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The Best Damn Vegan Pad Thai

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I have literally been sitting on this pad Thai recipe since before Satya was born… and I’m only sharing it now… GASP!

I am so sorry that I have deprived the world of this whole foods deliciousness for this long.

I accept whatever punishment you see fit.

Now.. one of the reasons I was so keen to develop a pad Thai recipe is for two reasons:

  1. Pad Thai is freakin’ delicious
  2. It also has tons of not so health building ingredients

Most restaurant Pad Thai ‘s contain:

  • Corn starch
  • Refined white sugar
  • Vegetable/corn/soybean oil
  • Non-organic tofu which has TONS of pesticides and herbicides and is one of the most genetically modified products out there
  • Very little veggies

Ingredients like the aforementioned ones are hard on the digestive system, are generally modified, processed and promote inflammation in the body, as well as create ama or toxic build up.

So… I hate being “that person” and I’m not suggesting that you start fearing restraints Pad Thai – I had one the other day from Paii in Toronto and it is hands down the best pad Thai I’ve ever had – I’m just wanting to bring your awareness to the things that are in our food.

Because when we know better, we’ll do better.

I think restaurant food is a great treat once in a while but it can get expensive, is often not as health building, and doesn’t contain the same love and prana as when we make it at home.

IF you wanna hear more about my thoughts on why we should make our food at home and how this cultivates deeper nourishment, check out Episode 5 of the Yogi Fuel Podcast!

Ok…

On to the Pad Thai..

If you know me well, you know I’m all about the veggies, and I’m all about creating the most nutrient dense meals possible! When we up our veggie game, we uplevel out micronutrient levels and this supports all the tissues of our body, improves our energy, supercharges our body’s ability to heal, and so much more.

So for me, I load up on the veggies

You also know, I’m all about educating how you can modify recipes for you Dosha!

This bad boy can be made a few different ways to accommodate each of the Dosha’s, and it doesn’t take much. Just a few simple tweaks.

If you don’t know your Dosha, check out my Dosha quiz here!

Pad Thai is definitely Pacifying for Vata, but could be aggravating to Pitta and is definitely aggravating to Kapha.

It is hot, sweet, spicy, heavy, and thick – which means it is perfect for a vata, but not so much for kapha.

Here’s how you could modify this recipe based on your Dosha!

For Vatas, keep this recipe as is! Add a little spice, and don’t be afraid to load up on the PB and Maple syrup to really help you ground. You could also switch out the noodles for sweet potato if you’re into it.

To make this more suitable to pitta, reduce the spice, or omit it all together.

To make this more suitable for kapha, up the spice, and maybe decrease the peanut butter in this recipe. Also, add TONS of veggies and perhaps substitute white rice noodles for sweet potato or zucchini noodles.

Now this recipe is one of my faves – in fact Vikram says it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made *flips hair.*

It also features my super simple, 5-ingredient Sweet Chilli Sauce that will leave you feeling Martha Stewart AF when you make it from scratch.

Alright, try this recipe out and let me know how it goes! Tag me on Instagram @melissasinghyogifuel or send me a DM if you try it. I’d love to see how it turns out!

Print Recipe
 The Best Damn Vegan Pad Thai
Servings
people
Ingredients
Pad Thai
Sauce
Servings
people
Ingredients
Pad Thai
Sauce
Instructions
  1. Slice your veggies to desired shape - I like to keep mine thin and long - but you can chop them however you'd like!
  2. Saute in a pan with 1 tbsp avocado or other neutral tasting oil.
  3. While this is happening, boil a large pot of water for your noodles - I recommend following the instructions on your package to ensure you make them properly as some differ. See notes if you want to use sweet potato noodles instead!
  4. Chope your tofu into even cubes and saute in a seperate pan with refined coconut oil or avocado oil. You want to use these oils as they have a higher smoke point, meaning you can fry things in them without oxidation. You can use up to 1/4 cup of oil if you want that authentic "Pad Thai" taste. If not, a saute will do just fine, OR if you're feeling lazy, just toss em in with the veggies.
  5. Ok, once everything is cooked, add your noodles, veggies and tofu together.. and stir.
  6. Ok... here is the most important part of this recipe... ADD IN THE SAUCE AT THE VERY END, ONCE THE PAD THAI IS OFF THE HEAT. In my experience if you add the sauce too soon, it thickens up and isn't as saucy. It's kinda chunky... we don't want this! So remove your veggies and noodles from the heat before adding in the sauce!
The Sauce
  1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together. BAM!
  2. If you don't have the sweet chili sauce, you can do as follows, OR follow this link to make your own: http://www.melissasingh.com/recipe/easy-peasy-5-ingredient-sweet-chili-garlic-sauce/ (it's actually really easy).
  3. Add 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, an additional 1-2 tbsp mapl syrup (to taste) and 1 tsp red chillies to the sauce.
  4. Place 1 tsp of tapioca starch with a tiny bit of water, stir until dissolved, and place in the sauce. You can add a little bit of water to thin out the sauce a little if you'd like.
Recipe Notes

To make your own Chili Garlic Sauce follow this link

Sweet Potato Noodles: This is ideal if you have a spiralizer. If you don't, it's a bit of a mission to try and make sweet potato noodles. If you DO have a spiralizer, I would so 1-2 sweet potatoes on whatever setting your heart desires - though I like the medium thick noodle-y one.

