Vegan Pad Thai

Quarantine has me really craving some of my favorite Thai dishes, so I tried to make pad thai from scratch. Authentic pad thai is a stir-fry dish made from rice noodles, a protein (shrimp, chicken, tofu), peanuts, scrambled eggs, peanuts, and sweet and sour pad thai sauce. I knew it would be difficult to recreate the traditional version, so I tried my best with the ingredients that I had to make a vegan version that suited my tastes.

This is a difficult recipe for me to make. The first time, I used a ready-made vegetarian pad thai sauce which did not pack enough flavor and led to a disappointing dish. The second time with homemade sauce was much better, so here are some considerations and tips when making this dish.

1. Rice Noodles: Rice noodles are usually cooked in boiling water, off the heat. They are delicate and it takes a lot of care to make sure they don't break at the end (haven't figured out this part yet). I used Thai Kitchen's stir-fry rice noodles but ended up modifying the cooking instructions. I cooked the noodles for 10 minutes in boiling water, off the heat. Then, I cooked them for an additional 4 minutes on low heat until they felt 90% cooked. I immediately drained and rinsed the noodles under cold water (and added some ice cubes) to stop the cooking process. Note that this did lead to the noddles breaking at the end, but I really liked the texture that I ended up with.

2. Tofu: Pressing tofu removes excess water, which leads to better frying. To press tofu, wrap it in a towel or paper towels and put on a plate. Place a heavy pan on top for at least 10 minutes. Take a fresh towel or paper towel to remove excess water from the sides before using. Pressing tofu is optional but makes it crispier when fried.

3. Sautéd Vegetables: The different vegetables vary in their cooking times. When combining them in one pan, start with the vegetable that take the longest and add the one when the previous seems half cooked.

4. Pad Thai Sauce: Fish sauce is a key ingredient in traditional pad thai sauce. I tried to recreate the flavor without using vegetarian fish sauch, which can be difficult to find. This combination has a good balance of sweet and sour with affordable ingredients that are easy to find. Additionally, the peanut butter adds a nutty flavor that nicely accents the dish.

Ingredients

• 10 oz uncooked rice noodles

• 3 T brown sugar, packed

• 4 1/2 T soy sauce

• 2 T rice vinegar

• 1 T lemon (sub lime juice)

• 1 t peanut butter

• 1 t red chili sauce

• 8 oz tofu (1/2 package)

• 2 carrots

• 15-20 green beans

• 1 small red bell pepper

• 1 small green bell pepper

• 4 cloves garlic

• 3 T peanuts, roasted

• 2 c bean sprouts (optional)

• 1 bunch green onions (optional)

• 2 eggs (optional)

Directions

I recommend reading my notes above before starting this one!

1. Cook rice noodles according to package. Rinse noodles in cold water to prevent overcooking.

2. Press tofu to remove excess liquid.

3. Sauté vegetables (in the following order: beans, carrots, bell pepper, bean sprouts, and green onions) in a little bit of oil and 1/2 t salt until well cooked (or as cooked as you like it). Set aside.

4. Chop tofu into 1 inch cubes. Lightly fry in 1/2 t oil until outside is crispy and golden. Set aside.

5. Sauté minced garlic in a little oil until golden and aromatic. Set aside.

6. Make pad thai sauce: whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lemon juice, peanut butter, and red chili sauce until well combined.

7. Assemble pad thai: add 1 t oil to a large wok and fry pad thai noodles for a few minutes. Add veggies, tofu, garlic, and sauce and gently mix together. The noodles are delicate. If using egg, scramble the egg on the side of the pan and then mix in with noodles. Let pad thai cook for 5-10 additional minutes.

8. Crush or chop peanuts and use as garnish.