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We love pad thai. I mean, noodles. What’s not to love?! Here’s my go-to recipe. This was a nice shake up and I really enjoyed the tomato paste in the sauce. It added a nice nuance. I also loved the veggie quota in here, plus it was 100% vegan. Delish. Fresh and oh so yummy!

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup fresh lime juice
  • ¼ cup soy sauce or tamari (I used Bragg)
  • 3 tablespoons of water
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar (you could also use maple syrup)
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 14 ounces rice noodles (see PROTIP below!)
  • 1 medium crown of broccoli1/3 cup sliced shallots
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced (we were out of garlic so I nixed)
  • 1 cup sliced green onions
  • ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro (we have a cilantro hater in the house, so I nixed)
  • 2 teaspoons neutral tasting oil, (optional, you can also water sauté)
  • 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
  • 1 carrot, thinly sliced into matchsticks
  • 1 cup bean sprouts
  • Chopped peanuts
  • Lime wedges
Note: they paired it with “Dry Fried Tofu” in the original Thug Kitchen Recipe, but I stuck with my go-to way of sauteing Tofu with about 1T of sesame oil and a few splashes of Bragg. 

*Pro-Tip: I like the standard white rice noodles. They’re yummy fresh. But they are not so great reheated the next day. So I highly recommend the brown rice version. They’re a bit more money, but worth it for a delish next day lunch!

Directions: 

Mix together all the stuff for the sauce in a medium bowl (this is everything up to “noodles” in the list).

Cook your noodles according to package directions. Rinse in cold water to stop cooking (you don’t want them overcooked). Chop up the broccoli into bite sized florets and chop all remaining vegetables.

Now that you have everything prepped, heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet or wok. When the pan is hot, add the shallots and saute until they start to char around the edges (yum), about 2 minutes. Add the broccoli and keep sautéing for another 2-minutes, then add the garlic and sauté for about 30-seconds .

Gently add the noodles and 1/3 cup of the sauce and toss to be sure everything is coated. Then add more sauce to your desired saucey-ness. We like it saucy so went “all in.” I was also very generous with my veggies so it made about 6 servings (not 4 as indicated on the original recipe) – so keep that in mind. Keep the heat on while you’re doing this just so everything is hot and amazing. Turn off the heat and fold in the carrots, cabbage, bean sprouts, green onions and cilantro.

Note: the original recipe doesn’t recommend adding the carrots, cabbage and bean sprouts until after as a garnish, but I wanted it all mixed together so the kids would be more amenable….so there you have it. Serve this noodely goodness chopped peanuts. Squirt with a wedge of lime and enjoy!

PS. this was EPIC good on day two. It might not be if you use the traditional white rice noodles (they’re a bit more flimsy and not great on day 2). But the flavours were #boom so good. 

Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give a F*ck is one of my new faves. We’ve done the Root Veggie Fries, the Lasagne and the Enchiladas. They’re all next level good. The language is “fresh” so just a heads up if you have little chef’s kicking around. It’s quite funny for the adult crowd.