Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai with a simple five-ingredient Pad Thai sauce – adaptable to any veggies you have on hand! So easy and delicious!
Ingredients
114 gm
Rice noodles, dry
1 medium
Zucchini
1 large pepper(s)
Red bell pepper
2 large
Carrots
1/2 medium
Yellow onion
2 tbsp
Sesame oil
1/2 cup
Peanuts, roasted
1 medium
Egg
(beaten)
1/2 cup
Cilantro (coriander)
(fresh (can also use chopped green onions, and basil))
3 tbsp
Fish sauce
(for sauce)
3 tbsp
Honey
(for sauce)
3 tbsp
Vegetable stock/broth
(for sauce)
2 tbsp
Vinegar, white
(for sauce)
1 tbsp
Soy sauce
(for sauce)
1 tsp
Chili paste, Gourmet Garden
(for sauce)
1 tsp
Sesame seeds
(for garnish)
Instructions
Place the uncooked noodles in a bowl of cold water to soak. Spiralize the zucchini, red pepper, and onion into noodle-like shapes. Cut the carrots into very small pieces (or spiralize them, too, if they’re big enough).
Shake up the sauce ingredients in a jar or whisk in a medium-size bowl
Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the veggies – stir fry with tongs for 2-3 minutes or until tender-crisp (if they are not spiralized, they might need longer). Be careful not to overcook them – they’ll get soggy and heavy. Transfer to a dish and set aside.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Drain the noodles – they should be softened by now. Add the noodles to the hot pan and stir fry for a minute, using tongs to toss. Add the sauce and stir fry for another minute or two, until the sauce is starting to thicken and stick to the noodles. Push the noodles aside to make a little room for the egg – pour the beaten egg into the pan and let it sit for 30 seconds or so. Toss everything around with the tongs. The egg mixture will stick to the noodles and everything will start getting sticky.
Add in the vegetables, toss together, and remove from heat. Stir in the peanuts and herbs and serve immediately.
Garnish with sesame seeds
Notes:
If going sugar-free is important to you, make sure to sub another sweetener for the honey. Also important: fish sauce contains trace amounts of sugar.
There is a fine line between the mixture being Just Right Sticky and TOO Sticky. Usually too sticky happens when you cook it too long. Watch it carefully and once you see it starting to come together, remove it from heat right away and toss with the veggies.
You might not need all the sauce in this recipe so just eyeball whatever amount looks good to you and save the rest to add in later if you want.
This recipe is gluten-free other than the 1 tablespoon soy sauce, so just swap that out for something else if you need it to be gluten-free!
Want more protein? Add some cooked diced chicken or tofu to your pad thai.
