Pad Thai Dinner

Optional: For added protein I stir fried tofu cubes and added to the plate. 

(not included in recipe below) Here I used half a carton of Mori-Nu firm tofu.

     In six days I will be vacationing in northern Thailand. I am so excited to experience authentic Pad Thai, which is Thailand's national dish and take a cooking class! It really is a simple dish to make but one that you will need to do a few times before it becomes quick to make. Key is to have all your ingredients prepared and pre-measured because the cooking process goes fast. Give it a try on a day you aren't rushed to cook. With a few practices you should be able to make this in less than 30 minutes. This is my vegan-gluten free Pad Thai recipe (soy free also if you do not add the tofu and use a soy sauce substitute).

Update: Here I am at the cooking class. It was lots of fun and I
shared the class with my husband. I LOVED the outdoor kitchen!

Pad Thai

Vegan, Vegetarian, gluten free (soy free if you don't add the tofu)

serves 3-4
printable recipe

Ingredients:

2 T. grapeseed oil or coconut oil (this will be divided in half when cooking)

1 shallot, minced (optional- 2 T. minced red onion)

1-2 gloves garlic, minced

A dinner plate full of vegetables: this is more than a traditional Pad Thai recipe but I like lots of veggies in mine so use the amount you desire-

2 cups chopped cabbage or baby bok choy

½ cup match stick carrots

½ cup sliced mushrooms

¼ cup diced red bell pepper

1 ½ cups mung bean sprouts

½ package Thai Rice Stick noodles (3mm is a good size)*
6 oz. firm tofu, thin sliced or cubed (optional to omit for soy free)

Pad Thai Sauce- recipe follows

Notes following my trip:
-When visiting Thailand there were fresh noodles available at the markets. If you have these available then feel free to substitute. The cooking is even easier if you have fresh noodles and they taste great!

-Traditional Pad Thai will have an egg scrambled in at the end of cooking. Feel free to add 1-2 scrambled eggs into your dish if you like.

Toppings:

2-3 T. unsalted roasted peanuts, finely chopped (omit for peanut allergy)

1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced

Fresh cilantro

Lime wedges

Directions:

1. Place the rice noodles in a shallow dish. Pour hot water (not quite to a boil) on the rice noodles, enough to cover them. Let them soak for about 10-20 minutes. You can press the noodles down with a fork to make sure they are covered with the water. The noodles are ready to stir fry when they are white, opaque and flexible. They should be a little ‘al dente’. Bite into a noodle, if the center is firm but not hard they are probably ready. If they are still translucent, let them soak a little longer. Be careful not to over soak them or they will break and fall apart. When the noodles are ready, drain them and set aside. If they stick together, just rinse them under water before adding them to the stir fry. I usually soak the noodles while I cut up the vegetables. By the time I am done cutting the vegetables the noodles are ready to cook.

2. Prepare the vegetables and Pad Thai sauce. Set aside.

3. Heat a wok or large non stick skillet with high sides to medium high. Add half of the oil, when hot add the shallot or onion and garlic. Stir quickly. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add all the vegetables, except the mung bean sprouts. Stir fry until they just begin to get tender. Transfer the vegetables to a serving plate.

4. To the wok, add the remaining oil. When the oil is hot add the rice noodles and Pad Thai sauce. Keep stirring and cook for 1-2 minutes, let the sauce absorb into the noodles and thicken. Stir in the mung bean sprouts at the end of the cooking. Remove from the heat. Transfer the noodles to the serving plate with the vegetables or if you prefer, return the vegetable to the pan and combine with the noodles.

5. Garnished with the tomato, cilantro, peanuts and lime wedges.

Pad Thai Sauce

Makes enough for the above recipe

2 T. tamarind juice*

2 T. lime juice

2 T. Coconut Aminos**( soy-gluten free), Bragg's Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce

2 T. Sucanant sugar, brown sugar or palm sugar (palm sugar is traditionally used)

¼ cup vegetable stock

     In a small bowl, stir all the ingredients together until the sugar dissolves. Taste- the flavors will be strong but will absorb into the noodles and taste milder. Your sauce should taste sweet first, then followed by salty-spicy and last sour.

*You can find tamarind paste in Asian, Mexican or Indian markets. I will show you below how to prepare the paste. 

**Coconut Aminos is a soy-gluten free alternative to soy sauce.

If you want to make your own tamarind juice:

     In a small microwave bowl add 4 T. water. Place in the microwave and heat for 30-40 seconds. Remove from the microwave and add about 1/4 cup of the tamarind. Let sit for about 5 minutes.

     Next, massage the pulp with your fingers to loosen the seeds. As you do this the pulp also begins to break down. Place a small strainer over another bowl to strain the mixture. Use a spoon or your fingers to press as much of the pulp through the strainer. Scrape the pulp from the bottom of the strainer. Add a little water if necessary to make 2 tablespoons.

     Add a little water to thin the fruit puree into a juice. Tamarind is an essential ingredient to Pad Thai. I have seen recommendations for substituting it in recipes but really the flavor is so unique it is hard to truly substitute. Since this is a vegan recipe, you already are loosing another key ingredient, fish sauce. So I would try to at least keep this essential ingredient for authenticity. 

This is the fruit puree which I like to use in other recipes. 

Just add a small amount of water to make the juice.

Here is a very informative writing about tamarind for additional reading: Tamarind