VEGAN PAD THAI

VEGAN PAD THAI

Ingredients

200 gm dried pad Thai rice noodles, 4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbls onion diced
4 baby bok choy heads
1/2 cup silken Tofu
2 cups Bean sprouts
2 Eshallots sliced green parts
¼ cup dry-roasted Peanuts chopped unsalted
1/3 cup Coriander
4 tbls Rice Bran oil
3 Tbls Vegetable stock
Lime wedges

-Pad Thai Sauce
¾ tbls Tamarind paste
¼ cup vegetable stock
3 ½ tbls Soy sauce
¾ tsp Chilli flakes
3 tbls brown Sugar

Method

1. Bring a pot of water to boil over high heat. Add Rice noodles and stir with a fork to separate. Cook 4-6 mins, until noodles al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Noodles should be undercooked at this stage in order to come out right when they are stir-fried.
2. Combine Pad Thai sauce ingredients in a cup, stirring well to dissolve Sugar and Tamarind. This sauce should have a very STRONG tasting flavour, sour-sweet first, followed by salty and spicy. Add more sugar if too sour.  Set aside.
3. Heat wok over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tbls oil, Garlic and Onion. Stir-fry 1 min to release the fragrance.
4. Add Bok choy & enough stock to keep ingredients frying nicely. Stir-fry 2 mins, or until Bok choy is bright green and slightly softened.
5. Put ingredients aside and add ½ tbls more oil to the centre of the wok. Add the Tofu and stir-fry briefly to scramble.
6. Add the drained noodles and 1/3 of the sauce. Stir-fry everything together 1-2 mins using 2 utensils and a gently tossing motion . Keep heat medium-high to high, reducing if noodles begin to stick or burn. Keep adding sauce and continue stir-frying 3-6 more mins, or until all sauce is added and noodles are soft but still chewy and deliciously sticky.
7. Switch off heat , add Bean sprouts, Eshallots, and 3/4 of the Nuts. Toss and taste-test, adding more soy sauce for a more salt/flavour. If too salty or sweet for your taste, add a good squeeze of Lime juice. If too sour, add a little more Sugar.
8. To serve, place noodles onto a serving plate. Sprinkle with remaining ground nuts and fresh Coriander. Add wedges of fresh-cut Lime on the side to be squeezed over just before eating.