Vegan Pad Thai & Other News

Ah, I'm glad to be back, yknow. 

And to celebrate there's going to be two new special things.

Firstly, I'm going to improve the layout of this place sometime this upcoming week. I'll tidy it up, make it look a little nicer and even add a banner (gasp! that's crazy right?!).

and secondly,

I'll be getting a digital camera soon! :'D

Well technically, my housemate and I will be getting one for our little craft business, but I will be able to use it for taking pictures for this blog. No more crappy phone pictures! Woo! 

Anyway, to celebrate my return, I give to you a delicious vegan Pad Thai. The kind that will make you wonder why you never had this version to begin with. ;)

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but it's winter (well Autumn technically... but my frostbitten toes like to say otherwise) where I live, and in those cold, dark recluse months it is habitual for people all around the globe to start craving those cosy, warm and usually butter-smothered foods. Soups, stews, and casseroles become the staple of people's diets.

And it's true, while those dishes have their alluring, siren-song charm, there's something else, which is often overlooked, that comforts me and gets me through those long formidable months... and that something is spicy food.

No matter how cold it gets, as long as I have a big bowl of chili I know I'm going to be alright. So, today's recipe, Vegan Pad Thai, is one of my main chilly season dishes. It'll put some fire in your belly! ;) 

Vegan Pad Thai

Serves: 2 

Ingredients: 

• 100g Pad Thai noodles or rice noodles
• 1/2 broccoli bunch 
• 125g firm tofu
• 1/2 brown onion
• 2 cloves of garlic 
• 1 red or green chili (the medium sized ones not the really small ones)
• 1/2 red capsicum/bell pepper 
• 50g peanuts 
• 1 handful of beansprouts 
• 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil (you can also use peanut oil, or you choice of vegetable oil) 
• a small handful of chopped parsley (or coriander) 
• vegetable stock, to taste 

For sauce:

• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 2 tablespoon of kecap manis soy sauce (thick sweet soy sauce. you can use the regular kind too, but this one gives it a sweeter, thicker taste)
• 1 tablespoon of white miso paste
• 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste 
• 1 tablespoon of sriracha sauce
• 1 teaspoon of coconut sugar (you can also use regular cane sugar. If that's the case then brown sugar would work best, but any sugar will work fine)
• 1/4 cup of filtered water 

Optional:

• a few drops of sesame oil 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Before I do anything else, I first bring a medium sized saucepan filled with water to boil, then add the broccoli florets to it (I just break them off of the bunch and cut them if they're too big). I boil them for five minutes maximum so that they don't take so long to cook later. So, we're basically just blanching them. You can tell when they're ready to drain because they turn bright green. 

Next I cut the tofu into bite sized pieces. If you like you can marinate your tofu before hand (with some oil, garlic and lemon). I do this on days where I'm not lazy. ;P

Then, I fry it in a large pan with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. I sprinkle a bit of vegetable stock so they soak up some flavour (you don't want them to be bland, yuk! >_<). If you like you can also sprinkle a little turmeric powder to give them a more golden colour. 

Whilst I'm cooking the tofu, I prep the onions, garlic and chili. I cut the onions into half moons, cut the garlic into slices, and cut the chili also into half moons (although, it really doesn't matter how you cut it).

After the tofu have begun to crisp slightly on the outside, and have gained a bit of colour, I set them aside in a bowl for later.

I add more coconut oil to the pan if needed, then add the onion, garlic and chili and let it cook and soften for a few minutes. While this is cooking you can cut the capsicum/bell pepper into long, thin strips (although as you can see, I'm not all about cutting them that thin. That would actually require me to be patient :P) When the onion mix starts become fragrant that's when you know it's time to add the capsicum/bell pepper.

After cooking on a medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, I then add the partly cooked broccoli and tofu. Then I chop the peanuts roughly and throw them in too. The peanuts I get are already roasted, but fresh ones would be fine too.

While this is cooking I bring a saucepan of water to boil again, then add the noodles. I find that a lot of brands have different cooking instructions, so it's best to follow what they say on how to cook them, but none of them will take very long. 

While the noodles are cooking I make the sauce which will bring everything together. <3

I add all the ingredients for the sauce together in a small bowl and mix until combined.

Note: I find it best to dissolve the miso in 1/4 cup of the water used for the sauce before adding it in. Make sure it's boiling water so it dissolves properly. This is so the sauce isn't lumpy (let's face it, no one wants a large clump of miso in their mouth). It's okay if it doesn't dissolve 100%, as long as it's mostly dissolved. 

Once the noodles are cooked I drain them and add them into the pan along with the beansprouts. I mix until everything begins to combine, then I pour in the sauce and mix that through. If the sauce is too thick, you may want to add about a tablespoon more of water.

Let it heat through for a few minutes, and at this stage you can add 3/4 of the parsley and mix it through. Then simply serve and sprinkle the rest of the parsley on top. 

Hope you liked this recipe!

xo.

Moonlight