When I think of Pad Thai, I think of Bob Like's Thai Food because that is where I go to get this classic Thai dish. Never did I imagine making it from scratch at home. The Beef Pad Thai with Tamarind Sauce with Toasted Peanuts is my favourite recipe to date from FreshPrep.
The original recipe used beef; however, I am not much of a red meat eater so I decided to modify this recipe. In place of the beef I was sent, I used extra firm tofu which then made this recipe vegetarian-friendly. It was a risky thing to do especially since I have never even made Pad Thai, but it turned out amazing and tasted phenomenal!
Since I am trying to include more vegetables into my diet, I added broccoli, mushrooms and extra red pepper. I started by blanching the broccoli and setting it aside. In a big saucepan, I cooked down the sliced mushrooms and red peppers until they softened. At that point, I tossed in the broccoli, shredded carrot, garlic, green onion and extra firm tofu that I broke apart with my fingers. I like using extra firm tofu because it holds its shape and has a texture similar to Indian paneer, so basically you can substitute extra firm tofu for Indian cheese. I added in the sauce and cooked it all together for a little longer to allow the veggies and tofu to absorb the flavour and then added in the rice noodles. VOILA! Best Pad Thai that I have ever had in my life!
There are two things I want you to be aware of when tackling this recipe or a different pad thai recipe.
Firstly, Bird's Eye Chilli is no joke and do not disregard Fresh Prep's warning. This has to be the spiciest chilli that I have ever handled and it literally made my finger tips burn for three days! You really want to be cautious when handling the chilli and want to wash your hands immediately with soup and water so you do not get the oils of the chilli elsewhere. Despite me washing my hands and continuing to wash them for a few days, the oils just really had soaked into my skin and so every time that I accidentally rubbed my eyes, they burned! On the plus side, the Bird's Eye brought a fantastic kick to the dish and made it really flavourful.
The second tip and something that I learned from my friend's Mum was to cook the noodles very last. The rice noodles cook very fast, so you want to just strain them and put them immediately into your sauce. If you keep your rice noodle sitting aside like I had, the noodles stick together. If it were not my friend's Mum stepping in and fixing my glob of stuck together rice noodles, this Pad Thai could have been an epic fail. She also said that not only do you want to use them immediately, but if you are going to have them sitting out for a few minutes, toss them in a little bit of cooking oil. The light coating of oil just prevents the noodles from drying out and sticking. It also makes it much easier to mix the noodles in with the sauce and vegetables.
This was a really great recipe and I most definitely will be keeping my eye out for this particular Pad Thai on FreshPrep. I also just loved how easy it was to substitute the beef for extra firm tofu. Also, if you are thinking I just got rid of the beef, I did not, but gave it to a friend so beef lovers, do not be triggered!
My only suggestion to Fresh Prep for this recipe would be to change the order of the steps, so cooking the noodles is last. Aside from that, the recipe was brilliant.
Use the code PTLFRESH18 to receive three free servings!!! If you use the code, it also supports me so I can keep bringing you awesome content.
BYES
Received complimentary for review consideration; all opinions are my own. Affiliate codes used.
Firstly, Bird's Eye Chilli is no joke and do not disregard Fresh Prep's warning. This has to be the spiciest chilli that I have ever handled and it literally made my finger tips burn for three days! You really want to be cautious when handling the chilli and want to wash your hands immediately with soup and water so you do not get the oils of the chilli elsewhere. Despite me washing my hands and continuing to wash them for a few days, the oils just really had soaked into my skin and so every time that I accidentally rubbed my eyes, they burned! On the plus side, the Bird's Eye brought a fantastic kick to the dish and made it really flavourful.
The second tip and something that I learned from my friend's Mum was to cook the noodles very last. The rice noodles cook very fast, so you want to just strain them and put them immediately into your sauce. If you keep your rice noodle sitting aside like I had, the noodles stick together. If it were not my friend's Mum stepping in and fixing my glob of stuck together rice noodles, this Pad Thai could have been an epic fail. She also said that not only do you want to use them immediately, but if you are going to have them sitting out for a few minutes, toss them in a little bit of cooking oil. The light coating of oil just prevents the noodles from drying out and sticking. It also makes it much easier to mix the noodles in with the sauce and vegetables.
This was a really great recipe and I most definitely will be keeping my eye out for this particular Pad Thai on FreshPrep. I also just loved how easy it was to substitute the beef for extra firm tofu. Also, if you are thinking I just got rid of the beef, I did not, but gave it to a friend so beef lovers, do not be triggered!
My only suggestion to Fresh Prep for this recipe would be to change the order of the steps, so cooking the noodles is last. Aside from that, the recipe was brilliant.
Use the code PTLFRESH18 to receive three free servings!!! If you use the code, it also supports me so I can keep bringing you awesome content.
BYES
Received complimentary for review consideration; all opinions are my own. Affiliate codes used.
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