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Vegan Pad Thai

Course Main Course
Cuisine South East Asian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Jenny

Ingredients

Pad Thai

  • 8 oz wide rice noodles
  • 8 oz extra firm tofu
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 Thai or hot red chili finely sliced (optional)
  • 1 red or yellow bell pepper finely sliced
  • 1/2 cup bean sprouts
  • 2 green onions sliced
  • 1/2 cup of crunchy greens i.e. snow peas, green beans, or washed and cut strips of broccoli stems
  • Sesame oil for tossing with the noodles
  • Avocado other cooking oil
  • Zest of 1/2 lime if not using tamarind sauce

Pad Thai Sauce

  • The flavor of the fish sauce and the tamarind paste is what gives a pad thai it's unique flavor. Either of these can be substituted: see suggestions in brackets below.
  • 1 tbsp Tamarind Paste or 3 tbsp Tamarind Sauce or substitute with juice of 1 lime
  • 2 tsp Vegan fish sauce or substitute with 3 tbsp white miso paste or 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup of vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp tamari or soy

Toppings

  • Fresh cilantro chopped
  • 1/2 cup raw or roasted unsalted peanuts ground or crumbled
  • Squeeze of fresh lime

Instructions

  1. Cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions, taking them out a minute before the end as they will finish cooking later in the pan. Rinse straight away in cold water. I find rice noodles don't tend to clump after rinsing, but you can always toss in a tablespoon of sesame oil if you wish.
  2. While cooking the rice noodles, prepare the pad thai sauce by whisking all the ingredients together thoroughly.
  3. Next, cook the tofu. You want this to be crispy, so please use pressed extra firm tofu. Heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a skillet or pan until hot. Cut the tofu into bite sized rectangles and add to the pan. Flip over for 3 minutes then reverse for another 2 minute, turning once or until brown and crispy on both sides. Remove and set aside.
  4. Now cook the vegetables. Add another 2 tablespoon of cooking oil and turn the heat up. Wait until it just starts smoking and add green onion, garlic and chili and lime zest if using, stir-frying quickly for 20 seconds.
  5. Add bell peppers and greens while continuously stirring for 2 - 3 minutes, adding the sprouts for the final 20 seconds so they don't lose their crunch.
  6. Turn off the heat and add the sauce and noodles to the pan. Mix well and let the noodles warm up for a minute or two.
  7. Divide into bowls or plates and add your peanut and cilantro toppings with a squeeze of lime! And don't forget the bean sprouts like I did!