pad thai (with a bomb homemade dressing)

If you’re like me then, you like having meals that become weekly staples. This is one of those recipes. The best part is that it makes a ton of sauce so it can feed many mouths or leave plenty of leftovers. Let’s dive in!!

PAD THAI | VEGAN, GF, OIL-FREE (CAN BE NUT FREE)

Lightly adapted from Ellen Fisher

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins

INGREDIENTS:

For the sauce—part 1:

• 1 can full fat coconut milk

• 4 dates

• 2 heirloom tomatoes (approx 1.5-2 cups) // any other tomato is fine (including canned diced)

• 2 tbsp nut butter (peanut, almond or sunflower and my go to’s)

• 1 tbsp miso

• 2-3 garlic cloves

• 1-2” fresh ginger

Blend everything up in high-speed blender (like the one in the kitchen shop), then pour into a big frying pan, and add in next…

For the sauce—part 2:

• 1.5 cups veggie broth

• 1-2 tbsp tamari

• a splash of sriracha

Other ingredients—cooked:

• a bunch of veggies to cook up in the sauce. my faves that I use on rotation are: mushrooms, sweet potatoes or reg potatoes, peppers, broccoli, onions, squash, purple cabbage —> I usually do about 4 cups of cut up veggies, so whatever that looks like for you, do it!

• 16-24oz rice noodles (about 2-3 packs, here are some faves: this or this)

Other ingredients—raw:

Garnish the following on top:

• 1-2 raw carrots, grated

• green onions, chopped

• cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1. In your high speed blender, blend part 1 of the sauce recipe.

2. Add part 1 to a big frying pan, turn heat to med-high then add in part 2 ingredients.

3. Add in your chopped veggies & bring to a bubbly boil.

4. Reduce heat & simmer until the toughest veggie is cooked through (this is normally the potatoes for me)

5. AT THE SAME TIME as the veggies simmer, bring a large pot of water to a boil for the noodles & cook them according to the package (rice noodles should cook in 10 mins or less) —> strain the noodles when cooked & rinse under cool water then return back to the large pot.

6. When everything is cooked, add the sauce to the noodle pot & mix it all together to combine.

7. Scoop out onto a plate or bowl & add your garnishes.

8. DIG IN!

And if you look like me while eating, then I’d say we’re both pretty successful 😂

There’s never too much you can ever put on your fork….or plate.

xo char