Thai food to me is comfort food, particularly my Vegetarian Pad Thai. The noodles are satisfying, tangy, and savory. The whole dish comes together in less than 30 minutes including prep time and make sure you don’t skimp on the toppings; the fresh cilantro and crunchy peanuts are the finishing touch.
NO Peanut Butter in Pad Thai?
It was only a few years ago that I discovered that there is no peanut butter in the traditional Pad Thai. My first time making the dish I thought I had the secret to perfecting the noodle dish at home. Come to find out traditional Pad Thai typically uses ingredients like tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar and sometimes dried shrimp.
NON-TRADITIONAL Pad Thai
My Version of the noodle dish is not what you would consider traditional, I wanted all the flavor of traditional Pad Thai using easy to find ingredients. My recipe incorporates ingredients that are more readily available and common in US grocery stores. I am aware that everyone does not have access to Asian grocery stores. I did some extensive research and testing to find the perfect combination of easy to find ingredients and not sacrifice any of the flavor.
Ingredients you will need to make Vegetarian Pad thai
- Tamarind concentrate (found in the Asian food section in a jar)
- Fish sauce
- Light or Dark brown sugar
- Soy sauce or tamari
- shallots
- carrots
- eggs
- scallions
- Rice noodles (thin and flat)
- garnish (lime, cilantro chopped peanuts)
How to make vegitarian pad thai step by step
STEP 1: The first thing I like to do is prep all the ingredients. The dish will come together extremely quickly once you start cooking so the prep portion is important. Soak your rice noodles in room temperature water (this step is not necessary) Chop carrots however you like, I choose match sticks, thinly slice the shallots, and rough chopped scallions. Rough chop the cilantro, roasted peanuts, and lime into wedges and set aside for garish later.
STEP 2: The sauce. Combined brown sugar, tamarind concentrate, soy sauce, fish sauce, and lime juice from half a lime. Mix to combine, adding red pepper flakes if you would like an added kick of spice. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for noodles. Once water comes to a boil add noodles and cook as the package instructs, when finished drain noodles and set aside. Cook the noodles a minute or 2 less than instructed, they should be a little under done, since the noodles will be cooked 2nd time.
STEP 3: Now that the prep work is finished, we get to the fun part. Heat a large pan or wok over medium heat. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in pan, then add shallots and carrots and cook for about 5 minutes. Push the veggies to one side of the pan, then add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and add scrambled eggs. Let the eggs sit for 15 seconds before you move them around the pan. Once eggs are cooked then add in the cooked noodles, prepared sauce, and scallions. Gently toss to combine and cook for another 3 minutes until noodles reach desired doneness. Remove from heat top with Cilantro and chopped peanuts. Serve with lime wedges and most importantly enjoy!
Notes for success
Feel free to add any type of protein you like, chicken, shrimp even tofu would work great in this dish. I would add the protein when you start cooking the shallots and carrots. The cooking time will take longer when cooking chicken. Soaking the noodles in room temperature water is not necessary but, it is an added step, which will cut down the cooking time and help keep the noodles from sticking together. I recommend doing it if you have the time. Substitute any herbs or vegetables you prefer this can also be a wonderful way to use up veggies you have in the fridge. The recipe can easily be doubled to feed more mouths or halved to feed 2 people.
Storage and reheating
The Vegetarian Pad Thai will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store in an airtight and or sealed container. To reheat simply toss into a pan over medium heat and cook until heated through. Or use the microwave (this dish is resilient and cannot be ruined by a microwave).
Here are some more vegetarian recipes~
If you make this Vegetarian Pad Thai recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and or rating. I appreciate your support and feedback and always try to respond to every single comment! ENJOY!
Best Amazon Products
Vegetarian Pad Thai
Ingredients
noodles
- 16 oz rice noodles
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium shallot
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup rough chopped scallions
- 2 medium eggs
sauce
- 3 tbsp light or dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce or tamari
- ½ lime
garnish
- ¼ cup chopped peanuts
- handful of chopped cilantro
- ½ lime
Instructions
- Start by soaking the rice noodles in room temperature water for 15 minutes. While the rice noodles are soaking, prep the vegetables: thinly slice shallots, shred the carrots using a box grater or use pre shredded carrots, chop scallions into 1-inch sections. Scramble 2 eggs in a bowl and set aside. Chop cilantro and peanuts into small pieces and slice ½ a lime into wedges to garnish. set the garnish aside
- Prepare the sauce by combining brown sugar, soy sauce or tamari, fish sauce and the juice from ½ a lime in a bowl. Set the sauce aside for later. Bring a pot of water to boil for noodles.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add shallots and carrots to pan and sauté for 5 minutes. While vegetables are cooking add soaked rice noodles to boiling water, cook noodles as instructed on package, typically 4-5 minutes. Once noodles are done drain water and set aside.Push the shallots and carrots to one side of the pan, add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil to the empty side of the pan and add eggs. Let the egg mixture sit for 15 seconds and then proceed to scramble the eggs. Add noodles, sauce, and scallions to the pan. Gently toss and incorporate the noodles, sauce, and vegetables together. Top with chopped peanuts and cilantro and serve immediately. Garnish with lime wedges on the side and enjoy.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.