Pad Thai

I don’t know about you, but I don’t really like tofu. I prefer to eat vegetarian meals, especially when eating out but the problem is nearly every restaurant thinks that either cheese or tofu is what makes a dish vegetarian. Whenever the waiter asks if I would like chicken or shrimp, I always say, “No thank you”. To which they respond, “Oh so you would like tofu”….”um no”. Then when I ask if I can just have extra veggies instead of tofu, They get a confused look and mutter, “Oh, ok”. Really? Are vegetables so far removed from our minds that tofu seems more natural? That’s enough vegetarian ranting for now…please enjoy this tofu-free vegetarian pad thai and don’t be afraid to ask for extra veggies the next time you’re at a restaurant.

An easy alternative to making this dish would be to just chop up 6 cups worth of whatever vegetables you have on hand, sauté them in avocado or olive oil until tender, then mix in the sauce and serve with rice.

Makes: 2-3 servings

Preparation time: 20m
Cooking time: 20m
Total time: 40m

Ingredients:

  • 4 ounces brown rice noodles
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1 red bell pepper (cored, deseeded and julienned)
  • 1 carrot (peeled and julienned)
  • 1 zucchini (julienned)
  • 8 Brussels sprouts (remove the woody end and slice)
  • 3 spring onions (sliced, white and green parts separated)
  • 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
  • 3 eggs (omit if making this vegan)
  • 1 cup bean sprouts
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • 2 tablespoons peanuts (crushed or ground)
  • 1 lime (cut into quarters)
  • 1 1/4 cups pad thai sauce (see link below for the recipe)

Equipment: wok or wide skillet with a tall lip, large bowl

Instructions:

  1. Make or buy the Pad Thai Sauce
  2. Cook the brown rice noodles according to the package directions. Make sure you leave them slightly undercooked so that they don’t get mushy when cooking in the pad thai sauce later. When finished cooking drain and rinse in cold water.
  3. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat. Then sauté the bell pepper, carrot, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, white parts of the green onion, and ginger for 8-12 minutes until the veggies soften. The cooking time will vary depending on how big you chopped everything. Remove the veggies to a large bowl temporarily while you cook the eggs.
  4. Crack the eggs into the wok then stir quickly to scramble.
  5. Once the eggs are cooked through, add the veggies back to the wok along with the cooked brown rice noodles and add 1/4 cup of pad thai sauce to the pan. Toss the ingredients together while continuing to heat.
  6. After about a minute add a little more sauce and toss. Continue adding sauce in this way for the next 2-3 minutes until all the sauce is used up and the the noodles are cooked through.
  7. Pour the contents of the wok into the bowl and fold in the bean sprouts and spinach.
  8. Divide between two plates and garnish with the crushed peanuts, green parts of the spring onion and a lime wedge.