Vegan Pad Thai with Cashews

Name: Vegan Pad Thai with Cashews
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 125 g Tofu (firm or extra firm); 200 g Flat Rice Noodles; 100 g Bean Sprouts; 50 g Mangetout; 30 g Soya Chucks; 30 g Cashews; 1 small Onion; 2 Garlic Cloves; 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil; 250 ml Water (or Vegetable Broth + more to cook noodles); 1 tbsp Soy Sauce; 1 tsp Vegetable Stock Powder (omit if using vegetable broth); 1 Lime; Fresh Coriander Springs; Salt to taste; 2 tbsp Mushroom Sauce (Vegan Oyster Sauce); 1.5 tbsp Tamarind Sauce; 1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce; 1 tbsp Vegan Fish Sauce; 1/2 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce; 1/2 tbsp Lime Juice; 50 g Water; 20 g Chickpea Flour; 1 tbsp Corn Starch; 1/2 tsp Black Salt (Kala Namak); 1/2 tsp Vegetable Oil; 1 pinch Turmeric

by Adriana Z. 22nd September 2020

written by Adriana Z.

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Vegan Pad Thai with Cashews

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An easy and delicious vegan version of the delicious Pad Thai, made with soya chunks, cashews and a bunch of simple ingredients, all seasoned with a tasty plant based sauce.

Who doesn’t like Pad Thai?

Gorgeous seasoned noodles with a rich tamarin sauce, fresh stir fried veggies all topped with crunchy crushed cashew nuts.

If you haven’t tried it yet my friends, it is about time!

How to Make a Vegan Pad Thai

It goes without saying that this, like these Chinese-style dumplings and other Asian-inspired recipes, is another highly customizable recipe with what we like or what we have on hand.

The important part of this preparation is the sauce.

Pad Thai sauce has an iconic sweet and sour taste, and it is, as mentioned, the key to its success.
To make it we will need 6 ingredients:
– Tamarind Sauce. Sweet and sour, it is a staple of Thai cuisine. It can be found in almost any big supermarket or online. If you don’t want to buy it, the closest substitute, which I’m sure you already have available, would be the humble ketchup.
– Oyster Sauce. Obviously we will replace the fish-based sauce with a vegan alternative that can be found online or in specialized shops under the names of Vegan/Vegetarian Oyster Sauce or Mushroom Sauce. Just use the one you can find, and if you cannot find any or don’t want to purchase it you can replace it for light soy sauce or coconut aminos.
– Vegan Fish Sauce. Here you can find my homemade version. It can also be replaced with 50% vinegar and 50% brown sugar.
– Sweet Chilli Sauce. Easily found in stores or online.
– Lime Juice. For the iconic tart aftertaste.

sauce mixture ready to be poured over the vegan pad thai

Now let’s move onto the protein part.

In my version, I used dehydrated soy chunks as the main protein element.

Adding this ingredient to our recipes is really easy. It just needs to be rehydrated in some hot water or broth (which I prefer because it gives more flavour) for 15-20 minutes and it’s ready to be used.

I also incorporated pressed tofu, as per the original recipe, simply sautéed in a pan with a drizzle of oil.

And cashews, which I decided to use instead of the traditional peanuts, to make this dish more accessible even to those that are intolerant.

While our soy is rehydrated in broth, we can toast and coarsely chop the cashew nuts, then we can move onto prepping the vegetables.

crushing cashew nuts on a blue chopping board with a chef knife

In this version I used ready to use vegetables such as mangetout and bean sprouts. However you can use any vegetable you have or like. For example, it also works perfectly with carrots, broccoli and mushrooms.

We are also going to make a vegan egg mixture from scratch, that will fry and fluff up like a chicken egg will do. This can be substitute with any vegan egg replacement you have at hand like this one.
To make it at home you will only need:
– Chickpea Flour. You can find it easily in shop also with the names of Besan or Gram Flour.
– Corn Starch. Or flour. It adds texture to the vegan egg.
– Turmeric. For colour.
– Black Salt/Kala Namak. For the egg-y taste.
– Vegetable Oil
– Water
Weight the powders first. Add vegetable oil and mix well. Add the water a bit at a time until you have a rather runny batter.

pouring vegan egg mixture into a work with vegetable oil
In a large pan or wok add a little bit of vegetable oil, and fry the soya chunks drained and gently pressed to remove as much water as possible. This will require 3 to 5 minutes on medium high heat. Set aside in a bowl.