All you will do to "cook" the noodles, is lightly saute in a bit of oil, and cover for maaaaybe 5 minutes. It doesn't take too long and you wanna keep your eye on the noodles so they don't get too soft.

Then just follow the instructions the same way. 

For Zucchini noodles, I wouldn't even saute them. I just add them to the mixture, and the heat from the veggies and sauce will cook them up slightly. I find overly cooking the zucchini noodles makes them toomushy. Though, you could lightly saute them for 1-2 minutes.

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The Best Ever Scrambled Tofu

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I know it’s like the vegan cliche to love tofu, but I seriously love tofu – especially scrambled.

I think it’s because when I ate meat, my go-to breakfast was eggs. At one point I was eating 4-6 eggs a day. It was overkill, I know. I just liked how easily I could whip them up, and how many different ways I could make them.

I especially loved scrambled eggs. But then I became vegan and alas, my love affair with eggs was no more.

Vegan Scrambled Tofu

However, during this pregnancy, I did actually eat a few eggs.

Dum dum dummm… Don’t call the vegan police on me! I had what I call – and EGG-sistential crisis. My body was craving eggs. But I was VEGAN. I felt this moral obligation to NOT eat eggs. I felt bound by my vegan label, but also I felt this weird guilt about even considering eating eggs. I had so many chats with my husband about what I should do, and really it came down to this:

He said, “Why are you vegan in the first place?” and I said, “Because I don’t want to harm animals or the environment..” and he said, “Well, if you could eat eggs in such a manner that didn’t harm the environment or animals, wouldn’t you do that?”

Hmmm. He was on to something. There is a little farm near where my mom lives that has a big space for their chickens to roam, they get their eggs fresh every day, and they ONLY farm eggs. Not the actual chickens.

My craving for eggs had lasted over a month. I figured my body was trying to tell me something. So I finally – after months of debate – ate the damn eggs. And honestly, It felt like it was exactly what my body needed at the time. Later, my friend let me know that at the time during my pregnancy that I was craving eggs (around 2-3 months), was when my body would be needing a whole lot of a nutrient called choline. Choline is used to promote the development of the brain and nervous system and is abundant in eggs. My genius body knew exactly what I needed when I needed it!

Thanks bod.

Vegan Scrambled Tofu

Even though the eggs tasted great, they didn’t go down so well.

My body wasn’t used to digesting animal protein. I started to feel bloated, and gassy every time after I ate them. So once the cravings went away, I stopped consuming them and went back to my old, reliable fav – scrambled tofu.

I remember the first few times I tried making this dish. Without a recipe to go on I put in waaaaay too much turmeric to make them egg-colored, and way too much salt. In fact, I think all I put was salt and turmeric. They were gross. Needless to say, I have evolved since then. My knack for putting together spices that compliment each other has improved thanks to my amazing husband, the spice-master, Vikram.

Vegan Scrambled Tofu

There are tons of different spice combinations you can use to jazz up your plain tasting tofu

But the one I’m sharing with you today is by far my favorite. It can be nice and mild with just a pinch or two of cayenne, or you can totally spice it up and add in some hot chili flakes. The spice world is your oyster my friends!

The other amazing thing I love about this recipe is that you can pretty much add any veggie you want to it! One of my go-to combo’s is onions, mushrooms, spinach and red peppers. But you can add or omit veggies to your personal liking. I always feel weird about posting the exact, specifics of a recipe when I know that certain things can, and SHOULD be modified based on personal preference. Like who am I to tell you what vegetables to put in your scramble? Life is short, throw in whatever you want.

Vegan Scrambled Tofu

Vegan Scrambled Tofu

Other delicious veggies I’ve tossed in here:

  • Kale
  • Green Onions
  • Garlic
  • Avocado (sliced and put on top – this is always a good idea)!
  • Broccoli
  • Bok Choy
  • Black Beans

I wouldn’t necessarily put all of these in at once, (or you could, YOLO and such…) but I just want you to know that this recipe will pretty much taste delicious with any combo of veggies.

Check out the recipe below, and let me know what you think! Are there any other flavor combos you like? Let me know in the comments section! Happy Eating 🙂

 





Print Recipe


The Best Scrambled Tofu

Vegan Scrambled Tofu

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins

Servings
people


Ingredients

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins

Servings
people


Ingredients

Vegan Scrambled Tofu


Instructions
  1. Over medium heat, place the onions in a pan with a few tbsp of oil, and saute until they are translucent.

  2. Add in the rest of the vegetables (with the EXCEPTION of the spinach which you will add right at the end) and saute until soft.

  3. Place another tbsp of oil in the pan, and begint o crumble up your tofu. Literally pull some apart, and crumble it in your hands so it resembles scrambled eggs.

  4. Add in your spices, and stir so they mix evenly with the tofu and veggies. Add in salt and pepper, and modify spices according to your preference.

  5. Add in the spinach, stirring to ensure the spinach is evenly distributed. At this point you can reduce heat to low, and cover for 10-15 minutes.

  6. Serve with oven baked potatoes or sweet potatoes, and definitely avocado! Enjoy 🙂


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