Yep – vegan Pad Thai! Traditional Pad Thai recipes use egg, which is cracked into the pan and scrambled before being stirred through the noodles. After seeing dozens of ‘tofu scramble’ recipes online though, I wondered if I’d be able to replicate the egg effect with tofu for a vegan version, and was so pleased when it worked!
Another deviation from the traditional recipe is the addition of miso. Because I’m not using fish sauce, I wanted something that would still give that really deep, savoury hit: stirring a little miso into the sauce does just that. Pad Thai does need a little bit of hands-off prep time, but it’s really quick to cook, and is great for a quick midweek meal.
I’d been meaning to write up this recipe for a few weeks, but things always got in the way – work, playing Zelda, and snuggling with our new cat(!)… but I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Ingredients (serves 2):
– 120g wide flat rice noodles (we use Mai Thai rice sticks)
– 396g block of tofu
– 60ml soy sauce
– 2 tsp tamarind paste, made up to 60ml with water
– ½ tsp miso paste
– 60g palm sugar
– 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
– 100g mangetout, trimmed
– 100g beansprouts
– 30g peanuts, roasted and crushed
– ½ lime, cut into wedges
– ½ red chilli, sliced into rings
– handful fresh coriander, chopped
- Begin by draining the tofu and gently squeezing to remove excess water. Wrap in kitchen paper, transfer to a plate and press by placing a heavy pan on top. Meanwhile, prepare the rice noodles to pack instructions. Drain, drizzle with a little oil and set aside.
- Gently heat the soy sauce, tamarind (and water), miso and palm sugar in a small pan, until the sugar has dissolved. Put to one side.
- Cut 2/3 of the pressed tofu into cubes. On a medium-high heat, heat 1 tbsp groundnut oil in a wok, then add the tofu cubes. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, until browned and crisp. Stir in the garlic, the noodles and the soy mixture and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Push the noodle mix to one side of the wok, and crumble the remaining tofu into the empty space. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring, before stirring through the noodles along with the mangetout and beansprouts. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Transfer to bowls and top with the crushed peanuts, chilli slices and coriander. Serve with the lime wedges.
Ps. For anyone interested, this is Posie. She likes sleeping, chin scratches, sleeping, snuggles and sleeping.
Bryony's Kitchen 