We may have found ourselves devouring a very indulgent version of this dish at Andy Ricker's (of famed Pok Pok) Phat Thai the other day. Andy's pad thai is very traditional and contains a lot of oil and probably some sugar. So because we couldn't get it out of our minds we decided that we would make our own version – lots of vegetables, minimal oil and no sugar. We have to say this dish might be less traditional but it is still high on the delicious scale. And if you're not too concerned with being vegan this works stupendously well with fish sauce and a scrambled egg or two.
-- Weird & Ravenous, Food52 community member
Pad Thai Redux
Serves 4
4 ounces rice noodles
2 tablespoons neutral oil
1 large garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced
2 bell peppers, seeded, stemmed and thinly sliced
2 baby bok choy, thinly sliced
1 handful snow peas, thinly sliced lengthwise
Coarse salt
2 handfuls watercress, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 lime, halved
1 handful mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 handful peanuts, roughly chopped
1/2 green jalapeño, thinly sliced
Fish sauce for serving
1. Place the rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with nearly-boiling water. When they're done, drain them and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large sk**et set over high heat. Add the garlic and cook until it's just fragrant. Add the peppers and cook, stirring a bit, until beginning to soften. Add the bok choy and the snow peas and cook until they begin to soften a bit too. Season the vegetables with a large pinch of salt and then stir in the reserved noodles and then fold in the watercress.
3. Turn off the heat and stir in the toasted sesame oil and another pinch of salt while you're at it. Squeeze all the juice from the lime over the pad thai and stir to combine. Serve immediately with the herbs, scallions, peanuts and jalapeño. If you're not totally vegan, serve with a splash of fish sauce too.