This week we wanted to bring you a photo story + recipe to expand on the typical egg repertoire (fried, scrambled, on a sandwich, in an omelet, etc.). This recipe comes from our friend in South Austin, Jam Sanitchat, Owner of Thai Fresh, an incredible gem of a restaurant that serves a wide variety of healthy Thai cuisine using many local ingredients.

“Pad Thai is a famous dish in the U.S. and around the world except Thailand. There is nothing wrong with it. I love it and Thai people love it. It’s just not one of the dishes you see everywhere like you would in the US. It’s almost considered a specialty, you have to hunt for it and you have to know where to go to get it. Here is my theory why it is so popular everywhere. Thai cooking is a cooking of balance. There are five flavors present in Thai cuisine: spicy, sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Pad Thai is a great example of Thai food that has all the five flavors. So, whatever flavor you like, Pad Thai is likely to satisfy your palate.” – Jam Sanitchat

Ingredients

2 handfuls of dried thin rice stick (about half a pack of 16 oz dry medium size rice stick noodles)
2 tablespoon palm sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoon tamarind water (see notes below)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (substitute with soy sauce and soy bean paste for the same amount for vegetarian)
2 small bunch Chinese chives/leeks (you can substitute green onions but it won’t taste the same but it will give a little color to your Pad Thai)
2 teaspoon oil
1 red shallot, minced
2 Vital Farms eggs!
4 oz extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes and deep fry (We drained and sliced the tofu, then covered it in a kitchen towel and set some canned food on top. This helps remove some water to help in the frying process).
4 shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of salted radish, chopped (this is salted daikon, the white raddish. You can skip it if you can’t find it. It usually comes in a plastic bag whole or in a tub already minced)
pinch of roasted Thai chili flakes (see notes below) or substitute red pepper flakes. It won’t be as spicy but will work fine.
2 handfuls of bean sprouts
2 tablespoons of crushed roasted peanuts
lime wedges

Soak noodles in tap water for about an hour until soft. To check the noodles if they are ready, bend a noodle and if it breaks without any force, it’s ready. If not, you have to soak a little longer. Mix palm sugar, white sugar, tamarind water and fish sauce and simmer until dissolved. Chopped Chinese chives into small lengths about 2 inches.

Heat a wok or big pot (Dutch Oven is my favorite, or a big saute pan will do) over medium heat until very hot, add oil and wait until the oil is hot and fry shallots until fragrant and colored. Crack in eggs and scramble. Mix in tofu (and shrimp if using), chili flakes and radish. Stir fry until the tofu is thoroughly heated up and then add noodles. Stir-fry for a while until the noodle is softer and change color. Add the prepared sauce and a pinch of chili flakes. Stir for a few moments. Finally, add most of the bean sprouts and Chinese chives and cook for another 30 seconds. The noodles should be a little sweet, sour and salty.

When served, top the noodles with crushed peanut, fresh Chinese chives, bean sprouts, a wedge or two of lime and chili flakes(if want it a little hotter).

I am a lover of animals, not bureaucrat organizations, so it was with trepidation that I attended my first National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting in Madison, Wisconsin last fall. The NOSB’s main mission is to, “…make recommendations…and to advise the USDA Secretary on other aspects of the implementation of the Organic Food Production Act.”

Over the subsequent 6 months, the NOSB put forth their actual recommendations, which included a requirement that all organic “farms” provide hens with a minimum of 2 square feet per bird outside. I found this interesting, since our birds consume 20 square feet of pasture, PER WEEK!

Below, please see our recommendations to the NOSB.

1. At Vital Farms we recommend a stocking density of 100 birds per acre, which amounts to 430 sq ft. per

Hens on pasture consume grass in just days (left), so they must be moved frequently to fresh grass (right)

bird. The NOSB’s Livestock Committee’s recommendation is for 2 sq ft per bird, outdoors.

Nevertheless, the factory farms that make up the majority of organic egg production in the US fought this requirement. They brought with them their lobby groups and paid scientists. They claimed that hens don’t belong outside; that if wild birds mingled with hens, the hens could get avian flu, thus they needed to be crowded into barns “for their own safety”.

While outdoors, hens often interact with wild birds, as nature intended. It is neither natural nor necessary to separate the two, especially if the hens are not living a stressed lifestyle from overcrowded factory barn conditions. Treating birds with respect costs more than jamming them into cages or warehouses. Thus, our eggs sell for a premium price at Whole Foods and other stores around the country.

2. We implore the board to set a requirement for at least equal spacing outdoors and indoors for all organically certified laying hens.

3. We also recommend that the use of any confined cages, including so-called “aviary” devices, should be forbidden by the NOSB if the birds are so confined. Such devices are nothing more than glorified cages designed to maximize profits to the mega-egg producers seeking the higher profits associated with organic production.

4. To help eliminate fraud, the NOSB should enact an egg-testing program that would determine if a producer is in fact producing and selling an organic egg vs. a mislabeled one. Such a program could eliminate fraudulently sold eggs from entering the market and could lead to legal actions against any producer who does so.

5. Additionally, allowing organic producers to use phraseology like “free roaming” or “free range” to describe birds in warehouse settings with little or no access to pasture should be prohibited. The organic consumer expects to be told the truth. Any lies and/or misleading statements on labeling or hidden in the name itself undermine the consumers’ confidence in organic products and hurts us all.

Your voice is needed in this battle. If you’d like to add your comments, email: nosb@ams.usda.gov, to speak out in support of  animal welfare standards for laying hens.