I adore any excuse to bulk up the vegetables in a dish and this vegetarian Pad Thai is full of fresh vegetables and a signature fragrant sauce. Thai food is perfect for this heat wave we’re suffering through and I love the careful balancing of flavours.
Traditionally Pad Thai is made with wide rice noodle ribbons; these typically come in bundles of dry sticks. However for ease of midweek cooking, I am a fan of Chefs World asian noodles – where you rip the packet open, toss through the sauce for a few minutes. Allowing them to heat up and then served. They are quick, easy and save cleaning up a few more dishes. These vacuum packed noodles are my little lifesavers for midweek dinners or office lunches.
I do find that restaurant bought pad thai’s contain a lot of chicken, or prawns and often not too many vegetables. We have tofu in our house, but here I like the earthy meatiness of shiitake mushrooms instead. They soak up the sauce and add another element to the noodles. If fresh shiitake aren’t available, you’ll find dried shiitake in most supermarkets. Simply soak about 30g dried shiitake in boiling water for about 10 minutes to soften, then drain very well before cooking.
I like to make a little more than needed and take leftovers to lunch the next day.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp sweet chilli
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 100gm fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 200gm pad thai noodles
- 1x zucchini, sliced
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1x lemongrass stalk, finely chopped
- 3x kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
- 2x spring onions, sliced
- 1x garlic clove, minced
- 2x handfuls mung beans
- 1x fresh chilli, sliced
- 3x eggs, whisked with a good pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts to serve
- 1 handful coriander, chopped to serve
- 1x tsp chilli flakes to serve, optional
- lime wedges to serve
Instructions
In a jug, whisk together the fish sauce, sweet chilli, lime juice and coconut milk. Set aside. Heat oil in a wok or your largest non-stick fry pan on medium to high heat. Lightly fry the mushrooms and zucchini for a minute or two, then add the lemongrass, lime leaves, half the spring onions and garlic. Continue to cook for another minute or two. Add the noodles, remaining spring onions, mung beans and sauce. Stir fry together, tossing and combining everything for a few minutes until combined and hot all the way through.
Push noodles to one side of the pan and add whisked eggs to other side of the pan. Scramble eggs around a bit, then leave for a couple of minutes to set as an omelette. Once they have set as an omelette, roughly chop them up in the pan with a wooden spoon and then toss through the noodles. Turn off the heat and spilt between plates and top with peanuts or cashew nuts, more beansprouts, chilli and coriander. Serve with a lime wedge to squeeze over just before eating.
