Recipe: Pad Thai

Ingredients

(serves 4)

1 tbsp groundnut oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
(You can substitute these for other oils if you need to, but these do add some flavour)
2 tbsp dark soy sauce to taste
1 tbsp coconut sugar – brown sugar would do
4 garlic cloves
5cm piece of fresh ginger (about thumb sized)
2 x 280g block of firm tofu
125g smooth peanut butter
100g Sriracha – more or less to taste
235ml water
2 carrots
8 baby corn
1 handful of mangetout
2 red chillies
1 red bell pepper
60g crunchy peanuts
2 spring onions
1 pack of rice noodles

Directions

1. Prepare the tofu and vegetables – it is best to press the tofu then dry with a paper towel, or freeze and defrost before using.
   
2. Press and cut the tofu into 1cm cubes.
   
3. Finely chop the garlic Chop the ginger into matchsticks, then finely dice the carrots and red bell pepper.
   
4. Chop the baby corn into quarters, deseed and finely slice the red chillies, finely slice the spring onion.
   
5. Heat the oil in a pan, add the ginger & garlic and stir for about a minute (don't let the garlic brown).
   
6. Add the tofu cubes to the pan and cook for a few minutes, until they start to darken on the outside Add the smooth peanut butter & stir so it's all mixed in nicely, then add the soy sauce, Sriracha and water Stir and cook down until you have a nice thick paste coating the tofu.
   
7. Add the coconut sugar stir until it's dissolved and mixed in thoroughly.
   
8. Add the vegetables and mix round so they're all well covered in the sauce (don't let them get too soft - the veg will ideally have a crunch to them).
   
9. Add the crushed nuts, green onions & stir, then, add the freshly cooked rice noodles (cook according to back of packet - they should be fresh out the pan & still very much wet - this makes the sauce the perfect consistency) Mix them round so they're well covered in the sauce.
   
10. Serve immediately with a dressing of Sriracha, crushed peanuts & spring onions.