Pad Thai is one of the most popular Thai dishes abroad. Here is our vegan recipe with a very special sweet and sour sauce!
Serves 2.
Sweet and sour sauce:
3 dried cayenne peppers, deseeded, stems removed
15 g shallot
10 g garlic
250 ml vegetable stock
3 tablespoons tamarind sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon mushroom sauce
½ tablespoon coconut sugar
Prepare the sauce by blending the peppers, shallots, garlic and vegetable stock in a food processor. When the mixture is thoroughly mixed, pour into a saucepan. Reduce the sauce by half, over medium heat, while adding the seasoning: tamarind, soy sauce, mushroom sauce, sugar. When the sauce is reduced, taste to adjust the seasoning: the sauce should be sweet, sour and salty. Set aside.
75 g tofu, cut into thin slices
2 tablespoons pickled radish, chopped
50 g carrot, grated
150 g rice noodles
60 ml vegetable stock
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
50 g mung bean sprouts
2 tablespoons peanuts, unsalted, dry roasted and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, unsalted, dry roasted
10 g Chinese chives (garlic chives), cut into 3 cm lengths
2 lime wedges
1 tablespoon oil
Heat the oil. Stir-fry the tofu for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the pickled radish, the carrot and cook for another minute. Transfer the ingredients to a plate and set aside.
Cook noodles, vegetable stock and vinegar. Stir constantly until all liquid is absorbed. Pour in the sweet and sour sauce and continue to stir until half of the sauce is absorbed. Stir in the reserved ingredients (tofu, radish, carrot). Mix again until all the sauce is absorbed. Remove from heat.
Stir in bean sprouts, peanuts, pumpkin seeds and chives. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with lime. Squeeze the lime and enjoy immediately.
Note: The success of this recipe is based on the speed of execution and the fact that the noodles are constantly stirred. This will result in noodles that are soft, evenly cooked and not sticky. Also, it is best to enjoy the Pad Thai immediately after cooking.
Variant: fresh Pad Thai
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
75 g tofu, diced
3 shallots, finely sliced
1 tablespoon pickled radish, chopped
150 g rice noodles
125 g vegetable stock
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon mushroom sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons tamarind juice
½ tablespoon coconut sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon roasted peanuts, crushed
½ teaspoon chili powder
50 g mung bean sprouts
2 tablespoons garlic chives, cut in 3 cm lengths
2 lime wedges
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or wok. Stir-fry tofu, shallots and radish for about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan. Set aside.
Cook noodles with stock + vinegar, stirring constantly, until the noodles have absorbed the liquid. Add the reserved ingredients (tofu, shallots, radish) and the seasoning (soy sauce, mushroom sauce, tamarind, sugar) and mix well.
Add pumpkin seeds, peanuts and chili powder. Mix well. Place most of the bean sprouts and garlic chives on top of the noodles. Stir these through the noodles.
Transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with lime wedges and the rest of the bean sprouts and garlic chives.