Vegan Pad Thai with homemade sauce '泰式炒河粉'
This Pad Thai recipe is my go-to for an easy and flavorful weeknight meal. This homemade Pad Thai sauce is delicious, packed with umami flavor and can be made ahead of time.
Servings: 3
Equipment
- Tongs or Chopsticks
Ingredients
- 200 g dried Pad Thai rice stick used size 'L'
- 7 oz [200g] firm tofu pressed, cut into cubes & pan-fried
- 8 oz [236g] mung bean sprouts reserve some for serving
- 3 shallots finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons preserved dried radish see notes
- a pinch of chili flakes optional
- a handful of Chinese chives/green onions cut into 3" length
- a handful of dry roasted peanuts
- oil for cooking
Pad Thai Sauce
- ½ cup [125ml] hot water or vegetable broth
- 30 g [2 tablespoons] coconut/palm sugar cut into tiny pieces
- 6 tablespoons tamarind juice (from 1 ping pong ball size tamarind pulp + 1/2 cup [125ml hot water)
- 3 tablespoons homemade vegan 'fish' sauce (nước mắm chay) adjust taste if using store-bought
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce used Golden Mountain
Sides
- Chinese chives chopped
- fresh mung bean sprouts
- lime wedges
- chili flakes
- crushed peanuts
Instructions
Prepare noodles and tofu
- Soak rice stick in room temperature water until soft. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
- Pan-fry tofu cubes until golden and set aside.
Pad Thai Sauce
- Place chopped palm/coconut sugar in ½ cup of hot water and stir to melt the sugar.
- Add the remaining Pad Thai sauce ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Set aside until ready or store in a jar and refrigerate for later.
How to cook Pad Thai
- In a heated non-stick pan with 1 tablespoon oil, sauté shallots until translucent. Then add preserved radish & continue to cook for another 1-2 mins over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds or so before adding the tofu.
- Then, add in the Pad Thai rice sticks and give it a quick stir to spread out the noodles.
- Add in the sauce and gently fold to combine the sauce together.
- Add Chinese chives, mung bean sprouts, chili flakes, and a handful of chopped peanuts. Toss noodles with the mixture until well combined.
- Serve warm with some lime juice, more crushed peanuts, fresh mung bean sprouts, and chili flakes.
Video
Notes
- I used dried Pad Thai rice stick which comes in different sizes of S, M, L, XL.
- Pad Thai sauce can be made ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Use tamari to replace soy sauce for gluten-free option.
- Original Pad Thai recipe: 3 tablespoons tamarind juice (from 1 ping pong ball size tamarind pulp + 1/4 cup [60g] water), 3 tablespoons vegan 'fish' sauce (nước mắm chay), 1 - 2 tablespoons coconut/palm sugar, 1 tablespoon tamari/soy sauce (omit if using store-bought vegan fish sauce), 1 teaspoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar and 1/4 cup [60g] vegetable broth
- Preserved radish: You can use either sweet or salted ones and adjust the sauce accordingly.