Pad Thai

You might have noticed I only prepared three Costa Rican meals, compared to the four to five that I have been making. The biggest reason for this was that I couldn't find a lot of Costa Rican meals; apparently they don't have a large diet. I know this can't be true because, hello, there are more than two people living in that country, but it was hard to find a lot of recipes that were appealing and different from each other. Most of the recipes involved rice and beans, which is fine, but that can be boring after a couple of days. I had read that a big part of Tico diet is rice and beans so I expected that going into researching meals but I had no idea just HOW big. They're like in every meal. I've stated numerous times how much I love rice and beans but even though that love is strong, it's not every day strong. It's more like once a week strong. Maybe even every couple of week strong. What I'm saying is that Costa Rican food has made me rethink my relationship with rice and beans. So if anything came out of last week's cooking, it's that rice and beans and I are now in therapy and working out some stuff.

We'll be fine. I know we will.

Moving on.

This week we're eating Thai food. I was and am super excited about this week! I haven't had a lot of experience with Thai food but what I have eaten has been great so I know this week will make my belly very happy! Since I didn't really enjoy looking up recipes online for Turkey and Costa Rica weeks, and because I know I'll want to make more of this cuisine, I went out and bought a Thai cookbook. Today's meal, however, came courtesy of my running partner. Last week I mentioned I was doing Thai food and she said she had some great recipes a friend had shared with her so, here is Usha's Friend's Pad Thai

Ingredients

2 handfuls of rice sticks, soaked in cold water for an hour. When shopping for my rice sticks, which are also known as rice noodles, I was very overwhelmed with the selection. There are a lot of rice sticks/noodles out there! That's when I busted out my trusty phone and Googled it. Rice sticks/noodles come in different sizes: small, medium, and large. It's apparently up to you to decide what size you want but from what I read, you can't go wrong with medium. You also want to use sticks/noodles that were made in Thailand because they are made differently than in other countries. I can't remember the details and I could Google it but I'm tired. I just spent an hour arguing with the waste company that services our neighborhood over a replacement trash can. I learned a lot about how trash works in this area and I just can't learn any more right now. My brain will literally not take anything else in.

2 small bunches of Chinese chives or green onions, chopped into 1 1/2 in long pieces. I used green onions but I wish I would have used the Chinese chives because they are pretty! I don't know about the flavor but if we're going on looks, sorry green onions, you do not win this contest.

2 tsp oil

1 shallot, minced

2 eggs

4 oz extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes and deep fried. Use double the amount if not using another protein.

6 shrimp or 2 oz chicken. Or just use tofu.

1 tsp salted radish. I couldn't find this so I didn't use it.

1/2 tsp roasted Thai chili flakes. I used regular red pepper flakes. If you want to make Thai chili flakes, buy dried Thai chilis and roast in a pan or in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes. Then put them in a food processor and blend until they're flakes.

2 handfuls bean sprouts

2 tbsps crushed roasted peanuts

lime wedges

For the sauce

2 tbsps fish sauce

2 tbsps palm sugar

1 tbsp white sugar

2 tbsps tamarind water. To make tamarind water, soak a tablespoon of tamarind paste in water for 10 minutes and strain.

Drain the noodles. Make the sauce by simmering the sauce, sugars, and tamarind water until the sugars dissolve. Heat the oil in the wok and fry the shallots until fragrant. Add the eggs and stir. Add the tofu (and shrimp or chicken if using), chili flakes, and radish. Stir until tofu is heated through and then add the noodles. Turn up the heat and stir fry until the noodles are translucent and almost brown. Add the sauce and a pinch of chili powder. Stir for a few more minutes and then add most of the bean sprouts and chives. Cook for another thirty seconds. The noodles should be sweet, sour, and salty.

Serve with lime wedges, roasted peanuts,and the rest of the bean sprouts and chives.

I made more than two handfuls of noodles but I did not double the amount of sauce so my Pad Thai came out a little dry. I don't know why I didn't double the sauce, I remember thinking to myself "You're making more noodles, double the sauce" but I just forgot when I started cooking. I'm going to blame the girls, they probably distracted me. 

Even with it being a little dry, it was delicious! It wasn't as good as other Pad Thai I've had but that's probably more on the chef than the recipe. That sauce really makes a big difference. I actually made Pad Thai once a long, long time ago, but the recipe was more Americanized. I remember it was pretty bland and I now know why: the palm sugar. When preparing the sauce, I instantly recognized the sauce I've come to know when eating Pad Thai at a restaurant. My point is do not skip out on the palm sugar. If you want authentic Pad Thai, you need this. You also need to double the amount of sauce if you're making more than two handfuls of noodles. 

