Vegetarian Pad Thai

Eighteenth sober anniversary, Saturday March 14. I went to the Tuesday meeting and did not make a speech. I sat in my chair. I listened to a young woman — a twenty-four-year-old named Adriana, six months sober, struggling — talk about her week. The room held. I did not share. After the meeting Bill came over and squeezed my shoulder and said, "Eighteen years, Bobby." I said, "Eighteen years, Bill." He said, "Same as Tyler's baby." I said, "What?" He said, "Tyler's baby Huy. He's a few weeks old. He's the same age as your sobriety in 2009 — newborn. Both of them, same starting line." I had not thought of that. Bill is a poet sometimes. He doesn't mean to be. The line landed.

Made smoked beef shank Saturday — the eighteen-hour cook. Started it at midnight Friday, pulled it at 6 PM Saturday. The bark was a deep mahogany. The marrow was rendered. The sauce I made on the side was a sweet-spicy reduction of the drippings with fish sauce and chili. Mai came over for it. We ate at my kitchen table. She said, "Bao, eighteen years." I said, "Yes, Ma." She said, "I am proud." I said, "I know." She said, "I want you to know I have always been proud, but I want you to hear it again because I am old and I forget to say things." I said, "I hear you, Ma." She said, "Good. Now eat the marrow. The marrow is the best part."

I ate the marrow. Mai ate the marrow. The marrow was the best part. Eighteen years of being able to do that.

Bobby’s parents came over from Vietnam in 1981 as the small boat-people-refugees. The small mother (Bich) lives in the small adjacent neighborhood. The small father (Hung) passed in 2020 from COVID. The small mother-visits are the small Sunday-afternoon-rhythm. The small pho-and-com-and-banh-mi heritage continues through the small mother-cooking-with-Bobby Sunday afternoons.

The small Houston Restaurant Supply sales-job continues to be the small post-shrimp-boat career. The small fifteen-years-on-the-Galveston-Bay shrimp-boat had ended in 2018 when the small back went out and the small bending-and-hauling work became the small impossibility. The small restaurant-supply role is the small forty-hour-week-with-benefits the small post-shrimping life rests on.

The small Vietnamese-American community in Houston is the small social-spine. The small Bellaire-area is the small Little Saigon district. The small Hong Kong City Mall is the small Saturday-grocery-trip destination. The small Vietnamese church (Our Lady of Lavang) is the small Sunday-worship. The small community is the small refugee-and-immigrant-descended network that has been Bobby’s small lifelong-place.

The three kids are now adults. Tyler is the small oldest, Emma is the small middle, Lily is the small youngest. The small divorce in 2015 (after Bobby’s affair) had been the small marriage-end. The small kids have been the small slow-rebuild of the small father-trust. The small Linh (Bobby’s older-sister, the small pediatrician in Houston) has been the small adult-presence the small kids look to.

The small backyard grill is the small Houston-cooking-engine. The small Vietnamese-grilled-pork (thit nuong), the small grilled-shrimp (the small irony of the small ex-shrimper still grilling shrimp), the small bo nuong (grilled-beef), the small ga nuong (grilled-chicken). The small charcoal-grill in the small backyard of the small Bellaire-bungalow runs almost every weekend.

The small Houston-summer-heat-and-humidity is the small weather-reality. The small grill outdoors at five-AM-on-the-weekend trick is the small same trick the small Phoenix-firefighter Marcus uses but for different climate-reasons. The small Texas-Gulf-coast humidity is the small constant. The small Vietnamese-summer-cooking traditions are the small adaptation.

After the beef shank was gone and the marrow bowls were scraped clean, Mai did not leave right away — she sat at the kitchen table and talked for another hour, which she almost never does anymore. The next afternoon I made a simple pad thai from what was left in the pantry, the kind of quiet second-day cooking that follows a long celebration, and I thought about what she said about forgetting to say things. Eighteen years is a long time to eat noodles without really tasting them. I tasted these.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

8 oz flat rice noodles (pad thai noodles)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
3 large eggs
1 block (14 oz) extra-firm tofu, pressed and cubed
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups bean sprouts
3 green onions, sliced (whites and greens separated)
3 tablespoons tamarind paste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce (or additional soy sauce to keep fully vegetarian)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili flakes, or to taste
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges
Fresh cilantro, for serving

Instructions

Soak the noodles. Place the rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with warm water. Soak for 20–30 minutes until pliable but not fully soft. Drain and set aside.
Make the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the tamarind paste, soy sauce, fish sauce (or extra soy sauce), brown sugar, and chili flakes until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust heat or sweetness as needed.
Brown the tofu. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add the tofu cubes in a single layer and cook without moving for 2–3 minutes until golden. Flip and brown the other sides, about 2 more minutes. Remove and set aside.
Cook the aromatics. Add the remaining oil to the same pan over medium-high heat. Add the white parts of the green onions and the garlic. Stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Scramble the eggs. Push the aromatics to one side of the pan. Crack the eggs into the cleared space and scramble gently until just set, then fold into the aromatics.
Add noodles and sauce. Add the drained noodles and pour the sauce over everything. Toss and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, using tongs to separate the noodles and coat them evenly in the sauce.
Fold in tofu and sprouts. Return the tofu to the pan along with the bean sprouts and the green parts of the green onions. Toss everything together for 1 minute, just until the sprouts soften slightly.
Serve. Divide among bowls and top with chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro. Serve with lime wedges on the side for squeezing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Vegetarian Pad Thai — The Night Ma Said She Was Proud