Pad Thai (Gluten Free, Vegetarian)
I absolutely love Thai food. I’ve been to Thailand three times (you can find my Thailand guide in the “Around the World” section of my website), and I never get bored of the delicious fresh flavours in Thai food.
Whilst most of the Thai curries are naturally gluten free, Pad Thai isn’t generally gluten free because of the soy sauce used. Although soy beans are gluten free, soy sauce contains wheat so isn’t safe for coeliacs or those on a gluten free diet. Luckily, gluten free (tamari) soy sauce is widely available in UK supermarkets. When I travel to Thailand I always take a bottle of gf soy sauce with me!
I’ve been trying to perfect my Pad Thai recipe for a while now, tweaking the quantities of the ingredients in the sauce to get that perfect balance. This version is the winner for me. I’ll admit I did try to get the sugar quantities down, but it just wasn’t the same without the brown sugar which balances the saltiness of the vegetarian fish sauce and soy sauce.
I’m vegetarian so this is a veggie version, but if you’d prefer to use normal fish sauce and add some meat or prawns then you can easily do so. If you’re vegan, you can just leave out the egg
If you try my Pad Thai recipe, don’t forget to let me know what you think by tagging me in your photos on Instagram @the.gfg
Ingredients (serves 2)
140g tofu (optional, you could also use chicken or prawns)
Vegetables of your choice, sliced (I like using a combo of red pepper, broccoli, carrot and/or sugar snap peas)
1 lime
1 egg
Rice noodles (I use Amoy straight to wok ribbon rice noodles)
Crushed peanuts
Fresh coriander (optional)
For the sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce (tamari)
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1.5 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp vegetarian fish sauce (I use Thai Taste from Waitrose, normal fish sauce will work too)
1/2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (sriracha or any other chilli sauce will work too)
Method
Add all of the ingredients for the Pad Thai sauce into a bowl and combine.
Dice your tofu (if using) into 2cm cubes. Heat a splash of vegetable oil in a wok or large saucepan, and fry your tofu over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
Add your vegetables, and stir fry over a medium-high heat for an additional 5 minutes. Add the rice noodles, and stir fry for an additional minute
Crack the egg into a mug or bowl and whisk with a fork. Push the noodles and vegetables to one sign of the pan and add the egg to the other side. Whisk the egg in the pan with a fork until it just starts to scramble, then stir in with the noodles and vegetables.
Add the Pad Thai sauce to the pan, and stir fry for another 3-4 minutes.
Serve topped with the crushed peanuts, fresh coriander and a slice of lime.
