jadesfood
Do you want some Southeast Asian vibe on your table sometimes but want to keep your diet vegan? You have come to the right place to find the perfect vegan pad thai recipe that is made with not fish sauce but soy sauce and lots of vegetables and tofu to get some protein. There are some tips to cook your pad thai noodles perfectly and to prevent the whole dish becoming soggy.
What is Pad Thai?
Pad thai is one of the most famous and popular Thai food around the world. It is a type of stir-fried rice noodle dish that is usually made with thin medium rice noodles, shallots, shrimp or chicken, scrambled egg, tofu, Chinese chives, and bean sprouts, then seasoned with a sauce that consists of tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar. It has sweetness, saltiness, and sourness in one plate with some crunchiness from roasted chopped peanuts. Normally, pad thai is not vegan at all but this vegan version is just as good as original one.
Ingredients You will Need
For the sauce
Soy sauce – Any dark soy sauce works perfectly. If you use a saltier type of it, reduce it accordingly.
Sugar – I recommend using raw cane sugar if you don’t have palm sugar because it has deep flavour.
Vinegar & Lime juice – Rice vinegar is best with saoy sauce but you can use any vinegar you like.
Sriracha sauce – This is kind of optional. If you are not a fan of spicy food, just skip it.
Paprika powder – This is for colour, you can use ketchup if you don’t have one.
For the Pad Thai
Rice noodles – Make sure to use rice noodles that are made of only rice. Do not use rice noodles that contain tapioca flour in it otherwise your pad thai will become sticky.
Tofu – Extra firm tofu or baked tofu is best for pad thai. I use fried tofu because those types of tofu are not available in Japan.
Vegetables – Garlic, bean sprouts, and garlic chives are kind of must but other than that, you can use any vegetables you like in your pad thai.
Step by Step Guide
For the Pad Thai Sauce
Combine soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, sriracha sauce, and paprika powder in a small bowl and set aside.
For the Pad Thai
1 Heat a wok or a frying pan on medium high. Pour some oil and fry tofu until golden brown. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for a couple of minutes.
2 Add soaked rice noodles and firm parts of garlic chives to the pan, and stir fry until noodles become soft but still a bit firm to the bite. Pour the sauce directly onto the noodles and continue stir frying for a couple of minutes.
3 Once the noodles absorb almost all the sauce, add bean sprouts and garlic chives to the pan and toss everything. Do not overcook bean sprouts and garlic chives because they wilt easily and make your pad thai soggy.
4 Serve immediately with some chopped peanuts on top. Enjoy!
Tips for Making Pad Thai
Soak the rice noodles in room temperature water
Soaking the noodles is an essential step for a perfect pad thai. Soak your noodles in tap water for 1 hour to get the perfect chewiness.
Do not cook your noodles too much
If you cook your noodles for a long time, they’ll become sticky and too soft.
Add bean sprouts and garlic chives to the pan last minute
They wilt quickly and get soggy easily. You need to add them to your pad thai just before plating.
Q & A
Can I use “Pho noodles” instead of pad thai noodles?
No! Pho noodles are usually made of rice flour and “tapioca flour” which will cause your noodles sticky by stir frying.
What other vegetables can I use in vegan pad Thai?
Other vegetable options are onions, bell peppers, green onions, and broccoli. Actually, you can use any vegetables you prefer.
What kind of soy sauce should I use for the pad Thai?
Any dark soy sauce brand is great in vegan pad thai but you have to adjust the amount of soy sauce as the saltiness of soy sauce varies.
Why do my noodles become soggy and sticky?
1 You soak the noodles in hot water. 2 You overcook your noodles.
More Asian Vegan Recipes to Enjoy
Vegan Crispy Fried Tofu Rice Bowl with Korean Spicy Sauce (Yangnyeom)
Vegan Mapo Eggplant (Mabo Nasu) Rice Bowl
Eggplant Kabayaki Rice Bowl (Vegan)
Soy Sauce Pad Thai (Vegan)
Equipment
- 1 Wok or Frying apn
- 1 Spatula
Ingredients
For the Pad Thai
- 100 g Dry Medium Rice Noodles soaked in room temp water for 1 hour
- 100 g Extra Firm Tofu cut into bite-size pieces
- 100 g Bean Sprouts
- 4-5 Garlic chives (Chinese Chives) cut into 2-3 cm
- 100 g Mushrooms Shimeji, Maitake mushrooms are great.
For the Sauce
- 1 + ½ tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Raw Cane Sugar or Palm Sugar
- ½ tsp Vinegar
- ½ tsp Lime Juice
- ¼ tsp Sriracha Sauce
- ¼ tsp Paprika Powder optional
Instructions
For the Pad Thai Sauce
- Combine soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, sriracha sauce, and paprika powder in a small bowl and set aside.
For the Pad Thai
- Heat a wok or a frying pan on medium high. Pour some oil and fry tofu until golden brown. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for a couple of minutes.
- Add soaked rice noodles and firm parts of garlic chives to the pan, and stir fry until noodles become soft but still a bit firm to the bite. Pour the sauce directly onto the noodles and continue stir frying for a couple of minutes.
- Once the noodles absorb almost all the sauce, add bean sprouts and garlic chives to the pan and toss everything. Do not overcook bean sprouts and garlic chives because they wilt easily and make your pad thai soggy.
- Serve immediately with some chopped peanuts on top. Enjoy!
Notes
- It is important to remember not to boil pad thai noodles! Boiling makes your noodles sticky and slimy.
- Other vegetable options are onions, bell peppers, green onions, and broccoli. Actually, you can use any vegetables you prefer.
- If you can’t wait 1 hour for soaking the noodles, soak the noodles in warm water for 30 minutes.
