Plant Pad Thai

Normally with Pad Thai, all ingredients are combined together but we have styled this dish with the vegetables separate to the protein and the noodles so you can ensure you are getting a really good ratio of veggies. It’s a pretty good rule to apply to most of your meals that at least half the plate should be taken up with vegetables! This ensures a huge variety of nutrients, plenty of fibre and means you can eat a lot of food without overdoing the energy intake.

You can use whatever veggies you like for this dish, so you can keep reinventing it and make it year-round.

The combination of noodles, tofu, peanuts and vegetables makes this a great mix of all of your macronutrients, so it will fill you up and keep you satisfied for a good few hours!

We are using coconut aminos in this dish. For those of you who aren’t familiar with liquid aminos, they are fermented savoury sauce (similar to soy) but lower in sodium and are gluten-free. The name “amino” comes from the free amino acids that are what give the savoury (umami) flavour. The savoury flavour is due to the free amino acids that are released because of the fermentation process.

Ingredients

PANTRY ITEMS

4 spring onions, soft part chopped

2 bunches broccolini, trimmed and halved

2 pak choy, halved or chopped

3 carrots, peeled into ribbons

3 sprigs Tuscan kale, chopped

1 baby wombok, chopped

2 zucchini, cut into chips

1 cup red cabbage, sliced

Thumb size piece of ginger, grated

5 cloves garlic, miced

100 g Pad Thai noodles

450 g firm tofy

1 heaped tbsp tamarind

1 heaped tbsp peanut butter

1/2 cup coconut aminos

1/2 lime, juiced

Tamari

1 cup peanuts

1-2 tsp chilli flakes (depending on preference)

Large handful of bean sprouts

Coconut Oil

1 tbsp Maple Syrup

Coriander leaves to garnish

PANTRY ITEMS

2 Tbsp Vegetable Broth Garden Veggie

Method

Place pad thai noodles in a bowl of warm water for 10 mins, then drain
Meanwhile add a little coconut oil to a large pan and cook vegetables until tender, but with a little bite to them, remove and set aside. Cook in batches if needed. The volume will reduce as the wombok cooks down.
Remove tofu from packaging and pat dry with a paper towel pressing down to remove moisture. Cut into cubes.
Heat a little more coconut oil in the pan, add tofu and broth and fry for a few minutes until golden.
Add in garlic and ginger, fry for a few more minutes until the garlic is cooked.
Add in a tsp of tamari, stirring around to coat all the tofu pieces, and the tofu is caramelised.
Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining tamarind, peanut butter, maple, coconut aminos, 1 tbsp tamari, and ½ lime juice in a bowl.
Return Veggies to the pan with noodles, and pour over sauce, and ½ cup of water.
Stir to combine, then serve hot.
Sprinkle garnish with lime, coriander leaves, peanuts, chilli flakes and bean sprouts.

Serves 4-5