Easy Vegan Pantry Noodles (Pad Thai-Style)
Hey pals! I'm not sure which day of quarantine we're in, but regardless, we are IN it. Don't forget to breathe, and do things that make you feel calm and centred. For me, that is of course cooking, and I have to say that it's brought me great joy to see how many people are spending more time in the kitchen and working on new or challenging cooking projects (aka everyone is baking bread and cookies and I'm here for it).
Firstly, an important disclaimer! Although I say in this recipe that these are pad Thai-style noodles, this is very, VERY far from an authentic pad Thai recipe, and I need to acknowledge that. While I love to whip up a more true Thai version with fish sauce and tamarind paste, my goal here was to share a recipe that you may already have all the components for at home. If you do happen to have the ingredients for a more authentic pad Thai, please refer to other recipes from The Woks of Life, Hot Thai Kitchen, Recipe Tin Eats or another creator who gives proper instructions and ingredients for authentic pad Thai.
However, if you don’t have those on hand or do not live in a big North American city like me where those items are widely accessible, this version is heavily inspired by pad Thai but is completely vegan and might help you to limit an extra trip to the store. So, on that note, let’s call these Easy Vegan Pantry Noodles that borrow the sour, sweet and salty flavour notes from the incredible Thai dish, using ingredients that you hopefully have in your on hand.
These Easy Vegan Pantry Noodles only use a few key ingredients: noodles, veggies (throw in whatever you have), tofu (if you like - to give it some protein and replace the egg), lime juice, soy sauce or tamari and a bit of coconut sugar (or sub brown sugar) for sweetness. It's honestly very delicious and pretty easy to make!
Hope you love this, and that it fulfills your craving for delicious, flavourful, noodle-y takeout type food. Stay safe out there!
Easy Vegan Pantry Noodles (Pad Thai-Style)
Ingredients
¼ cup + 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
4 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2-3 tsp chili garlic sauce
Sea salt + extra lime
½ package rice noodles, soaked in hot water for 10-15 minutes
2 cups bean sprouts
2 tbsp avocado oil
1 head broccoli, chopped into small florets
½ white onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large carrot, shredded
1 block firm tofu, cubed
½ cup cilantro, chopped
½ cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
Method
Whisk together your sauce ingredients (tamari through chili garlic sauce) in a small jar and set aside.
In a large wok or skillet, heat 1 tbsp avocado oil. Add your chopped onion and garlic and a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat until translucent. Add your tofu cubes and cook for 5-10 minutes over medium heat, flipping the pieces so they brown on both sides.
Remove your onion and tofu mixture and set aside. In the same pan, heat another 1 tbsp of avocado oil and add your broccoli florets, cooking over medium-high for 10 minutes, covering the pan to steam them for a few minutes during that time. When they are slightly tender and browned, add your soaked rice noodles (they should feel soft but not completely cooked) and then add back the onion mixture.
Pour in your prepared sauce, plus the shredded carrot and bean sprouts. Cook everything together over medium-low heat, allowing the noodles to soften, for 5 minutes or so. Stir to coat everything in the sauce.
Once cooked through, remove the pan from the heat and taste - add more salt and a big squeeze of lime if needed. Top with chopped cilantro and peanuts, stir and serve.
Serves 3-4
