Mid Week Pad Thai

Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines. The depth of flavors, spicy, tart, sweet, salty, mixed with the fresh vegetables and hearty noodles and rice are comfort food any time of the year. Pad Thai is the most popular Thai noodle dish and it can be made quickly and easily at home, even on a weekday! This isn't an "original" recipe so much as a morphed version of several different Pad Thai recipes I've seen. Since it's the "quick and easy" version I use a pre-made sauce (I'll be experimenting with a homemade sauce soon)! I was fortunate enough to have many of the ingredients available locally which always results in a better dish!

This recipe is very adaptable and I have a feeling it'll always come out a little different each time depending on what I have available. You'll want to make sure EVERYTHING is pre-chopped and ready to go in the pan as soon as you start cooking. This is a quick recipe and leaves no room for chopping/prepping once you start cooking.

So, without further ado, here is the quick and easy midweek Pad Thai recipe. This recipe makes one really big serving or 2 lunch size servings.

1/2 lb extra firm tofu, drained and cubed (takes about 30 mins to drain the water out)

1 egg

4 Tbs canola or peanut oil

1/4 package of straight cut rice noodles (I use Taste of Thai noodles, soak according to package directions, about 30 mins)

2-4 cloves minced garlic

2 carrots, sliced

4 scallions sliced

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

1/2 cup mung bean sprouts (I didn't have them this time, but normally use them)

1 small head of pak choi chopped (I don't usually have this but had some from my CSA)

3 Tbs of Taste of Thai Pad Thai sauce

cilantro for garnish

Heat a pan on medium high heat, add 2 Tbs oil, add tofu and cook until nicely browned. Add egg and scramble (only takes about 30 seconds). Remove tofu and egg from pan.

Add remaining oil, add all veggies (except scallions), garlic, and noodles. Once veggies are cooked add sauce, scallions, and peanuts. Stir to combine.

Garnish with mung bean sprouts and cilantro.

Super yummy! AND I have leftovers for tomorrow:)