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Vegetarian Pad Thai with Peanut Sauce
This fresh, easy dish is packed with vegetables and topped with a sweet-savory peanut sauce. It is packed with flavor, tastes indulgent without being heavy and is so satisfying. I've made this dish both with and without sweet potato noodles and it's great both ways. Made for 2 servings. You could easily adjust quantity and add more or less of your favorite veggies and add any other protein.
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
Noodles and Vegetables (Feel free to adjust these quantities to taste and use more/ less rice noodle/sweet potato noodles/ cabbage as desired)
- Approximately 4 oz Gluten-free Thin Rice Noodles I've used Explore Asian and Thai Kitchen
- Approximately 2 cups sweet potato noodles
- 1 cup of shredded cabbage
- 1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
- 1 cup firm tofu drained, pressed and cubed (about 1/2 a block of tofu)
- 1/4 cup salted peanuts
- a handful of cilantro
Dressing
- 1 Tablespoon peanut oil
- 1 tablespoon tamarind stir fry paste
- 1 Tablespoon low sodium gluten-free tamari or soy sauce
- 1 bunch scallions chopped (reserve some of the green parts for garnish)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
Peanut Sauce (substitute any nut or seed butter if allergy)
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free tamari
- ½ -1 inch piece ginger
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 "squirts" sriracha sauce
- Juice of 1 small lime
- ¼ cup hot water you can use less if you want a thicker sauce but for the salad, we prefer thinner
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
Dressing
- Over medium heat, add oil, tamarind sauce, soy sauce and heat until it is about to simmer. Add scallions and garlic and simmer for a few minutes.
- Remove from heat and add ginger, lime juice and maple syrup. Mix well. Set aside.
Peanut Sauce
- Place all ingredients in a small blender and pulse till blended and smooth, approximately 1 minute or less
Noodles and Veggies
- Prepare rice noodles according to package, set aside.
- Meanwhile saute sweet potato noodles with a touch of oil (grape seed, sesame, or any neutral oil of choice) in a fry pan for 5-10 minutes, until tender.
- Combine prepared noodles, sweet potato noodles, cabbage, and sprouts in a large bowl and add dressing to taste, mixing well.
- Top with tofu and peanuts
- Drizzle with peanut sauce and top with cilantro and scallions
- Store extra peanut sauce in the refrigerator in a sealed jar and use as salad dressing or dip for the next few days.
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This looks great! Is the tofu uncooked?
Thanks so much! It is one of my favorites! I happen to be a huge tofu fan and it is uncooked in this dish. You could always grill it or roast it if you wanted but it is an extra step. The other day I picked up a package of already grilled tofu which I thought was really interesting and tasted good, that would work too. Let me know if you try it.
Do you do the sweet potato noodles yourself with a spiralizer or do you buy them dried? I’ve never seen them before!
I usually purchase them pre-sprialized but you could make your own. Let me know if you try!
My daughter said it best- “This is totally amazing.” Awesome recipe was a hit with the whole family and the sweet potato noodles were very easy to do with a spiralizer and some sautéing.
Yay! Love that your daughter and entire family loved it! Thanks for sharing!
Karen – we loved this recipe! My hubby, daughter and I made it this afternoon. We added shrimp for my husband. What a hit! Thank you for sharing your kitchen with us! ? Debbie, Pat & Catelyn
Yay! So happy you all loved it Debbie! And shrimp is a great add! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you so much! It was delicious even though I was missing the tamarind paste, sweet potato noodles and sprouts. I doubled the recipe for 2 of us and we ate almost all of it!
One more comment, we slightly steamed the cabbage and the tofu before serving.