Crispy Tofu Pad Thai with Real Tamarind Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The version that finally tastes like the good Thai place: dried rice noodles soaked in warm water instead of boiled, so they stay springy in the wok, and a three-ingredient sauce of tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce reduced until it coats a spoon. No ketchup, no gluey clumps. Crispy pressed tofu, scrambled egg, garlic chives and salted radish round it out, and the whole stir-fry happens in about four minutes per batch.

Ingredients

• 8 oz dried flat rice noodles, 3–5 mm wide (banh pho / pad thai width)

• 1/3 cup tamarind concentrate (or 1/4 cup seedless tamarind pulp soaked in 1/2 cup hot water and strained)
• 5 tbsp palm sugar, chopped (light brown sugar as a backup)
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp Thai chile flakes, or to taste

• 14 oz extra-firm tofu, drained
• 5 tbsp neutral oil (rice bran, peanut or canola), divided
• 3 tbsp salted preserved radish (chai poh), rinsed and chopped
• 2 tbsp dried shrimp, roughly chopped (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups bean sprouts, divided
• 1 cup garlic chives or scallion greens, cut into 2-inch lengths

• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, coarsely crushed
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Extra chile flakes and sugar, for the table

Instructions

1. Press the tofu: wrap the block in a clean towel, set a plate and a heavy can on top, and leave 20 minutes while you prep everything else. Cut into 3/4-inch cubes and pat very dry.
2. Soak the noodles: put the dried rice noodles in a wide bowl or baking dish and cover with hot tap water (about 110–120°F, hot but not steaming). Soak 35–45 minutes, separating the strands with your fingers a few times, until they are fully pliable and bend around your finger without snapping but still feel firm and chalky at the core. Drain well and toss with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Do not boil them — the wok finishes the cooking.
3. Make the sauce: combine tamarind concentrate, palm sugar, fish sauce, water and chile flakes in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the sauce thickens just enough to coat the back of a spoon. Taste: it should be aggressively sour-salty-sweet, in that order, because the noodles will dilute it. Set aside; you should have about 3/4 cup.
4. Fry the tofu: heat 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick or carbon-steel skillet over medium-high. Add the tofu in one layer and fry 8–10 minutes, turning every 2–3 minutes, until 3 or 4 sides are deep golden and crisp. Remove to a plate and salt lightly.
5. Set up for speed: line up the drained noodles, sauce, tofu, aromatics, eggs, sprouts, chives and peanuts next to the stove. From here the cooking takes 4 minutes per batch and there is no time to chop.
6. Cook batch one (half of everything): heat the skillet over high with 1/2 tablespoon oil until it just begins to smoke. Add half the preserved radish, dried shrimp, garlic and shallots and stir-fry 30–45 seconds until fragrant and the shallots soften.
7. Add half the noodles and 5–6 tablespoons of the sauce. Toss constantly with tongs and a spatula for 2–3 minutes, pressing the noodles against the hot pan between tosses, until they turn glossy, tender and orange-brown. If they seize up or feel stiff, add water 1 tablespoon at a time — never more sauce.
8. Push the noodles to one side, add a drizzle of oil to the bare pan and pour in half the beaten egg. Let it set 20 seconds, then break it into large curds and fold it through the noodles.
9. Add half the crispy tofu, half the garlic chives and 1 cup of the bean sprouts. Toss 30 seconds — the sprouts should stay squeaky and raw at the center. Slide onto a platter and repeat steps 6 through 9 with the remaining ingredients.
10. Serve immediately, showered with crushed peanuts, the remaining raw bean sprouts on the side, and lime wedges plus chile flakes and sugar so everyone can adjust their own plate.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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