Vegetarian Pad Thai

This is my first time that I have ever made this dish on my own. There's a lot of preparation but overall it is a pretty simple recipe once you get all the ingredients. I think it turned out pretty well. I decided to surprise Nick with dinner since we had been talking about going to Nicky's Thai Kitchen in the North Side. Michelle and Steve actually made us some pad thai while were helping them plan out their big Europe trip and it was delicious. Their version was made with chicken. I wanted to do a more veggie friendly version, so I (very) loosely followed this recipe from Epicurious.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces dried flat rice noodles (labeled as Pad Thai or Banh Pho(!!!) noodles)
• 3 tablespoons tamarind concentrate (got this from Lotus in the strip)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 cup boiling-hot water
• 3/4 cup soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons Sriracha (depending on the spice level you want)
• 1 tablespoon dried cilantro

• 1 bunch scallions
• 5 large shallots
• 1 package firm tofu
• teryaki marinade
• 6 large eggs
• 7 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
• coconut oil

Preparation

1. Drain the tofu and cut into little cubes. Marinate in the teryaki sauce for a couple of hours. Fry tofu in coconut oil in 1 layer, gently turning occasionally, until golden, 15 minutes. Set aside.

2. Lightly beat eggs with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil in pot over high heat until it shimmers. Add eggs and swirl to coat side of wok, then cook, stirring gently with a spatula, until cooked through. Break into chunks with spatula and transfer to a plate.

3. Soak noodles in a large bowl of warm water until softened for 30 minutes. Drain well in a colander and cover with a dampened paper towel.

4. Meanwhile, make sauce by dissolving tamarind concentrate in boiling-hot water in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, peanut butter, brown sugar, and Sriracha, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

5. Slice the white and light green part of the scallions. Chop the darker green section for a garnish and set aside. Chop the shallots. In coconut oil, stir-fry light part of scallions, garlic, and shallots until softened, about 1 minute in a large pot on high heat. 

6. Add noodles and stir-fry over medium heat (use 2 spatulas if necessary) 3 minutes. Add tofu, bean sprouts, and sauce and simmer, turning noodles over to absorb sauce evenly, until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes. Then stir in eggs and transfer to a large shallow serving dish.

7. Sprinkle pad Thai with peanuts (I used pecans) and fried shallots and serve with lime wedges, cilantro sprigs, and Sriracha. I garnished the noodles with the green onions.