Vegan skinny Asian Peanut Noodles

I first discovered this recipe on Skinnytaste.com via pinterest, searching for pad thai recipes. It was an awesome bonus that it was a skinny version of a sorta pad thai recipe. I loved it. I do find that the recipe is a tiny bit confusing. The ingredient list doesn't really seem to match up with her directions, especially with the amount of garlic. Its gotten to the point that I make it enough that it annoys me to the point I need to write a blog on the recipe so I can use this post instead. Don't get me wrong, I love this recipe. However I just got a bit tired of trying to decipher the amounts actually used. You can find the original recipe here. If you are not vegan then follow hers.

I love this recipe (it had to be said again) The first few times I made it it had chicken stock and chicken breast in it. I have since become sorta vegan. Vegetarian 99.9% of the time, vegan 88.8%. I'm trying. It's just sometimes too hard. I'm not a permanent vegan, not a permanent vegetarian. Right now it's an attempt at health. Determine if I'm sensitive to animal products. Not that I'll ever determine that if I don't stay vegan 100% of the time...

The recipe needed to be altered. The first time I made it vegan it was a disaster. Many things affected the outcome. But then I tried it a second time. That led to the third time. I'm sure I will continue to make it over and over again. And as I write this I realize the recipe isn't strictly vegan as in my little world honey is vegan. So here goes. 

Ingredients:

1 250g package of rice noodles

coconut oil or peanut oil for sautéing

Peanut sauce:

1 cup vegetable broth

5 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp garlic chili sauce

2 tbsp honey (totally vegan)

2 tbsp liquid aminos (I don't use soy sauce in anything)

1 tbsp fresh grated ginger

3 garlic cloves minced

Tofu:

1/2 package extra firm tofu

1 1/2 tbsp garlic chili sauce

freshly ground pepper

juice of half a lime

5 cloves garlic crushed

1 tbsp fresh grated ginger

1 tbsp liquid aminos

Topping:

1 1/4 cup julienned carrots

1 1/4 cup broccoli slaw

1 cup bean sprouts

2 tbsp chopped peanuts

fresh squeezed lime juice

Cube the tofu and place into a container. Add the rest of the ingredients for the tofu into a small bowl, mix and then toss over the tofu. Cover and leave in the fridge to allow the tofu to soak up the marinade.

Combine all the ingredients for the peanut sauce into a small sauce pan and place over medium low heat. Stir occasionally until the sauce thickens, approximately 5-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the sauce pan on the burner.

Boil a large pot of water and prepare the noodles as per the package directions. I boil mine for 8 minutes then drain and allow to cool.

Grating carrots would be the less violent quicker way to prepare the carrots, however I don't love how they fit into this recipe. I prefer the carrots to be a little thicker than grated carrots so I use my julienne peeler which I tend to poke myself with and may or may not draw blood. However, they are worth it.

Saute the tofu with a little bit of coconut oil (if you want a more authentic, less healthy way, use peanut oil) for a few minutes until the marinade is completely incorporated, then set aside. Then sauté the carrots and the broccoli slaw for a few minutes in a wok. You don't want them to be too well done, they still should retain a little crunch. Now combine the noodles, tofu and sauce into the wok. I prefer my vegetables mixed into it all, however you could also just add on top once cooked. Mix it up in the wok until the peanut sauce has reduced. Plate then top with chopped peanuts and fresh lime juice. I seemed to have ran out of peanuts, so I used almonds and sunflower seeds, not quite the same. Fresh lime juice tastes so much better than the bottle juice. Delicious. Insanely delicious. Although I don't think the tofu is completely necessary to the deliciousness of this dish. Enjoy.