Stir-Fried Beancurd and Beansprouts, Stir-Fried Chayote, and Fried Rice with Peas

Welcome to Myanmar, the Land of the Golden Pagodas! I didn't research Myanmar and learn this, I got it from the title of my cookbook The Food of Myanmar: Authentic Recipes from the Land of the Golden Pagodas

If you haven't picked up on this by now, we are trying vastly different cuisines from week to week for no other reason than to give our bodies a break! German week was heavy, lots of creamy sauces and meat, and my body is dying for some veggies that are not covered in butter. I love butter, butter is great, but my heart is begging me to stop.

This meal was quick and didn't require a lot of prep work; total time, with prep, was maybe an hour. What took the most time was making the rice but the recipe actually called for old rice so if you follow that, you'll cut your time in half.

Stir-Fried Beancurd and Beansprouts

The book says this is served as an accompaniment but we made it our main meal.

10 oz beancurd cakes, soaked. Beancurd is tofu. I used 16 oz because let's get real, it's tofu. Those extra 6 ounces are not going to kill you.

1/4 cup oil. I used sesame because I thought it would add some extra flavor.

1 tsp oyster sauce

1 clove garlic

3 cups beansprouts

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cornflour, dissolved in 1 tbsp water

1 tsp light soy sauce

Drain the tofu and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into cubes. The book said 36, I think I made 24.  Heat the oil, add the tofu, and deep-fry over medium high heat for 5 minutes, until golden on all sides. Remove and set aside. Stir in the oyster sauce and stir-fry the garlic. Add the tofu, sprouts, and salt. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cornflour paste and soy sauce. Stir-fry for another 5 minutes and serve.

Stir-Fried Chayote

I'd never had chayote before so I was really looking forward to trying out this new squash!

4 1/2 oz boneless pork, diced. I used a half pound.

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp rice wine. Btw, rice wine and rice vinegar are the same thing. I learned this after only seeing rice vinegar at the grocery store and then I Googled it. What would we do without Google??

1 tbsp oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chayote, peeled, deseeded, and sliced into 2 inch strips. I probably used 2 1/2 cups but it was fine.

3 tbsps water

1 tsp cornflour, dissolved in 1 tbsp water

1 tbsp light soy sauce

Marinate the pork in the salt and rice wine for at least 10 minutes. Heat the oil over high heat, stir-fry the garlic and pork for 3 minutes. Add the chayote and water and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the cornflour paste, soy sauce, and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for another 5 minutes.

Fried Rice with Peas

The books says this is a common breakfast dish. I'd be okay with eating this for breakfast all the time!

1 cup dried whole green peas or pigeon peas, soaked overnight. I used frozen peas.

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

5 cups water. If you're using frozen peas, you don't need the baking soda, salt, or this much water.

1/4 cup oil

2 tbsp finely sliced onion

1 tbsp light soy sauce

3 cups cooked rice

1/2 tsp salt

Drain the peas and transfer to a large pot with baking soda, salt, and water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes until tender. Or do what I did and throw the peas on the skillet, pour a little water, and wait for them to thaw out. Heat the oil and stir-fry the onion until golden brown. Add the peas and soy sauce, cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the rice and salt, cook and stir gently for another 5 minutes.

It's not a colorful meal but it made up for it in flavor! It was a little salty but that's because everything had soy sauce. I really liked the chayote though. It was a little crunchy, don't know if that's how it's supposed to be or if I just didn't cook it long enough, but it was good. The baby really liked it and preferred it over the rest of the meal. It was a little sweet so I'm sure that's part of why she liked it. The three year old didn't touch anything except a few peas and pork. The sprouts and tofu grossed her out and she spent most of dinner talking about how she didn't like it. I love that she doesn't have a problem with voicing her opinion but sometimes I wish she'd shut up. I know that's not nice but luckily she can't read this so I can say whatever I want. I need to enjoy her illiteracy while I can.


The meal was good and not too complicated. Yesterday didn't go as I had expected so I was a little frazzled. I had planned my day to where I'd have an hour or two to just relax but that didn't happen and I ended up driving all over Austin unexpectedly. I wasn't really looking forward to cooking but luckily this was an easy meal and I was still able to talk to my husband and kiddos while cooking. Sometimes the recipes are so involved that I have to focus, which takes time away from catching up with the husband when he gets home from work. Those are my least favorite recipes but this one allowed us to be a family and for that I'm grateful.

Wow, that was so emo! *flips bangs*