What I Made for Dinner :: Pad Thai

I was totally bummed that I couldn't find tamarind paste to make my own Pad Thai sauce, so I had to settle for bottled sauce (and even that took three stores to find). I made the sauce peanutier by adding a bit of (bottled) Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce. Then I used Chez Pim's technique to cook up individual portions. I also referenced the Phat Thai recipe in the Pok Pok cookbook (by Andy Ricker).

Besides not making my own Pad Thai sauce, I messed up in two areas:

1. I chose two different kinds of tofu: Trader Joe's baked tofu and a smoked tofu from MOM's Organic Market (I forgot the brand). Neither of them was to our liking. It would've been better to pan fry some regular firm tofu; the exterior would crisp up nicely and regular tofu probably absorbs sauce better. 
2. I didn't soak the noodles long enough. The package said I only had to soak it for 10 minutes, but it required at least double the time. I know the noodles shouldn't be soft and soggy, but my first few batches were too hard. 

Now that I know what to fix, I think I can whip up an edible inauthentic version of Pad Thai ... at least until I use up the bottled sauce!