The Orange Kitchen

Pad Thai.

If you're an avid follower of The Orange Kitchen (as I imagine everyone is), then you might just be pursing your lips right at this moment and thinking that I already have a Pad Thai recipe on this site, so why in the world am I 'wasting' my time in making another one.

Well. Here's the thing. I am a firm believer that you cannot ever have too much of a good thing. And, Pad Thai absolutely makes the criteria for a good thing, so for all you know this post could be the second of many, many more.

There's also a second part to this two-part Pad Thai story which is a bit of a personal sore point but perhaps important in understanding the Pad Thai excess (which is by no means a bad thing!). Let me tell you a sad little story about my mum. I love her dearly, but my mother has an overwhelming hatred of peanut butter. As you can probably well imagine, this is definitely a point of disagreement in our family because if there were ever a true peanut butter enthusiast, then that person would undoubtedly be me. Do not ask me how someone can hate peanut butter because I do not, and will never understand, but for what ever reasons, my mum and the PB are not friends. The sole upside of this situation is that I get to eat more peanut butter because there is less demand for it in the house.

As you might have noted, I do not love peanut butter. No, no. I live for peanut butter. I am 105% unashamedly addicted to peanut butter. In my mind it is the culmination of all good things, and quite possibly the meaning of life itself. I put peanut butter in effectively everything. I'm talking on bread, in noodles, on top of salads, on a spoon with a beeline to my mouth, in chocolate, on celery. You name it and I almost guarantee that I will eat peanut butter with it. This obviously causes a significant problem for my mum. Since learning to cook, and subsequently falling in love with the kitchen and making things, I do most of the cooking when I'm at home. The fall out of this is that my family either learn to share in my peanut butter addiction, or make their own dinner! My mum is quite a busy person and frequently finds herself with not a whole lot of time to make dinner, so it is quite the convenient blessing when I gladly offer to do it instead, especially when I mention that I am making the holy grail of all foods - Pad Thai.

Mum and I looooooooooove Pad Thai. Actually, we love Pad Thai so much that we took a trip to Thailand in 2015 which was primarily motivated by a desire to eat actual Thai Pad Thai. It was, one might say, a delightful trip with maximum culinary satisfaction.

Because I love peanut butter, and I love Pad Thai, I of course consider it entirely acceptable to put peanut butter in my Pad Thai. This combination is perhaps a little lacking on the authenticity front, but heck does it taste good. If you ask my mum though, she would disagree. Now, because I love a challenge, and also Pad Thai, I decided that I would create mum's favourite dish, sans PB. So, this one is for you mum and I hope you enjoy it and all its peanut butter-free goodness!

(P.S. If you do love peanut butter though, my Raw Vegan Pad Thai is also the bomb diggity! Why have one Pad Thai when you could have two?!)

Ingredients;

1 packet rice noodles
1 brown onion
1 tbsp sesame oil
Approx. 10 pieces broccolini/1 head of broccoli
1/2 carrot, julianne sliced, or cut into very thin strips, kind of like spaghetti
1/4 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced
3 shallots (spring onions)
1 cup bean shoots
125gm marinated tofu (I do mine overnight in tamari)

1. Cook the rice noodles as per packet instructions.
2. Dice the onion and cook with the sesame oil in a large fry pan until lightly browned.
3. While the onion is cooking, prepare the sauce as per the instructions below!
4. Chop the broccolini into rough thirds and add to the fry pan when the onion is browned. Cook for a few minutes, then add in the sliced carrot, red cabbage, bean shoots and sliced shallots.
5. In a separate pan, heat some sesame seed oil over high heat. I like crispy tofu, so I coat my marinated tofu in cornflower before cooking, but that's an entirely optional step! Add the tofu into the pan and cook for a few minutes on both sides. When cooked, pat down with paper towel to get rid of any excess oil, chop and add to the larger pan along with the noodles and veggies.

The Sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp tamarind paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp minced chilli
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tbsp coconut sugar
6 tbsp tamari (or reduced salt soy sauce if gluten isn't an issue)
Juice of 1 lime

1. Add all the sauce ingredients to a small bowl and mix well using a fork.
2. Drain the now cooked rice noodles, and add to the pan along with the sauce. Give everything a good mix around to make sure the sauce spreads evenly throughout and then serve garnished with some fresh herbs and nuts (optional). Enjoy your handiwork!

To Serve (optional)
Handful of fresh coriander leaves
Handful fresh Thai basil leaves
Roughly chopped cashews/peanuts

(N.B. This recipe serves 2-3 people)