This Pad Thai inspired dish is a staple in my kitchen and one of those things I cook up whenever I’m tired and need to get something on the table immediately. Despite it being sticky, spicy and tasting like a cheat dish, it’s nutritious, fresh and filling. It’s easy, colourful and so versatile, you don’t even really need a recipe. Keep the noodles, sauce and tofu – the rest is completely up to you. Make sure you work yourself through the rainbow in the veg section of your supermarket and add a spritz of lime – voilà!
Base
65g brown rice noodles
60g tofu
1 red onion
1 carrot
1/2 red pepper
a handful of green beans
Sauce
1dl veg stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
juice of 1/2 lime
1.5 tbsp maple syrup
pinch of ground ginger
Other stuff
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp corn starch
2 tsp cold water
Sriracha sauce
lime
1 tbsp roasted peanuts
Serves 1
- Put the brown rice noodles into a shallow dish or a wide pan and pour over some boiling water. Cover with a lid and leave to the side for at least 10mins.
- Meanwhile the noodles are soaking, pat your tofu dry and cut into small cubes. Chop your onion, carrot, red pepper and beans into fine strips.
- Prepare the sauce by mixing together the veg stock, soy sauce, Sriracha sauce, lime juice, maple syrup and ground ginger. Give it a good stir and leave to the side.
- In a small cup, mix the corn starch with the cold water until a sticky paste has formed. Leave to the side.
- Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a wok or a wide frying pan and add the tofu. Fry on a medium to high heat until golden brown and slightly crispy on the sides. This takes about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the tofu from the pan and transfer to a plate.
- Add the chopped veggies to the pan and stir fry on a high heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until the veg is still slightly browned but still crunchy.
- Pour in the sauce and turn back the heat to medium. Leave to bubble away for a couple of minutes before adding the tofu.
- Mix in the corn starch paste and continue cooking until the sauce has thickened considerably and became sticky and smooth.
- Drain your rice noodles and add to the pan. Give it a good mix and do a taste test – you might need to add more soy sauce or Sriracha according to taste.
- Serve in a big bowl, sprinkle over some roasted peanuts and drizzle over some more Sriracha sauce. Enjoy!
Optional:
Spicy is not your thing? Even though I find this dish needs the extra kick of hot sauce, feel free to adjust to your taste and use less Sriracha or leave it out completely. Replace with the same amount of ketchup and use an additional teaspoon of soy sauce to balance the sweetness.
No time to chop? That’s no excuse to skip eating veggies, because there’s a huge selection of frozen, readily chopped veg available, which works super well in this recipe. For extra convenience you can also go for an Asian style veg mix. Defrost slightly before using, then add to the hot pan and fry for a few minutes until lightly golden. For the best flavour I would always recommend using a fresh onion though.
You cannot find brown rice noodles? No problem to use “normal” rice noodles or any of your preferred types of noodles (even pasta would work). Brown rice noodles have that extra nice, slightly nutty flavour which is a great addition to the dish. Feel creative and mix and match different ingredients you find in your cupboard and fridge, it’s really a very forgiving recipe.
