Easy Vegan Pad Thai
One of the great powers of cooking is to give people the opportunity to discover different cultures and languages through food. I love finding out different flavours, comparing the tastes of our traditions with those of the other, using new spices every day and, above all, trying to imitate special dishes. For example, I love Thai food, since it offers various vegan options and I often enjoy it in many restaurants in London.
Since many years, I have been celebrating my birthday at Thai restaurant. To celebrate these special occasions, I went at “Coach and Horses” in Stoke Newington, which offers a wonderful atmosphere in the light of candles and a great menu with vegan options.
Today’s recipe is Pad Thai: a very common dish in Thailand with rice or noodles sautéed with eggs, fish, but also with vegetables or tofu. Obviously, I will prepare the vegan version that is also incredibly delicious!
The recipe
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 450 g noodles (I used Udon);
- 200 g natural tofu;
- 80 g cashew nuts;
- 1 golden onion;
- 1 garlic clove;
- 1 pepper;
- 60 ml soy sauce;
- 60 g peanut butter;
- 4 spring onions;
- 1 courgette;
- Just enough coriander;
- Some soy sprouts;
- Just enough fresh ginger;
- 1 lemon;
- 1 teaspoon whole brown sugar;
- Some extra virgin olive oil.
Method:
- In a saucepan, boil water and cook noodles for 6-7 minutes, till they become soft, then dry them well.
- Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a pan and fry chopped tofu, until it turns golden brown;
- Roast roughly chopped cashew nuts (if you prefer you can leave them whole);
- Slice onion, chop garlic and a small piece of ginger, cut pepper and courgette (as you prefer). Sauté all the ingredients with a little olive oil in a frying pan, for about 3-4 minutes. When onion has softened, add peanut butter and mix it well. Then, add noodles and continue to stir;
- Add tofu, chopped onion, a handful of bean sprouts and a few chopped coriander. Mix them well;
- In a bowl combine together some soy sauce, lemon juice and sugar: pour them on noodles, mix everything together and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes;
- Add cashew nuts and serve it.
My advices:
- You can replace coriander with parsley.
- This recipe is very versatile: it depends on the vegetables you have at home.
