Pad Thai

  

  
I think I don't like rice very much. Weird, huh? Ate it all the time as a kid, never had a problem with it. It's just that I'd rather eat noodles. I went to TJ's and looked at a pack of frozen pad thai, and then decided not to get it after I realized that it made no sense to pay 3 bucks for $1 worth of ingredients. So I looked at some instructions online, and I read the directions on the back of the noodle bag, and this is what I came up with.

1/3 packet of pad thai noodles

1/2 lb firm tofu
1 tsp sesame oil
1 T soy sauce
1 T fish sauce

1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp grated lemon grass
a shake of hot pepper flakes
1 crushed garlic clove
4 sliced green onions, both green and white parts together

about 12 sliced pea pods
2 T peanut butter
1 T sugar
oil for frying
cilantro, if you want it

Put the noodles in a heatproof bowl large enough for them to lay down flat and cover them with boiling water. Stir them around a few times so they don't stick together, then let them sit for 15 or 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cube the tofu, and toss it with the sesame oil, soy, and fish sauce to marinate a bit.

When the noodles are pretty flexible, put a large-ish skillet on medium high heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of oil, and the ginger, lemongrass, pepper, garlic and onions. Stir them quickly until browned, then add the tofu and any liquid with it. Brown the tofu a bit, then stir in the peas, peanut butter and sugar. As soon as the peas go bright green, drain most of the water off the noodles and add them to the pan. Stir fry until the noodles are soft and translucent. Serve with cilantro.

Notes:

1. No lemongrass? Never mind. You can skip it or you can use the zest of an actual lemon.
2. Vegan? Just use soy, and skip the fish sauce.
3. The noodles cook amazingly fast, like, in about a minute. They will go gelatinous after that. Still tasty though.
4. The peanut butter makes the dish pretty sticky. You could use a handful of chopped peanuts instead, which I think is what you are actually supposed to do.
5. Keep the pan hot. Once you start cooking, everything should be in and out of the pan in rather less than 10 minutes.
6. Don't skip the sugar. I forgot it the second time I made this, and couldn't figure out what was the matter with it. The first time, I used palm sugar, because I happen to have some, but it doesn't matter what kind you use.
7. Remember, the veggies can be anything.

I was trying to think of other stuff that would be good in this. Scrambled egg and sunflower sprouts. Chicken, jicama and basil. Tempeh and bell peppers. That chinese marinated tofu with sliced baby zucchini and yellow squash. Pork and green apples. Shredded carrots and cabbage. Spinach and jerusalem artichokes. Or bok choi, or chard or chrysanthemum greens, or garlic tips, or or or or...ok, I'll calm down. Mostly I'm excited about the noodles. They were an unfamiliar food, and now I know how they work.

Spicy Chicken and Basil (with Spinach)

My fella took me to this Thai restaurant on Alberta and now I can't remember what its name was. I got a beef noodle soup which was pretty good, he got a fried catfish which was A. Mazing. It had this dark red chili sauce on it, and some bell peppers, and sauteed basil as a vegetable. I reminded me of some of the few positive experiences I had when I was living in Taiwan. I don't think I had any Thai food there, but some of the stuff I ate there was similar in retrospect. Basil used as a vegetable rather than a seasoning is one of those things.

This makes 2 dinner- sized servings for me.

Prep about 1/2 lb of chicken tenders with salt, pepper & oil. Leave them to sit in the fridge a few days. The day of, you need:

1 T oyster sauce
1 T fish sauce
1 T sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced lemongrass- I use a chunk of pre-minced lemongrass that came in a little vacuum sealed packet out of the frozen section at Fubonn.
3 or 4 green onions, tops & bottoms minced. This is optional because the 2nd time I made this dish, I forgot to put them in and it didn't really matter. Up to you.
1 large bunch of basil, leaves only
a double handful of fresh spinach leaves

If you want to eat it with noodles like the picture, put on a pot of salted water. The chicken takes maybe about as long to cook as the noodles do. Start the chicken at the same time the noodles go in the pot. That's if you like your noodles pretty firm.

Chop up the chicken and stir in the sesame oil, oyster sauce & fish sauce.  Heat 2 T cooking oil in a frying pan, and when it's hot enough to almost smoke, put in the pepper flakes, garlic, ginger and lemongrass, plus the onions if you've got 'em. Stir a bit until the seasonings brown and get just a tad crispy then dump in the chicken and stir really fast for about 2 more minutes. When the chicken is looking maybe half done, put the greens in the pan and keep stirring until everything is cooked through and the liquid that comes out of the greens has pretty much evaporated.

On a totally unrelated note, the hummingbirds like my sage plant.

Curry in a Hurry

Actually, it is probably slower to cook this in the microwave than on the stove, but I like the Seussian rhyme scheme of 'curry' and 'hurry'.

Lots of things made this meal come together. I didn't have a real appreciation of southeast asian food until recently. I knew about pho, and pretty much that was it. There was a chi-chi little thai place I got lunch at a couple times in NYC, which sort of started me in the right direction, but until I moved here, thai food was kinda intimidating, and I didn't want to try making any myself.

Anyway, last year, I got some curry off a hotcart on 10th and it had squash in it. I thought it was a novel idea, but it wasn't until I made that squash and mushroom pie a while back and had half a squash leftover that it occurred to me that my tofu quickie dish was not the only thing that could be made in the microwave. Then I had dinner at Jade Teahouse in Sellwood, and was pretty well impressed by their green papaya salad. It had the best shrimp on it that I've eaten in a long while. So after that I had to make some thai-style curry.

Squash and Veggies in Red Curry, with Jicama Slaw & Sticky Rice

3/4 lb butternut squash
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
2 green onions, sliced, both green and white parts
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup coconut milk
1 to 4 T red curry paste (I used Maesri brand) depending on desired hotness level.
a splash of fish sauce
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/3 red bell pepper, sliced thin

1/2 lb jicama, peeled and julienned.
1/2 large lime
some cilantro to taste
1/2 tsp honey, optional
pinch of salt

Sushi rice or thai jasmine rice
more coconut milk

I used sushi rice. I think next time I will rinse the rice a bit first, it turned out almost too gooey. If you are using a less gelatinous type of rice, maybe you will want to skip the rinsing. Otherwise, just prepare the rice as usual, but substitute coconut milk for about 1/2 the water.

Scrape the zest off the lime into the jicama, and then squeeze the lime juice over it. Mince the cilantro and add that, and a tiny pinch of salt. If the jicama is not as sweet as it sometimes is, add a tiny dab of honey.

Cut the squash into slices no more than 1/3" thick, and about 1-2 inches across. Put them with a pinch of salt and 1/2 cup water in a 6 cup microwavable container with a lid and cook on high for about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms & onions, repeat. Add spinach, coconut milk and curry paste, stir, repeat. The squash is the determining factor here. When it's tender enough, add the peppers and ginger, taste to see if it needs salt and add fish sauce if it does. If you like it only mildly spiced, you will definitely need the fish sauce, or it will be very bland. Microwave for 1 or 2 minutes longer, and serve over the rice.

I strongly encourage you not to use light coconut milk. There is no protein or fat in this dish otherwise, you need something to make it satisfying. The lime juice on the jicama will cut the richness of the rice and curry in a very refreshing way.