I absolutely love pad thai, and making this vegan version at home always leaves me reminiscing about trips to Thailand.
This Vegan Pad Thai is a recipe I’m sharing from my upcoming debut cookbook, Vegan Asian!
My cookbook is filled with all vegan Asian recipes, from Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Filipino dishes!
YOU CAN PRE-ORDER MY COOKBOOK HERE. Here are some recipes you’ll find inside:
Now on to this Pad Thai recipe!
For this vegan pad thai, I made my own vegan fish sauce to use for this recipe and coat the noodles in a deliciously sweet and savoury sauce. I made this dish with tofu for protein, added crunch from bean sprouts and peanuts, tang from lime and an extra kick of spice from chili powder!
RICE NOODLES FOR THIS PAD THAI
Leave the noodles to soak for 6 to 7 minutes in a bowl with hot water until they are white (no longer translucent), pliable and still very chewy.
Drain the noodles and set aside.
OTHER INGREDIENTS FOR THE PAD THAI
Press the tofu for at least 10 minutes to drain any excess liquid. Afterward, slice into 1/2-inch (1.3-cm) cubes or any other shape of choice. I actually cut mine into strips and baked these beforehand.
VEGAN FISH SAUCE
I made my own vegan fish sauce to use for this recipe and coat the noodles in a deliciously sweet and savory sauce.
SWEET AND SAVOURY PAD THAI SAUCE
This Pad Thai sauce is a mix of the following:
- coconut sugar or palm sugar
- vegan fish sauce (see homemade recipe here)
- soy sauce, plus more to taste if needed
- fresh lime juice
- tamarind puree (see notes in the recipe card below for a sub!)
Note: you can easily adjust everything to your taste but Pad Thai is distinct for its sweet and savoury notes with that bit of tang from the lime juice! 🙂
COOKING THE PAD THAI
- Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the tofu cubes. Pan-fry them, flipping about every 2 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on all sides, about 10 minutes total.
- Move the tofu to the side of the pan and then add the onion and garlic. Sauté until cooked, about 1 minute. Add the rice noodles and then pour in the sauce.
- Mix well, then cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked through but still a little chewy. Lower the heat to medium, then mix in the bean sprouts and strips of scallion. Taste the noodles and feel free to add more soy sauce or vegan fish sauce, as desired. Cook for another 2 minutes, then turn off the heat once the bean sprouts are tender.
SERVING AND ENJOYING YOUR PAD THAI
Serve the noodles in two bowls, each with a generous squeeze of lime juice, chili powder or red pepper flakes, scallions or chives, peanuts and bean sprouts, if desired. Mix and enjoy your pad thai while it’s still hot.
You can also check out my other vegan noodle recipes:
- Thai Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)
- Peanut Satay Noodle Soup
- Easy Spicy Miso Noodles
- Ginger and Scallion Noodles
- Chili Garlic Oil Noodles
- Mie Goreng (Indonesian Fried Noodles)
- Chili Garlic and Black Bean Eggplant Noodles
- Easy Sweet, Spicy, and Saucy Noodles
- Stir-Fried Tofu and Basil Noodles
- Tantanmen (Vegan Ramen)
Vegan Pad Thai
Ingredients
SAUCE
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar or palm sugar (55 g)
- 1/4 cup vegan fish sauce , 60 ml (see homemade recipe here)
- 1 to 2 tbsp soy sauce 15 to 30 ml (plus more to taste if needed, see notes)
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp tamarind puree (see notes)
NOODLES AND VEGETABLES
- 200 g extra-firm tofu
- 225 g dried rice noodles at least 1/8" (3 mm) thick
- 3 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 small red or white onion sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 150 g fresh bean sprouts plus more for serving
- 1 scallion sliced into 2″ (5-cm) strips
TO SERVE
- Fresh lime juice
- 1/2 to 1 tbsp chili powder or red pepper flakes (optional)
- Handful of sliced scallions or chives
- 2 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts 30 g
Instructions
- Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredi- ents. Feel free to adjust the ingredient amounts according to your desired taste. Set aside.
- Prepare the noodles and vegetables: Press the tofu for at least 10 minutes to drain any excess liquid. Afterward, slice into 1⁄2-inch (1.3-cm) cubes.
- Place the rice noodles in a large, heatproof bowl. Pour in enough boiling hot water to completely soak the noodles. Leave the noodles to soak for 6 to 7 minutes, or until they are white (no longer translu-cent), pliable and still very chewy. Drain the noodles and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the tofu cubes. Pan-fry them, flipping about every 2 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on all sides, about 10 minutes total.
- Move the tofu to the side of the pan and then add the onion and garlic. Sauté until cooked, about 1 minute. Add the rice noodles and then pour in the sauce.
- Mix well, then cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked through but still a little chewy. Lower the heat to medium, then mix in the bean sprouts and strips of scallion. Taste the noodles and feel free to add more soy sauce or vegan fish sauce, as desired. Cook for another 2 minutes, then turn off the heat once the bean sprouts are tender.
- Serve the noodles in two bowls, each with a generous squeeze of lime juice, chili powder or red pepper flakes, scallions or chives, peanuts and bean sprouts, if desired. Mix and enjoy your pad thai while it’s still hot.
WATCH Video
Notes
FISH SAUCE
- If you’re using store-bought vegan fish sauce, start with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) or use soy sauce, since store-bought vegan fish sauce can be much saltier!
TAMARIND PUREE
- You can replace the tamarind puree with a mix of 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of fresh lime juice and 2 tablespoons (28 g) of coconut sugar or palm sugar.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
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This Post Has 16 Comments
Easy and delicious made the homemade fish sauce. Will make again
Thank you michelle!
I just tried your recipe for this and I just gotta say we LOVED it! I’ve been trying to make pad thai for years but the noodles always came out mushy after being boiled and cooked in the sauce. Your method of just soaking the noodles in boiling water was a game changer. It feels like the noodles actually absorbed the sauce better too. Thank you!!
So happy you loved it!! I used to cook down noodles and not only did I have to wait for water to boil and wash an extra pot, I ended up with overcooked noodles! Haha so I still to just to soaking them and cook them down in the sauce instead. ◡̈
My whole family Loved this recipe, including our almost 3 year old Toddler.
Yay so so happy you liked it!
This is one of my favorite Pad Thai recipes. It’s so delicious! I did have to boil the noodles to get them to be a bit softer, but that may have been the brand I was using.
It might vary on thickness and brand, yes! You can also try soaking it for longer so the noodles have more time to soften. Also really happy you enjoy this recipe, thanks so much! ◡̈
So easy to make! I’ve tried making pad Thai before and always failed. This recipe was perfect. Soaking the noodles in boiling water was a game changer.
Thanks so much Amanda! Glad you liked it ◡̈
Such a quick and easy recipe! Super yummy and filling. I will definitely keep this in rotation!
Thanks Shanta, hope you enjoyed it! ◡̈
Finally got around to cooking this after having it in an open tab for a month. Well worth it! The noodles got too sticky because I overcooked them and/or had them waiting outside for too long, but this dish is great! Loved the coco sugar and fish sauce.
Hey Niklas, glad you finally gave it a try! ◡̈
So good! Tried to make pad Thai a few times before but this was by far the best and easiest recipe I have tried. Felt like I was having take out 🤩
Have yet to try a recipe from your blog that has failed, they are all amazing including this one.
So happy reading this. Thanks Heidi, really appreciate this and happy you enjoyed this pad Thai recipe!