Megan's Marvelous MOCK Vegan Pad Thai

As my friend Chad says...it is impossible to make Pad Thai without fish sauce or egg. So - I have appropriately names it Megan's Marvelous MOCK Pad Thai. Whatever you call it, it is SUPER YUMMY and easy to make. One hint - make sure that you use the entire 1lb of WIDE rice noodles. If you don't, the noodles wont absorb the sauce correctly and the taste is too fierce.

1 lb rice noodles--the wide ones
1 lb extra firm tofu
1/2 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
4 teaspoons sambal olek chili paste
1 bunch of green onions chopped into one inch pieces
4-6 cloves of finely chopped garlic
4 cups bean sprouts
3/4 cup roasted peanuts roughly chopped up
lime wedges
several tablespoons of canola oil and more if you decide to fry the tofu

Directions:

Cover the noodles with warm water in a large bowl and allow them to soak for 30 minutes. They should be flexible and soft, but not soft enough to be mashed with your fingers. Drain them and put them aside.

While the noodles are soaking, press the tofu so that you remove as much water as possible. Usually, I place the tofu on several pieces of paper towel on a cutting board or plate and then cover the tofu with more paper towel, a piece of plastic wrap, and something heavy (about a 1 lb worth of cookbooks, plates, etc.). This usually takes about 30 minutes or so.

After the tofu is pressed you can do one of two things:
1. Thinly slice the tofu into bite size pieces and bake on a lightly oiled pan at 375 F for 15 minutes on each side.
2. Cube the tofu and fry in about 1/2 cup of oil in a very hot wok. Fry the tofu until lightly browned. Remove from the oil and drain.
Either method works great--it just depends on how much additional fat you want in the recipe.

Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and sambal olek in a bowl. Stir until well blended. The sugar won't dissolve completely, but that's okay.

Heat several tablespoons of oil in a medium hot wok and add the noodles coating them with the oil. Add the soy sauce mixture and garlic into the wok and bring to a boil while gently folding the noodles. Lower the heat a bit and keep the liquid boiling while frequently folding the noodles. Try not to break the noodles. When almost all the liquid has been absorbed add the tofu and green onions and cook for about two minutes longer--until the tofu is warm and the onions are bright green.

Serve the Pad Thai with a heavy garnish of bean sprouts and peanuts with lime wedges on the side.

Enjoy!