Veggie Pad Thai

Pad Thai has a special place in my heart. When I was in my twenties my dad lived on and off in Thailand and I was lucky enough to get to visit him. Thai food is magical, it is so bold and spicy—so different than the American diet I grew up on. It was sensational and eye opening to experience such a beautiful culture. Now every time I eat Pad Thai or Pad Sew Ew, I am flooded with these fond memories of long ago travels to Thailand. Food is a special thing.

I’ve made pad Thai at home for years, but recently I stumbled on a new recipe in Jamie Olivers Ultimate Veg cookbook, which is amazing by the way. His version uses silken tofu in the sauce, I was intrigued and had to try it. Never going back, the silken tofu thickens the sauce without unnecessary oils. It makes for a deliciously fresh and clean pad Thai sauce. Sometimes when you get pad Thai out to eat, the noodles can be smothered in so much oil, yuck. This homemade veggie pad Thai is super healthy and equally delicious. Plus it’s quick and easy to whip up as a weeknight meal.

How to Make Veggie Pad Thai

To start, heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and caramelize the thinly sliced onion. Then set the caramelized onions aside. While the onions are cooking, make the noodles. Cook a package of stir fry rice noodles in water according to the manufacturers instructions. Make sure to rinse these in cold water after straining so they don’t clump together.

Shift back to the fry pan, reuse it to fry up the eggs. I personally like these firm, but yokes not fully cooked. Once cooked to your liking remove the eggs from the frying pan. Add some more olive oil and the carrots, cabbage, and garlic. Sauté on high for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning.

Next, make the pad Thai sauce. Add the lime zest, lime juice, tamarind paste, sweet chili sauce, and tamari to the fry pan. Stir to mix the sauce ingredients together. Then add the silken tofu. Squeezing it into bite size chunks into the pan. It should have a consistency of wok scrambled eggs. Try not to stir the pan much after you add the silken tofu or it will loose it’s texture. Lastly add the cooked pasta to the fry pan and mix everything together. Usually using the two large spoons method is best for mixing and serving. Top the veggie pad Thai with fried egg, caramelized onions, peanuts, bean sprouts, and fresh cilantro. Yum!

What is Tamari?

Tamari is a close cousin of soy sauce. Unlike soy sauce that contains wheat, tamari is just fermented soy beans. It is known to taste less salty and more umami than soy sauce. The best part is tamari is gluten free. There is wheat hiding in so many sneaky ways in our foods. Who would have thought there was wheat in soy sauce? San-J is my go-to tamari and it is readily available in most grocery stores these days.

Beans and More Beans, Yum!

This pad Thai is bean double whammy—tofu and bean sprouts. Not to mention peanuts and egg for even more protein. Did you know that bean sprouts are actually mung beans? You can easily sprout these at home, the best part—they grow best in low light! Perfect for Maine winters. According to WebMD Mung bean sprouts are high in vitamin C, vitamin K, protein, and fiber. Plus folate, manganese, phosphorus, and iron. Mung beans may be little but they pack a lot of nutrients and I love their crisp crunch. The perfect texture paired with warm bowl of pad Thai.

Health Benefits of Cilantro

Like most herbs cilantro is super. Healthline says it is rich in immune-boosting antioxidants, can help lower blood pressure, and has anti-inflammatory effects that protect memory health. Although some people do not like the taste of cilantro I love it and load up on cilantro in my cooking. My motto is add herbs, lemon jucie and spice for flavor instead of salt and fats. Did you know that in most parts of the world cilantro is called coriander? Here in the US coriander is typically just used for referring to the seeds, but in many places coriander can refer to the whole plant. Who knew?

Now let’s get cooking!

Veggie Pad Thai

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A quick and delicious veggie pad Thai recipe. Loaded with veggies and an optional fried egg on top. Plus, it’s gluten-free!

• Author: Erica
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 30
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 14oz stir fry rice noodles
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots
• 2 cups of shredded green cabbage (about 1/2 a head)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons tamarind paste
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce)
• 2 limes, zest & juice
• 14oz silken tofu
• 1/2 roasted unsalted peanuts
• 1 cup of bean sprouts
• Handful fresh cilantro chopped

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Instructions

1. Add some olive oil to a large frying pan and kick the heat up to high. When the pan is hot, add the onions. Sauté the onions until they are brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium if needed during cooking, stir periodically to avoid burning. Once the onions are caramelized, remove them from the pan.
2. Fry up the eggs, one per person, or opt out for vegan version. Add a little more olive oil to the pan and cook the eggs until the yoke is done to your liking. Remove the eggs from the pan once cooked.
3. While the onions are sautéing, cook the stir-fry rice noodles according to the manufacturer’s directions. Be sure to rinse these noodles in cold water after straining them!
4. Back to the large frying pan, turn the heat on high and add a little more olive oil to the pan to avoid sticking. Then toss in the carrots, green cabbage, and garlic. Cook this up, wok style, for about 5 minutes. Stirring frequently with a spatula to avoid burning.
5. Zest the limes directly into the frying pan of veggies. Then add the lime juice.
6. Add the tamarind paste, sweet chili sauce, and tamari to the veggies in the frying pan. Stir to combine the sauce ingredients.
7. Open the pack of silken tofu over the frying pan. Crumble the silken tofu and toss it in the pan. Do not press the water out of this tofu!
8. Add the cooked noodles to the frying pan of veggies. Lightly mix using two large spoons to coat the noodles in the sauce.
9. Serve with the optional fried egg, caramelized onions, peanuts, bean sprouts, and fresh cilantro on top. Yum!

Notes

Easily make this vegan, skip the egg! We do this often, and it is still delicious and has plenty of protein.

Want to speed things up? Use two pans and cook the onions at the same time as the eggs. Then cook the veggies and the sauce. This cuts the cooking time in about half.