This vegan Pad Thai recipe is much healthier than the takeaway version, yet still tasty enough to satisfy the food craving!
The original recipe was from Lazy Cat Kitchen, which I slightly modified to add crispy baked tofu and I adjusted the sauce recipe to make it extra saucy! I have also included a note at the end to give a vegetarian option instead, with the addition of egg.

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PREP: 15 MINUTES | COOK: 20 MINUTES | SERVES: 2

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Ingredients:

PAD THAI

• 200g Flavoured tofu, cut into 1cm pieces
• 200 g wide rice noodles
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 1 hot red chilli, finely sliced
• 2 carrots, shaved into ribbons
• a large handful of green beans, cut diagonally
• ½ small broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1 red capsicum, finely sliced
• ¼ cup roasted & unsalted peanuts, roughly crushed in a pestle & mortar
• ½ cup bean sprouts / mung bean sprouts
• fresh coriander, to garnish
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

SAUCE

• 7 tbsp tamarind sauce
• 1.5 tbsp tamari / soy sauce
• 3 tbsp vegan fish sauce (or more tamari / soy sauce)
• 3-4 tbsp maple syrup, adjust to personal taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 200°c. Line small baking tray with liner.
2. Cut tofu and arrange on baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes until slightly browning and crisping.
3. Prepare rice noodles according to the instructions on the packet. After you immerse them in soaking water, lift the lid and give the noodles a good stir to prevent them from clumping together and sticking to the bottom of the pot. Give them another good stir half way through the soaking time.
4. Once the time is up, drain the noodles and set aside.
5. Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
6. Heat up a wok or a large frying pan. Pour 1 tbsp of oil and heat it up until almost smoking. Add spring onions, garlic and chilli.
7. Stir-fry (stirring constantly) until spring onions soften and garlic becomes fragrant. Transfer to a separate plate, leaving as much oil in the wok as you can.
8. Heat up another tablespoon of oil in the same wok – no need to wash it. Start adding prepared veggies in the following order (leaving a minute or two between each addition): broccoli, beans, red capsicum and carrot ribbons. Stir-fry until cooked yet still slightly crunchy.
9. Transfer all vegetables to a big plate and pour half the sauce to the bottom of the wok. Add in noodles – they may have clumped together a little, but the sauce and heat of the work will separate them again.
10. Add spring onions, chilli, garlic, baked tofu and stir-fried veg back to the wok. Add remaining sauce and mix everything well and let it warm up, stirring the whole time, for a minute or two.
11. Divide between two plates, sprinkle with sprouts, crushed peanuts and coriander over top. Squeeze the lime wedges over top when serving (don’t skip this step!)
12. VEGETARIAN NOTE: To make this recipe vegetarian, add 1 beaten egg to the mixture just before step 10, and stir through just before adding the vegetables back in.