There are inverted commas around the title as I’m not saying this is especially authentic, but given that most Pad Thai dishes from a Thai restaurant are very oily then that’s not such a bad thing. This still has that sweet, sour and salty thing going on, and I’ve added more vegetables than you usually get in a Pad Thai (like none, usually!). OK I know it’s white rice noodles which aren’t the healthiest thing in the world, but we see this is a “treat meal” so it’s not on weekly rotation! This is a crafty way of getting cabbage into children as they disappear into the noodles once they’re cooked. I got most of the ingredient ideas from watching Marion Grasby cook it on her TV show, then I veganised it! I like the classic version without chilli, but you can add hot sauce on the top at the end. We like to garnish ours with fresh coriander leaves, toasted cashews rather than peanuts, and lime wedges.
- 400g wide rice pad thai style noodles
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 12 teaspoons coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 pack marinated tofu cubes: sweet chili / thai / garlic flavour
- 2 pink shallots
- 1 small savoy cabbage
- 1 red capsicum
- 6 spring onions
- 1 bag beansprouts
- 2 limes
- Sweet chilli sauce
- Fresh coriander
- Raw cashew nuts
- Put the noodles in a large deep bowl and cover with very hot water (not boiling) and leave to stand.
- In a small bowl whisk together the water, tamarind paste, coconut sugar, tomato paste, lemon and lime juices and soy sauce. Taste it and adjust to your palate - it should be equally sour, salty and sweet.
- Finely slice the shallots, cabbage and capsicum, chop up the coriander and slice the limes into wedges. Toast the cashews.
- Put the tofu cubes into a sieve / colander and pour boiling water over to remove the excess oil from the marinade. Cut the pieces into 1cm cubes if too large.
- Heat your wok or very large frying pan and add the shallots, cabbage and capsicum. Once starting to wilt, drain the noodles and add to the wok and mix in well, immediately adding your sauce - you may not need all of it, keep some on reserve if you like to pour over once served up.
- Stir in the tofu, beansprouts and chopped spring onions.
- Once hot and thoroughly mixed (not too long as you need to preserve some crunch in the beansprouts), serve! Top with toasted nuts, freshly chopped coriander, and offer extra sauce / soy sauce / sweet chilli and a lime wedge on the side.