Ingredients

Let’s Cook!

• 1
  Assemble and prepare all your ingredients as described in steps 2 - 6. Once you start cooking, you’ll need everything at your fingertips.
• 2
  Make the sauce by combing the ingredients listed in the recipe. Whisk until smooth, cover, and refrigerate until needed.
  
• 3
  Drain the tofu and press it to remove excess fluid: 🔹 Slice the tofu block in half horizontally. 🔹 Place one half of the tofu on a small dish lined with paper towels. 🔹 Put two folded paper towels on top of the tofu, followed by the other tofu half. 🔹 Place more paper towels on the top of the tofu. You should now have a towel/tofu/towel/tofu/towel tower. 🤪 🔹 Place something a little heavy (like a book or plate) on top of the tower. 🔹 Refrigerate this leaning tower of tofu for 30 minutes.
• 4
  Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
• 5
  Dice the onion and red bell pepper, cut the carrots into matchsticks, mince the garlic, whisk the eggs, and crumble the drained, pressed tofu.
  
• 6
  Soak the rice noodles according to the package directions for stir-fry recipes. Do not boil the noodles! My noodles soaked for 30 minutes in hot (not boiling) water before I rinsed them. The noodles were only moderately pliable at this point, but they will continue cooking in the sauce later.
  
• 7
  Fry the chicken over medium heat using a neutral cooking oil (e.g. vegetable oil). Don’t crowd the pan.
  
• 8
  Add a little more oil in the pan and add the crumbled tofu. Fry it, stirring often, until the tofu is more firm. This will only take about a minute over medium-low heat. It will not brown.
  
• 9
  Add a little more oil in the pan, and fry the onion for about 2 minutes, stirring often.
  
• 10
  Add the red bell pepper and carrot to the pan. Fry for another 2 or 3 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute more.
  
• 11
  Cook the eggs in sesame oil. You can cook them as a large sheet of eggs, and then cut them into strips, or you can scramble them. I chose to scramble them this time.
  
• 12
  To the large pot (which now contains the chicken, veggies, and tofu), add the sauce. Bring to a low boil, and reduce the heat so it simmers gently for a minute or two.
  
• 13
  Add the rice noodles and toss gently to coat the noodles with the sauce. Let the mixture cook for about 4 minutes, or until the noodles are al dente.
• 14
  Finally, add the egg mixture and toss the noodles again.
  
• 15
  For the topping: Crush the peanuts by using a rolling pin. (I store my crushed peanuts in the fridge to maintain freshness)
  
• 16
  Serve the Pad Thai with the crushed peanuts, cilantro, sliced green onion, lime wedges, and extra chile garlic sauce. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• 17
  Notes:
• 18
  Notes: 🇹🇭 Other proteins can be used in this dish. Shrimp would be a great addition! Or, you can make it vegetarian by using only tofu.