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.
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.