Lightened-up Vegan Pad Thai

I am a HUGE fan of Thai food. And Pad Thai is, in my opinion, an ideal dish to break into this brand of cuisine. Pad Thai is the quintessential Thai food virgins' go-to option. But the last time I was out, I had a craving for this old favorite and decided to order the vegetarian option without egg, to make it vegan. When I got it, it was delicious as ever, but I was preoccupied by the added fat that I could just taste. That's what eating the nutritarian way has done to me! I can detect even trace amounts of added fat. So since I have never made this popular dish myself, I decided to give it a shot.

Initially I wanted to make this using spaghetti squash to avoid the extra calories in grains. Unfortunately, the grocery store was actually out. Plan B was to explore my other options. In the international food section I was pleased to see that brown rice noodles exist, so I decided to go with that because at least the brown variety has more fiber than the white. This is what my final product looked like:

I obviously love fresh cilantro 

Ingredients (Makes enough pad thai for 3-4 people...4 if you have small appetites) 

8 oz brown rice noodles (or white, if that's more your speed)

2-3 cups bean sprouts (I used canned, because I couldn't find fresh anywhere)

4 green onions, white parts chopped and separated 

3-4 heads baby bok choy, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup roasted cashews or peanuts, chopped

1/4 cup silken tofu

1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger 

1 tbsp coconut oil (or plant-based oil of your choice)

1/4 cup vegetable broth

For pad thai sauce:

1/4 cup vegetable broth

3.5 tbsp tamarind paste

3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar (more if you prefer) 

1/4 tsp red pepper 

Directions:

• Whisk together pad thai sauce ingredients and set aside
• Boil water. 
• Take water off of heat and add noodles.
•  Let them cook in the hot water for approximately 4 minutes, or until softened
• Strain noodles and set them aside
• Add coconut oil to wok (frying pan)
• Add the chopped white portions of the green onion, grated ginger, and minced garlic
• Stir for 3-4 minutes
• Add bok choy and vegetable broth
• Stir for another 3-4 minutes, until bok choy is softened
• Add silken tofu and stir
• Add noodles to the wok and toss (like you would salad) to coat the noodles
• Slowly add in sauce, a little bit at a time, continuing to toss the noodles so that they are evenly coated
• Fold in bean sprouts
• Serve hot topped with remaining green onion, cilantro, and chopped nuts 

This turned out really well and was a hit! I'll be making it again. Hopefully next time I'll be able to give it a whirl with spaghetti squash.