Vegan Pad Thai (gluten free)

(Serves 4) 

I love, love, love Thai food. When I went to Thailand in 2011, we were encouraged to try other Thai dishes and not just Pad Thai, but honestly it was my favorite so I pretty much ate it every day. Often we walked down to the market for lunch and dinner and I could get Pad Thai for only $0.75, yes that's right LESS then a dollar. When I returned to Hawaii, it took me many months to go have Thai food and pay upwards for $10-15 dollars. Yikes, what a difference! Crazy, huh?

This recipe received a lot of requests as well as the Spring Rolls I just posted, so I'm attempting to recreate this and come close to something that works. If you know me, I don't measure when I cook, I'm trying to do better so I can blog my recipes again, so this won't be a habit. 

Couple other things to note, I have tons of food allergies so I'm posting this as I would make it and will suggest alternatives or suggestions. 

Many of the recipes you see online will call for Tamarind paste. Honestly, I searched high and low for it, found a seasoning packet once, tried it, wasn't impressed. When I was on the mainland again, I found the tamarind paste and tried it, again wasn't impressed. When we made Pad Thai with locals in Thailand, we didn't use anything like it..............SO I'm not using it in my recipe and I don't want to make you crazy, like I was, trying to find it. 

Ingredients:

1 - 16 oz package of Rice Sticks, medium or whichever thickness you prefer. If you can't find Rice Sticks, Gluten Free pasta (brown rice fettuchine style will work or bean threads). In Hawaii all the grocery stores and Costco carried them and they are easy to find, on the mainland not so much, look in the International food aisle or Asian aisle at your grocery store OR for Gluten Free pasta in the pasta section. 

Sauce Ingredients:

6T of Raw Sugar (brown sugar will also work)

1 Lemon Juiced (lime juice would also work, I also use fresh)

6T of Coconut Aminos or Fish Sauce (not vegan) or Braggs Aminos (Soy alternative) or Soy Sauce (note: most soy sauce is not gluten free)

 

***(fish sauce is NOT vegan)***

Cayenne Pepper (per desired spiciness) or Sriracha

2TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Toppings:

3-4 Green Onions, chopped

1 Garlic clove, chopped finely

1/2C Carrots, shredded

1/2C Cabbage, shredded

1/2 Fresh (not canned) Mung Bean Sprouts

DIRECTIONS:

Sauce:

Mix Sugar, Lemon Juice and Coconut Aminos together in a small sauce pan and heat until sugar is dissolved. Add Cayenne Pepper or Sriracha per desired taste. Adjust until it tastes right by adding more sugar or Aminos, etc. Once the sauce is done, set aside. 

Noodles:

Soak the Rice Sticks according the package (typically about 8-10 minutes in warm water until soft....be careful they do not stick together. Another option is to boil water and drop in for a few minutes until soft and drain. 

In a wok or large pot or frying pan, depending on what you have, add EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) and slightly heat. 

Add noodles and sauce and stir until desired consistency is reached and turn off heat. IF needed, you can add additional sauce ingredients as desired. 

Add remaining toppings (Green Onion, Garlic, Mung Bean Sprouts, Carrots, and Cabbage) and stir in and serve.

I don't cook the fresh vegetables. In Thailand, they add them raw on top. 

IF desired, you can add tofu. To do this, cube the tofu and pan fry in a little oil. You can add this in when you are cooking the noodles and sauce before adding the fresh vegetables. 

You can also add crushed peanuts on the top (Since I'm allergic, I don't) :) , if desired, and serve with sliced limes.