Day 42

Today's Menu

Vegan Pad Thai

Stir Fried Broccoli with Garlic

Vegan Pad Thai Ingredients:
•4 green onions, white parts sliced and kept separate from green
•4 cloves garlic, minced
•1 tsp.  ginger
•1 fresh habanero pepper
•3-4 "heads" of baby bok choy, or other Chinese cabbage, roughly chopped
•2-3 cups bean sprouts
•1/3 cup fresh coriander/cilantro
•1/4 cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

•PAD THAI SAUCE:
1.5 Tbsp. tamarind paste, to taste •
1/4 cup vegetable stock•3+1/2 Tbsp. Tamari
•1 tsp. Sambal Oelek

•3 Tbsp. brown sugar, or more to taste
•1/8 tsp. black pepper

•OTHER:
•3-4 Tbsp. oil for stir-frying
•2-3 Tbsp. vegetable stock
•lime wedges

.Bring a pot of water to a boil and switch off heat. Soak noodles in the hot water for 4-6 minutes, or until limp but still too firm to eat. Drain and rinse with cold water. Tip: Noodles must be under-cooked at this stage in order to come out right (they will finish cooking later when they are stir-fried).
.Combine 'pad Thai sauce' ingredients in a cup, stirring well to dissolve the paste and sugar Set aside.
.Warm a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. oil plus the white parts of the green onion (reserve the rest for serving), garlic, ginger, and chili. Stir-fry 1 minute to release the fragrance.
.Add the bok choy plus stock. Stir-fry 2 minutes, or until bok choy is bright green and slightly softened.
If pan is dry, push ingredients aside and add a little more oil to the middle. Add the drained noodles and 1/3 of the sauce. Stir-fry everything together 1-2 minutes using 2 utensils and a gently tossing motion (like tossing a salad). Keep heat between medium-high and high, reducing if noodles begin to stick or burn. Keep adding sauce and continue stir-frying in this way 3-6 more minutes, or until sauce is gone and noodles are soft but still chewy ('al dente') and a little sticky.
Switch off heat and add the bean sprouts, folding them into the hot noodles. Taste-test, adding more soy sauce for more salt/flavor. If too salty or sweet for your taste, add a good squeeze of lime juice. If too sour, sprinkle over a little more sugar.
 Sprinkle with reserved green onion, coriander, and ground nuts. Add wedges of fresh-cut lime on the side.