Pad Thai - Vegetarian Pad Thai Noodles Recipe, Step by Step

Learn how to make vegetarian Pad Thai - the vegetarian version of popular Pad Thai rice noodles from Thailand. Pad Thai is a great example of the balance of textures and flavours in a single dish, something Thai cuisine handles so well.

I have said this many times but it's worth repeating - TH and I love Thai food and in the years we spent in Singapore and now in Sydney, we often crave a good Thai meal and seek out restaurants that serve vegetarian Thai dishes. In our quest to find a repeat-worthy pad thai and drool-worthy green curry, many restaurants have come and gone through our list of to-eat places. In spite of my love for Thai food, I have not ventured much into cooking my own except for the vegetarian tom kha soup I made ages ago and more recently, vegetarian green curry paste and Thai green curry recipe with vegetables.

I can't think of why it took me so long to plunge into the world of Thai cooking. The ingredients were most readily available in Singapore (except Thai basil which for some reason always remained elusive) and there's a great Thai grocery store I frequent in Sydney too. So it's not the ingredients, I just felt I didn't know where to start. So to solve this, I attended this lovely vegetarian Thai cooking class in Bangkok - at May Kaidee's. Sala from Veggie Belly had taken their classes in Chiang Mai and I looked them up when I was in Bangkok. A morning well spent. The class was intimate with just 3 of us, very hands-on, and taught more things than they promised. We came back stuffed, happy, and all set to make our own tom yum paste and green curry paste from scratch.

This pad thai recipe is adapted from what we learnt in class. I had to make do with the Thai soya sauces available in Sydney so the brands and type are a bit different. I felt like everything we made in class was absolutely delicious and this pad thai (this is my third attempt at making it near-perfect) was pretty close to the real deal.

An important note - if you want to make great Thai food at home, it's important you buy the right ingredients. Soya sauce is a key piece of this so I'd advice you use a Thai brand. The healthy boy brand is popular and heavily exported so hopefully you can find it where you live. Here's a picture of what I bought.

VEGETARIAN PAD THAI RECIPE

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS:
200 gm packet of flat rice noodles
1 tbsp of peanut oil
1 cup mix of carrot, beans, red onions, julienned
1 small tomato, cubed
1 tsp of minced garlic
1 egg (optional)
1.5 tbsp of Thai soya sauce (dark or light)
A fistful of bean sprouts
1 tbsp of crushed roasted peanuts
1 tsp of red chilli flakes
2 tbsp of chopped spring onions (or coriander leaves)
Juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 tsp of sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. First important step is to prep and keep all your ingredients ready. Then it's just a matter of adding everything in one by one.

2. Prepare the noodles per packet instructions. Mine were instant noodles so I had to immerse the noodles in boiling water for 3 mins and transfer to a colander to drain the remaining water.

3. Heat oil in a wok and add the garlic, onions, carrot, beans, and tomatoes.

Saute on high heat until the vegetables are beginning to turn soft. Lower heat.

4. Push the vegetables to the side of the wok and break the egg in, if using. Let it cook for a bit and then lightly scramble it without making the pieces too tiny.

5. Add the cooked noodles and mix well to incorporate.

6. Increase heat to high and add the soya sauce and sugar.

Saute to combine well. Then throw in the spring onions (coriander leaves), bean sprouts, peanut powder, and chilli flakes.

Mix again until the noodles and the vegetables look combined and cooked through. Turn off the flame and squeeze the lime juice. Add more coriander leaves for garnish and mix again.

All done! Serve pad thai noodles hot for best flavour. You can serve some more peanut powder and chilli flakes with lime wedges so that people can adjust the flavour to their liking.

Notes:
- the salt in the soya sauce is generally enough for the noodles but you can test and add more if needed
- you can also add cubed fried tofu, baby corn, bell pepper, etc for added crunch and flavour

Vegetable Noodles Recipe - Indo Chinese Veg Noodles Recipe

TH loves noodles and I am always met with "let's make vegetable noodles" when I say I am too tired to cook. Instant noodles is his first preference - he's magically attracted to unhealthy stuff as a rule - and I usually spruce up instant noodles by adding some vegetables to it like this instant noodles with vegetables recipe.

One weekend recently, I made this gorgeous sesame tofu and decided to make some vegetable noodles to go with it. Not the instant version but the popular Indian Chinese vegetable noodles that Indians love!

The only time-consuming part of this recipe is julienning the vegetables. I have a handy slicer that does the job beautifully, especially on vegetables like carrots and potatoes so I used it to get the thin long strips (picture below). You can very well use a sharp knife and get the job done easily too.

INDO CHINESE VEGETABLE NOODLES RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of dry noodles (2 packs if you decide to use Maggi)
• 3 cups of mixed vegetables, julienned (use carrots, capsicum or bell pepper, beans, cabbage, and onion)
• 1 tsp of minced ginger
• 1 tsp of minced garlic
• 1 tsp of green chilli sauce
• 1/2 tsp of soya sauce
• 2 tsp of tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp of sesame oil (I use Indian sesame oil and it works well)
• 2 tbsp of chopped spring onions, for garnish
• 1 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper

How to Make Indo Chinese Veg Noodles:

1. Cut the vegetables and keep ready.

2. Cook the noodles as per packet instructions. Usually, I add it to enough boiling water to cover it, with a pinch of salt and a few drops of oil. Drain the noodles and keep ready.

