Rad Na: Noodles with Tofu in Thick Gravy

I still abstain from meat and I'm planing to do this for a couple months.I'm neither vegetarian nor vegan though, but I do make an effort to abstain from meat during Lent.

During this period, I'm going to cook and explore vegan/vegetarian food. One of the Thai vegetarian dishes that I can think of is "Rad Na" - Thai fried noodles in Thick Gravy. It is a popular food street dish. Normally, you can add any kind of meat, but I just add Tofu. This dish is simple and easy to cook.




Yield: serves 2 people 

Ingredients

• 1 block firm Tofu, sliced
• 200 g dried or fresh rice noodles
• 2 cups all sort of vegetables (such as carrots,gailan ,broccoli) chopped coarsely
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

Sauce

• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Tapioca flour or corn flour, mixed with water
• 4 cups Vegetable stock soup or water

Methods

1.Drizzle 1 tbs vegetable oil into the medium heat pan, add fresh rice noodles and add 2 tbs thick soy sauce,stir until the noodled are covered in sauce or they are slightly charred.Set aside. If you have dried noodles,you will need to boil the noodles for couple minutes until they are soft.Then put the boiled noodles into cool water for a second, drain the water and then fry noodles in a pan.

2.Cut tofu into strips,use the paper towel to absorb the excess water from tofu.

3.Heat a pan over medium high heat,add oil and cut tofu. Fry tofu until golden brown. Remove from the pan and place on a dish with paper towel to absorb any excess grease. 

4.To make thick gravy sauce, add oil and chopped garlic into the medium hot pot.Saute garlic until golden brown.Then add vegetable stock soup or water into the pot, add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and white pepper. Adjust seasonings to your taste. Mix tapioca flour with water and add into the pot, stir well.Finally add vegetables. The sauce should be thick and slightly sticky.

5.To serve,spoon the fried noodles onto a serving plate, pour the sauce on top and add fried tofu. If desired, adding Sriracha sauce for an extra kick of spicy.

Hope you enjoy this recipe.