Farmer John’s Almost Pad Thai

In my research about how to make Pad Thai, I found out that, while making something delicious, I wasn’t exactly making authentic Pad Thai. In fact, Pad Thai has a very specific history, and some on the internet are very passionate about explaining this to the general public. My goal with this recipe is simple: combine some farm veggies with other tasty ingredients, one of which is Pad Thai noodles. Anyway, I think you’ll enjoy this recipe if you try it. Enjoy!

Ingredients for the Sauce

1/4 tsp. ground cayenne or thai chilis (use 1/2 tsp. for greater spice level)

4 tsp. coconut sugar or brown sugar

juice of 3 limes

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. peanut butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts, unsalted

1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

1 tsp. light miso (optional)

1 tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)

Other Ingredients

1 sweet potato, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 tbsp. ginger, freshly minced

1 tbsp. turmeric, freshly minced (optional)

extra firm tofu, cut into bite-size cubes

2 packages of pad thai rice noodles

Preparation

1. Combine the sugar, ground chili, and lime juice. Whisk together until the sugar is the dissolved. I used ground chilis from 2016.

2. Thoroughly mix in olive oil, soy sauce, and peanut butter.

3. Mix in the rest of the sauce ingredients: garlic, chopped peanuts, cilantro, miso, and nutritional yeast. Set aside.

4. Begin to sauté the chopped sweet potato and carrot. After a few minutes add in the onion, ginger, & turmeric. Stir frequently until finished cooking, about 15 minutes. Then turn off the heat.

5. Drain the tofu package, cut into bite size cubes, and then place in a mixing bowl. Pour approximately 3 tbsp. of soy sauce over it and set aside.

6. In a sauce pan, set water to boil and cook the pad thai noodles. This only takes about 5 minutes so be careful not to over cook.

7. Once the noodles are done, drain them. Then put them in a large pot, add the veggies from the frying pan, add the tofu, and pour the sauce over all of it. With a wooden spoon, stir until everything is well-combined.

8. Eat!

Note: You can use pork chops, cut into bite-size pieces, instead of the tofu.