3. Heat oil and add the ginger and garlic. Saute until they turn fragrant and light brown in colour.

4. Add the vegetables and turn up the heat. Stir-fry continuously until they start to soften. Reduce heat and cook further until the vegetables are softer, still remain crunchy and retain their colour.

5. Add the chilli sauce, ketchup, and soya sauce. Saute for a few mins until the vegetables are cooked a bit further

6. Add the noodles and toss well to coat completely. Top off with pepper powder and some salt if required.

7. Garnish with the spring onions.

Notes:

• Always serve noodles hot and immediately after making. Any Indo-Chinese side dish will work well with noodles. Here's a list of recipes you can use as side dish for vegetable noodles.
• You can add a pinch of sugar along with the vegetables while cooking them. I didn't since ketchup tends to be sweet already
• You can add other ingredients like bean sprouts and tofu / chicken / prawns in the noodles to give it a different twist

Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe - Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna Recipe

A vegetarian spinach and mushroom lasagna has been on my mind for ages now. Yes, I knew the lasagna had to have spinach and mushroom in it and be vegetarian since TH enjoys lasagna too so I can't be selfish with it. One of the major reasons for postponing the making of said lasagna is the fact that ricotta cheese is awfully hard to find in Singapore. It's available in select supermarkets across the island but mostly the ones near the city. Since I do all my cooking for the blog over weekends and usually grocery shopping happens on a Friday evening, this was hard. I bought milk thinking I'll make ricotta cheese at home but that didn't end up happening either.

But, I made it happen one weekend. I made TH trudge along with me all the way to the Cold Storage in Great World City Mall and I bought a tub of ricotta. I had all other ingredients for my spinach mushroom lasagna so, yay! Of course, you can skip the mushrooms if you don't like them, make a mixed vegetable lasagna with zucchini, eggplant, capsicum, etc. The choices and creative flexibility for a lasagna is quite endless.

Now, the thing with making a lasagna is, you do need a bunch of ingredients. But it's more assembly and baking than actually cooking so it's not as time-consuming as you'd think. Being Indian and primarily cooking Indian food, I found it amazing that I could pull some ingredients together, layer then in a baking tray, stick the tray in the oven, and chill by the TV while my dinner got cooked. Try it, it's amazing!

The leftover lasagna freezes well (if you don't want to eat it two days in a row - otherwise just refrigerate and re-heat the next day) and you can pull it out on one of those days you don't feel like cooking. Win!

This Golden Onion Mushroom Quiche is another great and easy recipe you can try.

VEGETARIAN SPINACH MUSHROOM LASAGNA RECIPE

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 6 lasagna sheets
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 12 button mushrooms
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3/4 cup of ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup of grated mozarella + cheddar (or use pizza cheese)
• 1.5 cups of canned tomato sauce (use pizza or pasta sauce for a different flavour)
• 1 of onion, sliced
• 1 tsp of dried herbs like basil, chives, oregano, or a mix
• 2 tsp of olive oil

How to Make Mushroom Spinach Lasagna:

1. Cook the lasagna sheets according to the packet instructions and set aside.

2. Heat the oil and add the sliced onion and garlic.

Saute until soft and then add the mushrooms...

... and spinach

Add some salt and cook until the water given out by the vegetables is absorbed and they are cooked. Set aside.

3. Mix the dried herbs and some salt with the ricotta.

4. Take our your baking tray - you can use metal or glass but I recommend glass. I used my pyrex rectangular baking/storage tray which also has a lid for easy storing later. Add a few drops of oil in the tray and spread evenly. Spread about 1/4 cup tomato sauce at the bottom evenly.

5. Lay two cooked lasagna sheets over the sauce. You may need more or less depending on the size of your lasagna sheets and your tray. It's okay if they overlap a bit but no gaps please.

6. Spread half the ricotta cheese mixture over this evenly

7. Top it off with the cooked mushroom spinach mixture.

8. Lay more lasagana sheets over this. You can add the tomato sauce over the lasagne sheets this time and proceed with the rest of the layers.

9. I did a total of 2 layers, ending with the lasagne sheets. So I spread the remaining tomato sauce over this and added the mozzarella cheddar mixture on top. Thrown in some dried herbs and pepper over this too.

10. Cover the tray with aluminium foil and bake in a 180C / 350F oven for 30 mins. Then, remove the foil and bake for a further 10 mins. The cheese on top will bubble up nicely and the edges will start to curl away slightly from the tray. Remove and let cool down a bit before you slice it. Serve hot.

Instant Vegetable Noodles Recipe | Quick Snacks

In the interest of complete disclosure, let me tell you that this is just a fanci-fied Maggi noodles dish. During my childhood, Amma would make Maggi noodles once in a while but always stressed on the fact that it's.not.healthy. Especially the tastemaker masala that came with it which has MSG and for Indians, MSG is equivalent to cyanide in small doses. Who wants to feed that to their kids, right?

