Ingredients

Check off ingredients as you go

Serves 4

• Rice noodles (slightly wide) about 320g (11 oz)
• 2 shallots, finely minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 8 stalks scallions, cut into segments (or green onions)
• 160g (5.5 oz) fresh bean sprouts
• 80g (3 oz) firm tofu, well-drained and cubed (or surimi or chicken)

For the sauce

• 4 tablespoons fish sauce (60ml/¼ cup)
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce (or half vegetarian oyster sauce)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (or rice vinegar)
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar (70g/⅓ cup)

For serving

• 4 tablespoons unsalted peanuts, chopped
• A small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
• Neutral oil (sunflower)

If you change the number of serving, consider adjusting cooking times!

Cooking the rice noodles

1. Cook the noodles according to package instructions (just a few minutes in hot water), rinse, drain, then place in a bowl with a little neutral oil (to prevent them from sticking together as they cool).

Preparing the sauce

2. In a bowl, mix the sugar with the fish sauce, soy sauce, and lime juice.

The filling

3. In a hot wok, sauté the shallot, garlic, and tofu cubes in oil until golden, then set aside.
4. In the same pan, add the rice noodles, pour in the sauce and half a glass of water. Let cook for a few moments so the noodles caramelize slightly in the sauce and absorb it.
5. Push the noodles to the side of the pan to make room for the eggs. As soon as they start to set, gently scramble them, then move the noodles back to the center and mix everything together well. Turn off the heat, add a few drops of sesame oil, the tofu, bean sprouts, scallions, and half of the peanuts.
6. Serve with the remaining peanuts, a lime wedge, and some chili flakes (or sriracha sauce) for those who want it.

Time management tip

• There is no salt in this recipe because the fish sauce and soy sauce are already salty.

• For this recipe, it’s best to choose firm tofu, otherwise it will crumble with everything else. You can also skip the tofu entirely and it will still be delicious.

For this recipe, we really recommend fresh bean sprouts rather than jarred ones because the point of this ingredient is to add crunch, which you won’t get at all if the bean sprouts are in preservation water.

If you want a non-vegetarian version or don’t like tofu, you can replace it with diced chicken breast or shrimp substitutes that you’ll marinate briefly in the sauce then sauté at the same time as the scallions, just before adding the noodles. Otherwise, try our Asian sesame chicken - it’s always a huge hit.