Table Talk

Wow!–A big thank you to Ninette at Big, Bold, Beautiful Food for giving me the Over the Top Award—I just returned from out of town, and this award was a nice welcome home. I really like her point of view in the kitchen, and hope you will pay a visit to her blog (if you haven’t already). There are some rules that go along with this award, including answering a list of questions, and passing this award on to 6 of your favorite bloggers. I am playing catch up this week, so I will fulfill the requirements in a few days with my next post.

Now for today’s entry–

While living in the San Francisco Bay area, there were a number of incredible Asian restaurants right in our neighborhood. Whether we were in the mood for  Pad See Yew,  Chao Tom,  or Burmese Samosas…a take out fix was at the ready, just waiting for pick up.  We are not as fortunate here in Richmond …we do have some pretty good Asian markets however, so at least twice a week my  wok hits the range top, and a stir fry of some sort or another takes shape.  What goes into the stir fry is usually driven by what I have on hand, but in this case, it was what I was craving that provided the motivation for the ingredients that made the line up. Spice, salt, and lots of lime were the flavors I was after… something Thai inspired would fit the bill.

A classic Pad Thai typically consists of rice noodles with a combination of eggs, another protein (shrimp, tofu, or chicken) peanuts, fish sauce, chili pepper, bean sprouts, and lime–along with any number of other ingredients.  I decided to make a dish that ended up as a cross between Pad Thai and Pad See Yew. I used a brown rice noodle, adding a bit more nutritional value to the dish. There is not a lot of chopping involved, and the sauce comes together in seconds, making it an ideal weeknight dinner… Pair with an  icy cold Singha ( Thai beer), and you have a match for your favorite take out noodle house.

Thai Noodle Stir Fry with Shrimp and Tofu

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon miso paste

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

4 teaspoons sugar

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 pound bok choy, cut into 2-inch pieces

3/4 pound brown rice pasta (or rice stick noodles)

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

12 ounces firm tofu, drained well, cut into 1-inch pieces

3/4 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp

Salt

4 large garlic cloves, minced

3 large eggs, beaten

3 Thai bird chiles or serrano chiles, thinly sliced

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped roasted salted peanuts

Lime wedges

In a bowl, mix the fish sauce, miso, oyster sauce, sugar and soy. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the bok choy until crisp-tender, 2 minutes; transfer to plate. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water; shake out any excess water. Transfer the noodles to a bowl; toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or large skillet over  high heat. Add the tofu and cook, turning tofu occassionaly, until golden brown. Add the  tofu to the plate with bok choy. Add shrimp to wok, season with salt and cook until pink throughout, 2 minutes. Add shrimp to pate with bok choy and tofu. Add the remaining oil to wok and heat until shimmering. Addthe garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the eggs and cook over high heat for about 30 seconds, just until lightly scrambled. Add the noodles and toss lightly. Add the fish sauce mixture and toss. Cook, without stirring, just until the liquid is nearly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir the noodles once, then cook until browned on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Add the tofu, shrimp, and bok choy; cook until just heated through. Transfer the noodles to a large platter, sprinkle with chiles, cilantro, green onions, and chopped peanuts. Serve with lime wedges.

4 servings