Most of the time it is pretty darn fantastic having a kid who avoids the kids menu at restaurants. She orders salads, the grown-up version of ravioli that has spinach and portabello mushrooms in it, and have I mentioned that she doesn't like cheese? So long grilled cheese stand by, she hardly knew you.
The downside to having an adventurous eater is that we end up getting Indian, Mexican, and Thai fairly often. When we do, we leave the restaurant $40 broker because ... see above. She doesn't order the token chicken nuggets off of the kids menu. She orders fried rice, bean burritos, or pad thai off of the grown-up menu.
The leftovers are great. The price is not.
We seriously cannot walk into a decent Thai restaurant without spending $40. Minimum. Alexis' meal costs just as much as the grown ups, which is worth it because she eats and eats and eats. But, still. I knew there had to be a less expensive way.
So I made Vegetable Pad Thai.
And Alexis ate and ate and ate it, but it didn't cost me $40. Not even close. But it sure was good.
This was a trial and error sort of recipe, meaning that I found one online and hated everything about the results. So I added some stuff, subtracted some other stuff, changed the quantities, and ended up happy. Eventually.
For the record, Vegetable Pad Thai is rarely vegetarian in restaurants. You usually have to ask them to skip the fish sauce and go for the soy sauce. No mystery ingredients when you make it at home, though!
If you're a meat eater, sub out the tofu and add in whatever you want. As a bonus, you'll probably end up using a better quality meat than you would get in a restaurant. Ahem.
Vegetable Pad Thai (serves 3-4)
1/2 pound dried rice noodles (the wide ones)
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon hot chile sauce (more if you like it hot)
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 package extra firm tofu, diced
1 teaspoon ground ginger (I found it next to the jarred garlic at the grocery store)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, diced
8 - 10 green onions, diced
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup sugar snap peas
1/2 cup bok choy, chopped
2 eggs, scrambled
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1. Cook the rice noodles according to the directions on the package. While they're sitting in their water, move on to the veggies and sauce.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, and chili sauce. Stir it all up.
3. In a large skillet, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and fry until lightly browned, turning frequently so that you don't end up with a burnt side anywhere.
4. Add the garlic and ginger to the oil once the tofu is nearly done.
5. Add the carrot, green onions, sugar snap peas, and bok choy to the skillet and keep on stirring. Once they broccoli starts to soften, it's time to move on to the next step.
6. Add the lime/soy sauce/etc. sauce to the skillet along. Drain the rice noodles and throw them in, too. While you're at it, thrown in the scrambled eggs just for fun.
7. Use tongs to mix everything up. It should only need to cook for a minute or two -- you just want to get the noodles warm.
8. Garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro, unless you're having the day I had today and can't find cilantro at any of three grocery stores. Which, the hell? It's Pittsburgh, not a third world country, people. BRING ON THE CILANTRO.
9. Be impressed that only took about 25 minutes. It seems like it should be harder, methinks.