Vegetarian Pad Thai

Pad Thai is a controversial recipe. Traditionally, ketchup and peanut butter do not belong in Pad Thai.The slight reddish colour, instead, comes from the tamarind paste and the chili sauce. I’ve made it traditionally before, but I’ve become so accustomed to North American versions that I found something was lacking. If you’re a stickler for tradition and aren’t a vegetarian, you can omit the ketchup and peanut butter and sub in fish sauce in place of ½ the soy sauce. Feel free to serve it on top with chopped cilantro, as well, if desired. This version is a slight tweaking of a traditional recipe and will taste like the yummiest takeout from your local Thai hole-in-the-wall. I saw Mike get up about 5 times after dinner to sneak more, so I guess it was an unqualified success.

 This is a marriage of traditional Pad Thai and Americanized Pad Thai.Usually, vegetables are not a big part of Pad Thai, but adding them in really turns it into a meal by itself and adds to the nutritional content. Feel free to substitute any vegetables that are hanging on for dear life in your produce drawer, that’s what we did, just make sure to add them in order of how fast they cook. White wine or a light beer (such as a pilsner or a light Asian beer) really pairs nicely here.

 Ingredients:

 

1 package rice noodles

4 green onions

1 white or yellow onion

4 cloves garlic minced

1.5 tablespoons grated or minced galangal or ginger

3 cups bean sprouts

1 cup dry roasted peanuts, ground or chopped (I used a mortar and pestle)

1 cup sliced broccoli

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup sliced cauliflower

10 mushrooms, sliced thinly

½ cup vegetable broth

1 package extra firm tofu, cubed

2 tablespoons oil

Lime wedges for serving, optional

 

Pad Thai sauce:

 

3 Tbsp. tamarind paste, to taste (available at Asian/East Indian food stores)

1/2 cup vegetable stock

7 Tbsp. soy sauce or tamari sauce (tamari is gluten free)

½ Tbsp. Siracha chilli sauce (1 Tbsp. would make it spicy, if desired)

½ cup. brown sugar, or more to taste

6 Tbsp. ketchup

4 Tbsp. peanut butter

A sprinkle of salt and pepper

 

Directions:

 

1)       Heat up pot of water to boil and turn off heat. Add rice noodles, soak for 4-6 minutes, until limp but still undercooked. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

2)       Add all sauce ingredients to sauce pan, heat up to boiling and reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk all ingredients together while simmering. Set aside.

3)       Heat up wok or large frying pan to medium  heat. Add oil and the white or yellow onion. After a few minutes, add garlic and galangal/ginger. Add in ¼ cup vegetable stock and carrots and cauliflower.

4)       After about 8 minutes, add broccoli, tofu, and mushrooms. Cook for another 8 minutes or so.

5)       Add noodles and ¼ cup vegetable broth. Toss everything together using tongs and a spatiula. Add in pad thai sauce and stirfry everything together. Cook for 5 minutes, make sure to keep stirring to keep anything from burning.

6) Turn off heat, fold in bean sprouts. Serve with green onions and ground peanuts sprinkled on top and a lime wedge on the side.

 

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Cornmeal Crusted Cauliflower Florets

I think it’s natural at this time of year to want to cleanse a little. InVancouver, especially, the grey days stretch on, we become sluggish, and we start eyeing the possibility of summer beachwear with a certain measure of apprehension.  I don’t place much stock in detoxes that require buying expensive kits or supplements. Our bodies are pretty efficient at ridding themselves of toxins normally.

However, lately, we’ve been feeling a sluggish, lethargic, congested, and bloated, and Mike and I both decided to focus on eating really clean diets for the month, avoiding allergens, and exercising a lot. I think, personally, that the word diet has become a word with seriously negative connotations. Instead of focusing on deprivation, I think it’s a lot healthier to focus on filling up your body with as many nutrients and clean food as possible.

So, for the next month or so, in addition to our vegan diets, we’re really making a concerted effort to avoid processed food, junk food, too much sugar, wheat, and too much oil. We’re focusing on doing a lot of juicing, making a lot of fruit smoothies, eating whole grains such as brown rice and quinoa, eating legumes, and adding psyllium husk and ground flax to our morning routine.

 With this in mind, we made cornmeal crusted cauliflower florets and a quinoa chickpea salad last night. The cauliflower florets are exceptional: they are crunchy and golden, but are gluten free and use hardly any oil. Here, an oil sprayer works especially well to coat the cauliflower without using too much. Otherwise, you could brush a little on.

 Ingredients:

 

1 cauliflower head, cut in half and sliced thinly

Small amount of oil, sprayed

Dried herbs such as garlic, oregano, basil, and smoked sea salt and pepper

 

Batter:

 

2 tablespoons commercial egg replacer mixed with 3 tablespoons water

¾ cup cornstarch mixed with ¾ cup water

 

Coating:

 

About 2 cups of cornmeal

Dried herbs such as garlic, oregano, basil, and smoked sea salt and pepper

 

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375

2) Slice cauliflower and lay out on large baking sheet

3) Spray a little oil over cauliflower florets, and then sprinkle dried herbs, smoked sea salt, and pepper on both sides

4) Mix all batter ingredients in a small bowl and spread out all coating ingredients on a plate.

5) Dunk each cauliflower slice in the batter, let excess drip off, and then cover it in the coating. Place all slices back on the baking sheet.

6) Spray the cauliflower with a tiny bit of oil, and add salt and pepper if desired.

7) Bake for about ½ an hour. Turn on broiler and watch closely so it doesn’t burn (it took about 5 minutes for us). Broil until golden brown.

 

Serve with a yummy salad.

 

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