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Pad Thai

 

This is one of my favourite dishes when going out, as it is easily ordered meat- free and without eggs, to make it plant-based. Due to the fish sauce it will never be 100% plant-based, so we have a typical flexitarian dish here.

It usually is gluten-free, as no soya sauce is added. The key is a good tamarind paste and the right balance between sweet, sour and spicy. Here I used lemon, cayenne and stevia.

Try and buy a tamarind puree to avoid having to pick the seeds out of a sticky blob of paste... 

Fresh Ingredients

 

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  • red capsicum​

  • mushrooms:  here I used a brown variety that is similar to the white button mushroom and enoki mushrooms

  • red cabbage

  • spinach 

  • cucumber

  • wash and clean all veggies

Other Ingredients 

  • We need pad thai rice noodles, which is usually a noodle that is flat not round. But you can try it with all sorts of types of rice noodles. I found some brown rice noodles recently and have used black rice and white rice noodles in the past

  • for the sauce we need tamarind puree, stevia drops or green stevia powder, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and fish sauce. If you find a vegan fish sauce use that or make your own. I made my own once, using seaweed sheets etc  but it did not last very long in the fridge...(google vegan fish sauce recipe)

  • to serve we need: finely chopped peanuts

  • lemon or lime slices

  • fresh coriander

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Cook rice Noodles

  • following the package instructions is a good idea, but I usually just throw them into boiling water, seperate them well, check often and strain them as soon as they have the bite I enjoy

  • then immediately pour them into a pot of cold water, loosen them up with a large spoon and your hands, once they are cold enough 

  • some brands of rice noodles can get very sticky if you are not using the cold water method. Once they are loose, strain them again. I do cut them at this stage with kitchen scissors if they are way too long...some brands seam to be one metre long :)

  • keep them aside for later

  • you can quickly refresh them by putting them into boiling water for a few seconds

Prepare the Sauce

  • this recipe serves 2 and has 5 ingredients

  • the sauce is very potent and when you serve it start with 1 TB and add a second, if you like more flavour:

  • (I like it spicy and use 2 TB)

  • 1.5 - 2 TB lemon or lime juice

  • 7 drops stevia or 1/4 tea green stevia powder (adjust sweetness to your liking)

  • 1/2 tea cayenne pepper 

  • 2 TB Ayam tamarind paste, which is my favourite brand

  • 2 TB vegan fish sauce or normal fish sauce if you are flexitarian -

  • simply add all these ingredients to a lidded jar and shake until combined

Vegetable process

  • finely grate the red cabbage

  • chop the red pepper into small squares

  • slice the mushrooms

  • wash the enoki mushrooms and keep them long, just chop the dirty ends off

  • chop the cucumber in small squares 

  • rince and chop the coriander 

  • wash the baby spinach

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Assembly

  • fry the red cabbage in a little coconut oil until slighlty wilted, keep aside

  • fry the sliced mushrooms until soft, keep aside

  • add the re-freshed noodles to the pan and add capsicum, cabbage, all mushrooms and spinach.

  • add the sauce, starting with 1-2 TB and add more if desired.

  • warm the ingredients gently in the pan and distribute the sauce evenly

  • serve in bowls with a good sprinkle of chopped peanuts, fresh coriander and cucumber squares.

  • adjust the seasoning with a squeeze of lemon and extra cayenne if required. 

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