Richmond. Virginia has lots of boutique restaurants that are not available up north. One such gem is Tara Thai, whose food has been enjoyed by us for a decade or so. This is one place where the price and the quality has remained consistent through the time. My first exposure to great Thai food and in particular Pad Thai was at Tara Thai. We used to travel a lot from north down to Richmond on vacations, at which time we use to make it a point to visit Tara Thai. But there were times when we felt like having Tara Thai pad thai when not in Richmond, and hence there was a need to create a home version of the Pad Thai. This version of mine has a bit of my personal touch via the ginger, green chillies and peppers and minus the tofu. It is spicier than Tara Thai and bit more refreshing with extra peanuts and added vegetables.
I have fondness of peanuts, probably as I come from Gujarat, where peanut farming was very high and peanut oil is the main cooking oil too. A friend’s birthday was the inspiration to make this dish, as that was one of her favorite meals of mine. Many a times we think of someone when we make a particular item and we remember them in our hearts. Food and feelings are closely linked, at least for me and makes true a statement I read somewhere,” I cook to show my love”. and this resonates with me a lot.
If you are peanut, tamarind and noodles lover, you will definitely enjoy this highly delicious Thai noodles that is extremely quick to make and uses sauted vegetables, which is highly nutritious. And to the frequent pasta noodles lover, this recipe offers a variation that is highly colorful too!
Recipe makes for 3 people
Cooking Time: 15 min
Preparation Time: 30 min
Ingredients by Volume
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 cup red pepper diced
- 1/2 cup green pepper diced
- 1/2 cup carrots diced and boiled
- 1/2 cup green onions choppped
- 1 cup onions diced medium
- 1 tbsp green chillies or 7-8 green chillies finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger finely diced
- 1 tbsp coriander chopped
- 7 tbsp oil
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1/4 tsp chilli powder
- 2 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2cup roasted and crushed peanut powder
- 1/2 packet flat rice pad thai noodles
- 1 tbsp water
- Few drops of lemon
Method
- In about a litre of ice cold water, put the rice noodles to soak for 15 min.
- In the broadest pan you have, heat 6 tbsp oil.
- On high flame, add green chillies to the warm oil and saute for 1 min
- Add diced onions and saute for 3 min. on high
- Add salt to taste.
- Add ginger and saute for a min.
- Add broccoli florets and stir for amin.
- Add red peppers and saute for two min.
- Add green peppers and saute for a min.
- Add green onions and saute for two min. and remove from flame.
- Mix tamarind, one tbsp roasted crushed peanut powder, chilli powder and a tbsp water.
- Boil a litre of water in a deep pan
- Add a tbsp oil, salt to taste and pad thai noodles.
- Boil on high for 5 min.
- Remove from flame, drain the water.
- Add the rice noodles and tamarind paste to the sauted vegetables.
- Add 1 cup roasted and crushed peanuts, 3-4 drops of lemon and mix well .
- Heat for a 2-3 min
- Garnish it with fresh coriander and a sprinkle of peanuts powder and serve hot.
Tips
Roasted peanut crushed powder can be made in advance. Heat two cups of peanuts in a broad thick pan for 10 min on slow flame. Remove the skin and pulse it in a blender for a minute to get a crushed consistency. Excess powder can be stored for future used.
Using pasta utensils helps in lifting and mixing the noodles well with the vegetables. Alternatively you can run cold water to cooked noodles to cool them, so that they will not stick and mix well.
Jain Variation: Exclusion of onions, green onions ginger and carrots.
Variation: Add Fried Paneer cubes as an alternative to Tofu. I personally do not prefer Tofu, so have skipped both Paneer and Tofu.
Instinct Factor
Roasting the peanut powder to the brownness of your desire. I prefer the brown tint to it.
Cooking noodles to your perfection. Rice noodles are pretty soft so they cook fast.
Feel Factor
Tasty noodles with lots of veggies and the crunchy peanuts in between, flavoured with tamarind, ginger and chillies creates a delicious aromatic Thai meal being cooked and relished in your home. Visually I find the colors of vegetables against the brown of the noodles and tamarind sauce very attractive and I truly relish this asian flavoured Thai meal , whether its lunch or dinner time!
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