Pad Thai is such a fantastic dish. It bursts with delicious Thai flavours and brings a nutritious and tasty exotic meal to your plate. It is pretty simple and quick to make and won’t get boring to eat. Also, this Pad Thai works amazingly as a vegan dish! Let’s jump right in.
Ingredients for making Vegan Pad Thai
- Rice noodles
- Firm tofu
- Soy sprouts
- Garlic chives
- Spring onions
- Cilantro
- Shallots
- Garlic
- Lime
- Coconut sugar
- Chilli
- Tamarind paste
- Mushroom sauce (vegan)
- Toasted peanuts
- Vegetable oil (I used peanut oil)
- Sesame oil
- Optional: Toasted unsalted peanuts
- Optional: Sriracha
For this vegan Pad Thai recipe, tofu is the choice of protein. While lots of other recipes like to include more veggies in their Pad Thai, I like keeping it simple. Flavourful fresh ingredients such as garlic chives, spring onions, soy sprouts, and shallots give great different textures and lots of taste! While traditional pad thai uses fish sauce, I discovered that coconut sugar, tamarind paste, mushroom sauce and sesame oil give a fantastic flavour. If you want to add a little touch of sea flavours, a sprinkle of nori seaweed can make a nice addition, but it is not necessary to make this dish delicious. If you want to make the dish gluten-free, you might want to watch out for the ingredients in your mushroom sauce. Regarding the rice noodles, I like to use 5mm thick noodles, but you can also use 3mm.
Vegan Pad Thai Recipe:
Preparing the Ingredients:
As the first step of making vegan Pad Thai, I like to get all the ingredients prepared. Cut the shallots into quarters and thinly slice them. Next, finely mince your chilli and garlic. Depending on the heat of your chillies and your spice tolerance, you can decide whether to leave the seeds in or not. Finely chop your peanuts if you include them. Slice up the scallion, and cut the garlic chives into bits about 5 cm (2 inches) in length. If you use dried tamarind pulp, soak it in water and break it down before making the sauce. I used tamarind paste today. Soak the rice noodles in lukewarm water for about 15 minutes until turning white and soft. Lastly, cube the tofu into bite-sized pieces.
Making the Pad Thai Sauce:
With all the ingredients prepared, let’s get cooking. Firstly, I like to take care of the delicious sauce. For that, I melted the coconut sugar on low heat. I like to develop a little caramelisation for an additional depth of flavour, but be careful not to burn the sugar. Add the mushroom sauce, as well as the tamarind paste, and combine well. Check the taste of your sauce, and adjust the ratios until the sauce tastes nicely balanced. The ratios might vary depending on what kind of products you use. You want a balanced, sweet and sour sauce with lots of umami flavour from the mushroom sauce.
Making the Pad Thai:
Next, get a deep pan or wok on the heat. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and fry the shallots, garlic and chillis on high heat. Add the tofu and some of the white parts of the scallion.
Once these ingredients have come together nicely, add the soaked rice noodles, as well as the rest of the scallions and garlic chives. Also, add the sauce and half of the peanuts.
Combine all the ingredients, and sauté them for 5-10 minutes on high heat until the garlic chives soften. The sauce should nicely coat the other ingredients. Check for seasoning and add salt as needed. I already like to dress the Pad Thai with lime juice and sesame oil while still in the pan.
Now, we can finally plate our delicious vegan Pad Thai. Add a generous serving to your plate, and dress it with additional lime, sesame oil, chopped peanuts, or sriracha if you like. And that’s all there is to it! I hope you enjoy this delicious vegan Pad Thai recipe!
Enjoy, and let me know what you think in the comments!
Some other Recipes you might Enjoy:
- A fragrant vegan Tom Kha soup
- Flavourful vegan banh mi sandwiches
- This miso glazed eggplant is delicious.
- A delicious vegan fusion taco recipe
- Cold silken tofu is a refreshing starter.
Vegan Pad Thai Recipe
This vegan Pad Thai bursts with delicious flavours and brings a nutritious and tasty exotic meal to your plate. It is pretty simple and quick to make and won’t get boring to eat!
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 3 1x
Ingredients
400g rice noodles
200g firm tofu
200g soy sprouts
1 bunch garlic chives
3 spring onions
1 lime
3 tbsp coconut sugar
1/2 chilli
3 tbsp tamarind paste
3 tbsp mushroom sauce (vegan)
50g toasted peanuts
1/3 bunch cilantro
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 shallots
2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 cloves garlic
Optional: sriracha
Instructions
Cut the shallots into quarters and thinly slice them. Next, finely mince your chilli and garlic. Chop the peanuts slice up the spring onions, and cut the garlic chives into bits about 5 cm (2 inches) in length. If you use dried tamarind pulp, soak it in water and break it down before making the sauce. Soak the rice noodles in lukewarm water for about 15 minutes until turning white and soft. Lastly, cube the tofu into bite-sized pieces.
Melt the coconut sugar on low heat, be careful not to burn the sugar. Add the mushroom sauce, as well as the tamarind paste, and combine well. Check and adjust ratios for a balanced flavour of the sauce.
To a deep pan or wok, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and fry the shallots, garlic and chillis on high heat. Add the tofu and some of the white parts of the scallion.
Add the soaked rice noodles, as well as the rest of the scallions and garlic chives. Also, add the sauce and half of the peanuts.
Sauté for 5-10 minutes until the garlic chives soften. Check for seasoning and add salt as needed. Dress the Pad Thai with lime juice and sesame oil while still in the pan.
Add a generous serving to your plate, and dress it with additional lime, sesame oil, chopped peanuts, or sriracha if you like.
Notes
The ratios for the sauce might vary, depending on what kind of mushroom sauce and tamarind paste you use. You might need to experiment a bit with the ratios. The aim is to reach a nicely balanced, tangy, umami and sweet sauce.
I used rice noodles of 5mm thickness.
If you want to make this Pad Thai gluten-free, check for the ingredients on the mushroom sauce.
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Main, Lunch, Dinner
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Vegan