Vegan Pad Thai
Vegan Pad Thai is fun and easy to make. Some of the ingredients may seem hard to find or intimidating. However, we find that this is one of the exciting things about cooking, the discovery of new flavors and ingredients and we encourage you to branch out into flavors that you may not be familiar with. Check out the substitute option in the Chef’s Tips.
Once you’ve made this Vegan Pad Thai recipe you will be hooked and make this dish every week.
Shop the Recipe…
Le Creuset Wok
Measuring Spoons
Tofu Press
What You Need…
How to Make Vegan Pad Thai Sauce
How to Make Seasoned Crispy Tofu
How to Make Pad Thai Noodles
How to Pull it All Together
Chefs Tips
Questions?
Why do we freeze the Tofu? Do I have to?
When frozen, tofu magically transforms. Its texture becomes denser and spongier, with tons of little coral reef–like holes. This magic is actually science: The water in tofu expands when it is frozen, thereby changing the original structure. When the ice crystals thaw, they seep out in the form of water, leaving the holes they formed behind.
No, you can use tofu that has not been frozen, we suggest pressing it for 4-5 minutes instead.
Serving Suggestions
We think that just about any vegetable is great with Vegan Pad Thai. There is nothing better than a huge helping of your blistered long beans with ginger or a huge bunch of broccoli.
Vegan Pad Thai
Servings: 4 People
Calories: 502kcal
Vegan Pad Thai is fun to make. Some of the ingredients may seem hard to find or intimidating. However, we find that this is one of the exciting things about cooking, the discovery of new flavors and ingredients and we encourage you to branch out into flavors that you may not be familiar with.
Print Recipe
Ingredients
Pad Thai Sauce
- 1 kombu sheet about 2” square
- ¾ cup water boiling
- 2 oz tamarind pulp
- 3 tbsp palm sugar
- 2 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp black vinegar
Tofu
- 7 oz firm tofu frozen and thawed
- 2 Tbsp potato starch
- 1 Tbsp mushroom powder
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper fresh cracked
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
Pad Thai Ingredients
- 8 oz rice noodles
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup Chinese chives cut into 1-inch batons
- 1 cup mung beans
- 2 limes zest, juice and wedges for garnish
- ¼ cup peanuts roasted, salted, chopped
Instructions
How to make the vegan Pad Thai sauce
- Place the water and the kombu sheet together in a pot, bring to a boil and allow the kombu to steep for 30 minutes.
- Place the tamarind pulp in a bowl.
- Remove the kombu sheet from the water, then bring the water back to boil. Pour over the tamarind paste. Mix until combined, and allow to hydrate for 10 minutes.
- Press the tamarind paste through a mesh sieve.
- Use a Microplane grater to grate the palm sugar into the tamarind paste.
- Combine the tamarind paste, palm sugar, sweet soy sauce, and black vinegar. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
How to make the crispy seasoned tofu
- Remove the thawed tofu from the packaging, and press for 10 minutes.
- Cut the tofu into thin slices.
- Combine potato starch, mushroom powder, poultry seasoning, and fresh cracked black pepper and mixed well. Dredge the sliced tofu with the mixture, and place it on a baking sheet.
- Heat a wok or a heavy pan over high heat, add 3 Tbsp of olive oil to the pan, and add the seasoned tofu. Cooking until the tofu is turning light brown and getting crispy. Remove the tofu from the pan, place onto a drip rack and set aside.
How to cook the rice noodles
- Place the rice noodles in a large bowl. Pour boiling water over the noodles. Allow the noodles to soak for 5-10 minutes. The noodles should be al dente. Drain and rinse, set aside.
How to finish the Vegan Pad Thai
- Heat the wok or pan over high heat, and add 3 Tbsp olive oil to the pan. Sauté the shallots and garlic, season with ½ tsp kosher salt. The shallots and garlic should start turning light brown.
- Add the Chinese chive, and give a quick toss to wilt the chives.
- Add the soaked rice noodles to the shallots, garlic, Chinese chives. Sauté for another 2 minutes continuing to mix.
- Add the Pad Thai sauce to the noodles and stir vigorously to incorporate and coat the noodles. Add sautéed tofu and toss to coat with sauce.
- Add ½ of the bean sprouts and mix to incorporate.
- Zest 1 lime over the Pad Thai.
- Garnish the plate with fresh bean sprouts, lime wedges, and chopped peanuts.
Notes
Nutritional values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 502kcal | Carbohydrates: 117g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Sodium: 904mg | Potassium: 992mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 979IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 204mg | Iron: 6mg
