Vegetarian Pad Thai: A Delicious and Healthy Thai Dish

 If you are looking for a way to enjoy the flavors of Thai cuisine without meat, you might want to try vegetarian Pad Thai. This dish is made with rice noodles, tofu, eggs, mushrooms, and a tangy sauce that has a balance of sweet, sour, and spicy. It is also topped with crunchy peanuts, fresh chives, and a squeeze of lime juice for extra freshness and flavor. Pad Thai is one of the most popular dishes in Thailand and around the world. It is a stir-fried noodle dish that can be made with different kinds of meat or seafood. However, it can also be easily adapted for vegetarians by using tofu instead of meat and omitting fish sauce from the sauce.

The sauce is the key to making a good Pad Thai. It is usually made with tamarind juice, which gives it a sour and fruity taste. Tamarind is a tropical fruit that has a brown pod and a sticky pulp inside. You can buy tamarind juice or paste in Asian grocery stores or online. If you can't find it, you can substitute it with lime juice or vinegar, but the flavor will be different.

The other ingredients for the sauce are soy sauce, sugar, and chili powder. You can adjust the amount of sugar and chili powder to your liking, depending on how sweet or spicy you want your Pad Thai the sauce should have a balance of sweet and salty, so taste it before adding it to the noodles.

The noodles used for Pad Thai are rice noodles, which are thin and flat noodles made from rice flour and water. They are gluten-free and have a chewy texture. You can buy fresh or dried rice noodles in Asian grocery stores or online. If you use fresh noodles, you just need to separate them before cooking. If you use dried noodles, you need to soak them in water until they are soft and then drain them.

Vegetarian Pad Thai is a delicious and healthy Thai dish that you can make at home with simple ingredients. It is also vegan-friendly if you omit the eggs or replace them with scrambled tofu. It is a great way to enjoy the flavors of Thai cuisine without meat.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of fresh rice noodles

8 oz. firm tofu

2 eggs

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small piece ginger minced

1/2 white onion, sliced

Sauce ingredients:

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp tamarind juice

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp chili powder

Others:

2 cups beansprouts

1 cup chives 

2 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts  

1 tsp lime juice

Directions:

Cut tofu into small cubes.

Beat eggs in a bowl.  

Washed beansprouts and chives and then trim.

Heat some oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Then you need to add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry them until they are fragrant. Next, you need to add the tofu and stir-fry it until it is golden brown. Then add mushrooms and stir-fry for a few minutes. Then you need to add the eggs and stir-fry them until they are slightly dry. After that, you need to add the noodles and the sauce and stir-fry them until they are well coated with the sauce. Finally, you need to add the onion, beansprouts, and chives and mix them well with the noodles.

To serve the Pad Thai, you need to transfer it to a large platter or individual plates. Then you need to sprinkle some roasted peanuts on top and squeeze some lime juice over it. You can also serve it with more lime wedges on the side if you like more acidity.