for everyone to season further to their taste. In Thailand, they also give a tiny mound of sugar on each plate, which I still haven't developed a taste for, but try that if you like.

Here's an extra spicy plate, the way ol' P likes it!

This plate of Pad Thai goes to AWED Thailand hosted by DK on her blog, Culinary Bazaar

Kway Teow Pad Kee mao-Spicy Drunken noodles

No..it's not what you think..its not the noodles that are err.. inebriated. To get the story on why they are called thus, refer here .

These noodles may not be able to compete with pad thai in the looks department but when it comes to packing a spicy, fragrant punch, pad kee mao is the clear winner। The suffix kee mao in thai is used for dishes that feature the sacred trinity of fresh chillies, garlic and holy basil

If you cannot find these thick flat noodles (sen yai), feel free to substitute them with spaghetti ( that's how it was served to us in a chi chi restaurant in phuket)

This recipe is loosely based from a book called 'The best of Thai Vegetarian Food' by Sisamon Kongpan that we picked up in Bangkok . On with the recipe:

Rice noodles 50 g

Garlic cloves 4 to 6

Fresh Red chillies 3 to 4 ( This dish is not named drunken noodles for nothing, see history)

Salt 1/2 tsp

Tofu 30 g

Optional but not authentic : Broccoli, Baby corn, Cabbage.Blanch first two

Sliced Tomato 1 small

Fresh basil leaves ( a generous handful)

Unless you have basil at hand, don't bother to make this dish !

Light soy sauce

Maggi seasoning sauce ( This is a secret sauce used by thai restaurants, adds a delicate flavour)

1. Marinate the tofu in soy sauce for 10 minutes while you prepare other stuff.

2. Boil the noodles 'al dente" or 80 % done or according to package directions. This time I used fresh pre cooked rice noodles, but the dried ones need to be cooked for around 3 to 5 minutes typically. See here for more info on preparing noodles.

3. Spray a non stick wok with oil and fry the tofu lightly till the edges brown.Keep aside

4. Heat some oil in a wok ( around 2 tbsp) and fry the ground paste. Turn up your exhaust if you don't want to choke the whole house ! Add the prepared veggies, if using and fry lightly. Add the noodles and soy sauce and maggi seasoning sauce. Fry gently for about 2 minutes. Add the tofu.

5. Bung in the basil and suddenly magical smells will waft from the wok ! Throw in the tomatoes and stir around for a few sconds until the basil slightly wilts.

6. Serve

Some step by step instrunctions on these are :

1. http://www.realthairecipes.com/recipes/drunken-noodles/

2. with chicken

3. Short cut version

Hokkien aka Hakka Noodles

Hokkien Noodles

Craving a quick, healthy lunch in less than half an hour ? These Hakka noodles can be rustled up quickly and nicely fulfil indo Chinese grub cravings.

Here’s what we need:

1 coil of dried noodles
Veggies of your choice 1 cup
( I used carrots, bean sprouts, spring onions, long beans, kalian/spinach)
Fried Tofu strips (optional)
Light soya sauce 2 tbsp
Salt ½ tsp
Your favourite chilli paste or sambal ( I used homemade paste)
Completely optional : I also had some soya chunks from the previous night that I tossed in, which added a great texture to the noodles
Garnish:
Thinly sliced cucumber
Lime

Method:
1. Boil noodles according to package directions. Mine required boiling for 5 minutes

2. If using long beans, can parboil together with the noodles. French beans usually do not require boiling.

3. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a non stick wok and stir fry carrot, beans and any hard veggies that need to go in first. Add tofu, if using. ( Can use chicken instead). Fry until cooked.

4. Add the noodles and salt. Add chilli paste and fry nicely. A few splashes of soya sauce if using light soya, otherwise add dark soya to taste.

5. At this stage I added soya, and the other veggies. Fry for around a minute or so, sprinkling water( yes ! water) if it looks too dry.

6. Serve with lime and cucumber.

Serves 1 hungry adult