Pour another touch of vegetable oil in the hot wok, wait 10 seconds then pour the vegan egg mixture. Break the batter with a spatula as if you’re making scrambled eggs, and cook the batter until golden brown and fluffy. Set this aside as well.

We can now begin our stir fry.

In the same wok add a little bit of oil, the onions (chopped), the garlic (grated or finely chopped) and the chili pepper (chopped). Give all a little stir, then tofu sticks go in. Stir fry until the tofu pieces turn golden and crispy, then add sautéed soya chunks.

Then bean sprouts and mangetouts go in (or any other vegetable mix of your choice) and cook for 3-5 minutes or for how long you like.

Meanwhile we can boil our noodles in abundant hot water. Always stick to the time printed on the package as it can vary from 2 to several minutes.

Drain the noodles and add them to the veggie mixture along with the fried “egg”.

Pour over the sauce, mix well and cook together for another 5 minutes or so.

Finally sprinkle the toasted cashew nuts and serve immediately with coriander (cilantro) leaves and fresh lime wedges.

Vegan Pad Thai Recipe

Ingredients:
125 g Tofu (firm or extra firm; 1/2 cup)
200 g Flat Rice Noodles (8oz)
100 g Bean Sprouts (1 cup)
50 g Mangetout (1/2 cup)
30 g Soya Chucks (1/3 cup)
30 g Cashews (1/4 cup)
1 small Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
250 ml Water (or Vegetable Broth; 1 cup) + more to cook noodles
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Vegetable Stock Powder (omit if using vegetable broth)
1 Lime
Fresh Coriander Springs
Salt to taste
…for the sauce…
2 tbsp Mushroom Sauce (Vegan Oyster Sauce)
1.5 tbsp Tamarind Sauce
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Vegan Fish Sauce
1/2 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
1/2 tbsp Lime Juice
…for the vegan egg…
1/4 cup Water (50g)
2 tbsp Chickpea Flour (20g)
1 tbsp Corn Starch (12g)
1/2 tsp Black Salt (Kala Namak)
1/2 tsp Vegetable Oil
1 pinch Turmeric

Method:
1. Place the soya chunks into a glass bowl, add the vegetable stock powder (omit if using vegetable broth), the soy sauce and hot water (or vegetable broth). Leave to soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. In the meantime we can roughly crumble and toast the cashew nut on a hot skillet for 30 seconds/1 minute. Set aside.
3. Press the tofu if needed for 15 minutes. Then cut into thick sticks.
4. Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients into a glass.
5. Prepare the vegan egg mixture by combining in a bowl dry ingredients first, then the vegetable oil and the water, a bit at a time until you end up with a runny batter.
6. Add some vegetable oil in a pan (1/2 tbsp), heat it for a few seconds, then pour the “egg” batter. Break the batter with a spatula as if you’re making scrambled eggs, and cook the batter until golden brown and fluffy. Set this aside as well.
7. Drain and gently press the soy chunks in order to remore the extra water. Add to a hot pan with 1/2 a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and fry the soya chunks on medium/high heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside in a bowl.
8. In the same wok add the remaining vegetable oil, the onions (chopped), the garlic (grated or finely chopped) and the chili pepper (chopped). Give all a little stir, then add the tofu sticks and stir fry until the tofu turns golden and crispy.
9. Add sautéed soya chunks, bean sprouts and mangetouts and cook for 5 minutes or for longer if you prefer.
10. Cook the noodles in abundant boiling water according to the package instructions.
11. Drain the noodles and add them to the veggie mixture along with the fried “egg”.
12. Pour over the sauce, mix well and cook together for another 5 minutes or so.
13. Adjust the taste with some salt to taste.
14. Finally sprinkle the toasted cashew nuts and serve immediately with coriander (cilantro) leaves and fresh lime wedges.

Did you like this recipe? Let me know with a comment in the section below
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