There are opposing views and different schools of thought on MSG (also knows as Aji No Moto after the brand that made it popular) but that's for another day. Let that not come in the way of us and this hot steaming plate of maggi noodles with vegetables.

I use frozen vegetables most of the time because this is a quick-fix snack or dinner for us but obviously, fresh vegetables are better if you have some handy.

Instant Vegetable Noodles Recipe | Quick Snacks

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients:
3 packets of maggi (or any instant) noodles
1 sachet of spice packet that comes with the instant noodles
1 cup of mixed vegetables of choice (carrots, beans, corn, peas, etc)
1 of onion, chopped
1 tsp of soya sauce (I used dark soya sauce which explains the colour of my noodles)
1 tsp of green chilli sauce (or replace with 2 crushed green chillies)
1 tbsp of tomato sauce or ketchup
1 tsp of minced garlic (about 3-4 cloves)
Salt of only if needed
Coriander leaves of for garnish (optional)
1 tbsp of oil

How I Made It:

1. Bring a pot of about 4-5 cups of water to boil. Add the noodles and a few drops of oil to this. Cook until the noodles are softened yet firm. Take care not to overcook it otherwise the noodles will get totally messed up. If you insist on making a mistake, undercook the noodles please.

2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic. Stirring briskly taking care not to burn it, add the chopped onion. Cook until the pieces turn soft and begin to brown.

3. Turn the heat up and add the soya sauce, ketchup or tomato sauce and green chilli sauce. Mix well for a minute and then add the mixed vegetables. Stir well to combine, add the spice mix, lower flame and cook until the vegetables are soft. Don't add water at any point.

4. Once the vegetables are soft, add the cooked noodles and mix well. Check for salt and add only if needed. The spice mix and the soya sauce are salty so I generally don't add any more. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with more ketchup.

You can also add 1-2 scrambled eggs to the noodles to make it Instant egg noodles. Delicious!

How do you like your Instant noodles? :)

Mushrooms and Fettuccine in Vegan Tomato Basil Sauce

I've been sitting with the compose box open for the past 20 mins and I can't think of a single thing to say except that this fettuccine recipe rocks. I made it for dinner one night and hadn't meant to post it on the blog but after tasting it, I had to take some pics so I can share it here.

Its adapted from the fabulous VeganYumYum.

Note: Fettuccine is traditionally pasta with egg in it so its not vegan by default. I bought vegan fettuccine from an organic store in Singapore. If you are vegan, please double-check the fettuccine you buy.

Fettuccine in Vegan Tomato Basil Sauce
Serves 2

Ingredients:
5 bundles* of (vegan) fettuccine
1 cup mushrooms, sliced thin (use any kind you like)
2 ripe tomatoes
4 cloves of minced garlic
1/4 cup raw, unsalted cashews
1 tbsp tomato paste (important)
1/3 cup water
1 tsp black pepper
Fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste

How I Made It:

1. Boil enough water to cover the fettuccine with some salt. Once its come to boil, slowly immerse the fettuccine and cook until its soft yet firm.

2. Chop the tomatoes and blend with the tomato paste, cashews and the water. Start with 1/4 cup water and add more as you go. I didn't blend it too smooth since I wanted the texture the cashews would give.

3. Heat olive oil in a pan and add the garlic. Fry for 30 seconds until lightly browned. Then add the mushrooms and saute for 2-3 mins until they soften a bit and sweat a bit.

4. Add the blended sauce with some salt and simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water if necessary to thin it out. I added more water than original recipe when blending so I didn't need to. The cashews will make the sauce thick.

5. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and mix well until combined. Add the chopped basil and freshly cracked black pepper. Adjust salt if necessary. Serve immediately.

*The fettuccine I bought was in bundles. If you buy in packets or any other measure, please use your discretion for quantity.

All pictures taken in the homemade light box for food photography. 

Basil Pesto Pasta Recipe

After discovering the deliciousness that is homemade fresh basil pesto, I had to try a pesto pasta immediately. It was a totally delicious, healthy, and quick-fix dinner on a weeknight (and so the pictures were taken in the light box)



Basil Pesto Pasta
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 cups of pasta of your choice, cooked al dente
3/4 cup basil pesto
One small broccoli, cut into florets
A handful of green peas
1 tomato, cubed
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
A few basil leaves, roughly chopped (optional)

How I Made It:

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the minced garlic. Fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the broccoli florets, tomato, and grean peas to this and stir fry for a minute. Sprinkle some water and cook for about 4-5 mins until the broccoli is cooked and soft.

2. Add the pesto and stir until it coats the vegetables. Toss in the cooked pasta, salt and pepper and mix well until all the ingredient are well incorporated.

3. Garnish with chopped basil leaves (if using) and parmesan before serving. You can serve this cold or warm.



The beauty of this recipe is, you can add any vegetables of your choice and serve it as a main dish or even as a pesto pasta salad. Its absolutely delicious, try it!