Pad Thai at Home...with Bacon!

I've heard that orders for Pad Thai in Thai restaurants outpaces every other dish on the menu by a landslide. In me, this triggers the response of ordering something different when I go out for Thai (and I highly suggest the Pad See Ew at Thai Monkey Club in Denver) .  But I do love Pad Thai.

There are a couple of issues with making my favorite recipe for Pad Thai at home, however.  Namely, it calls for shrimp and that means I'd have to make a special trip to the store and spend more than I'm willing for sustainable seafood on a weeknight.  Same with the tamarind puree.  And just where does one find "sweet" radishes?  But since I am still reaping the benefits of my shopping trip to H-Mart, I do have plenty of rice noodles and at the time, I had lots of shiitakes.

A couple of impulse buys and substitutions later, and Bacon Pad Thai is on.  At home.  So I traded brown sugar for palm sugar, ketchup for tamarind puree, cucumber for sweet radish, and a lovely combo of bacon and shiitakes for shrimp.  I think that's enough to call a recipe my own, don't you?

Also, this is a good recipe for mise en place, as there is some knife work and a few different parts that come together quickly. Consciously shifting the time spent on cooking to prep work allowed me to focus on neatly chopped and julienned vegetables. Aren't they pretty?

And then it really is a snap to put together. I did have a head start because I had purchased bacon as a reward for completing the food sensitivity thing and had pre-cooked half the package for another meal. Okay, just BLTs my way, which will hopefully be another post soon.

Also, mise en place cooking results in many photos, in my case.  I hope you are inspired to try out the recipe and make your own substitutions to make it work for you. For example, you could sub extra tofu and mushrooms for bacon and watered-down soy sauce for the fish sauce if you're a vegetarian. Or if you do keep shrimp stocked at home, you can go back to the standard.  So, settle in for some knife skills practice and enjoy your restaurant meal at home.

BACON PAD THAI

• 8 oz. rice noodles (medium width)

• 2 T. brown sugar
• 1 T. ketchup
• 2 T. fish sauce
• 1 T. lime juice
• 2 T. white vinegar
• 1 t. paprika
• 1/2 t. cayenne, or to taste
• 1 t. salt

• 3 T. vegetable oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T. onion, minced
• 2 T. cucumber, seeded and minced
• 2 T. carrot, julienned (optional)
• 1/4 cup tofu, julienned
• 3-4 strips cooked bacon, chopped finely
• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts, plus more to garnish
• lime wedges, to garnish
• chopped cilantro, to garnish (optional)

Soak noodles in a bowl of warm water for 15 minutes, as you begin to prep the rest of the ingredients. Then drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, ketchup, fish sauce, lime juice, vinegar, paprika, cayenne, and salt. Set aside.  This might be a good time to beat the eggs in another small bowl and set aside, as well.

Heat oil in a large (non-stick) skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic, onion, cucumber, carrot, tofu, and bacon. Toss gently in the oil and cook until vegetables soften.  It will smell really, really good.  Push vegetables to the side of the pan and allow the oil to re-coat the pan.  Pour in beaten eggs.  As the eggs set, push in edges with a spatula and continue until eggs are cooked through and separated into pieces.

Mix everything back together and add the softened noodles.  Pour in the water and reduce the heat to medium. Allow the steam to cook the noodles for two or three minutes.  Then add the sauce and sprouts and stir to coat. Continue to cook for about five minutes, allowing the noodles to absorb the sauce and the pan to become almost dry.

Place into serving bowls and top with peanuts, lime, and cilantro.  Enjoy!

Get Out of Town!

This past weekend I hightailed it out of the city for some peace and quiet.  And good food.

After my very city weekend last week, I felt the need for balance by having a follow-up rural weekend. Right after work on Saturday, I packed up and went south to my family home to spend time with my mom and to get away from it all.  No sirens, no street lights, no night clubs, no pollution, no arguments with the landlord, no cell phone reception... no gang fights down the block.  Just the mountains, fresh air, rain, and wholesome food.

I've credited my mother for my appreciation of cooking and food in previous posts.  What I may not have mentioned is that she is practically a self-taught nutritionist. I have learned from her more than I even realize about what we eat. When a friend exclaims to me how great it is that bananas are full of potassium or that flax seeds should be ground or soaked for better absorption in the body, I'm surprised that not everyone already knows these things.  In other words, I am very lucky for my food education I received from my mother.  Once again.

So what did we make for dinner?  Seasonal quiche, of course.  Gluten-free, with any and all fresh garden produce we felt like throwing in.  It's lighter than the traditional kind and wide open to adaptation, so it's one of those dishes that is self-contained like a casserole, but not boring.

This time, we used beautiful forbidden rice and white cheddar for the base/crust.  The turnips were from my garden, sweetened and balanced with carrots.  Swiss chard from someone else's local garden topped out our veg. We garnished with a perfect avocado and a slice from the first Japanese Black Trifele heirloom tomato to ripen on the vine.  We ate on the porch overlooking the mountains, enjoying the petrichor after a day of showers.  We did well for ourselves and we ate our vegetables.  And protein.


HIGH COUNTRY QUICHE

• 2 cups cooked rice or quinoa (your choice of variety)
• 4 oz. shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterey Jack are great)
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1-2 cups root vegetables, chopped, like turnips
• 3 cups greens, trimmed and chopped
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper
• avocado, optional

Press rice or quinoa into the bottom of a quiche dish or deep pie plate (grease it first!).  Sprinkle cheese over it evenly and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put olive oil and minced garlic in a cold sauté pan and set to medium heat.  When the garlic barely starts to sizzle, add onions and stir a few times.  Add root vegetables and allow to cook for several minutes.  Add salt to season and to draw out some of the moisture.  Do not stir too frequently, in order to get some browning on the vegetables.  When the roots are almost cooked, toss in the greens and cook everything down until you start to see a little caramelization and sticking. This means that enough moisture has cooked out of the vegetables and your quiche won't be waterlogged.

Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and milk.  Add a pinch of salt and few grinds of pepper for good measure.  When the vegetables are cooked, scoop them into the prepared quiche dish and pour over the egg mixture.  Bake for about 45 minutes, until center is set.

Serve with slices of avocado.  And heirloom tomato slices, if you have them.  Next time, switch up your veg, swap out the cheese, and try a different grain.  I love options and renewal...which is the whole theme of a weekend away.