Have you ever had a craving for Pad Thai or stir fried noodles so badly, but you didn’t really feel like cooking or have much time to throw something together? Or maybe Pad Thai is one of your favourite dishes but you don’t know how to make an easier version at home. If this sounds like you, then I know you’re going to love this recipe!
My Quick Lower Fat Pad Thai recipe has all the best parts of authentic Pad Thai, but it skips the oil, the eggs and the fuss. Generally Pad Thai is very oily as they fry the noodles in lots of oil so the noodles don’t stick to the pan or each other, but if you have a non stick pan and the rice noodles are still moist you can do without actually. I’ve had Pad Thai in Thailand, Canada and the USA and although everyone makes it a little differently, the one thing that is common is that they are not really healthy and are really greasy. So it’s not a good choice if you’re eating out at a restaurant and trying to stick to a healthier diet. A Thai soup, salad or even vegetable curry often has less calories and fat than noodles when they’re fried in oil and topped with peanuts.
The best solution for a lighter and lower calorie noodle dish is to just make it at home, you can also increase the amount of veggies and reduce the amount of noodles if desired as well. This recipe is definitely going to become one of our staples as it’s pretty easy for me to throw together. If you keep frozen stir fry veggies in the freezer then it makes this dish even faster to make. Really there’s no excuse now, everything is washed and chopped for you!
You can also easily make my Pad Thai sauce or a big double batch of it once a week to use for your veggie stir fries and serve with rice or noodles for a quick meal any day of the week. Ketchup is usually only used in Americanized Pad Thai, but for this recipe it works well and adds a little tomatoey flavour to it without being as acidic as plain tomato paste. (This sauce tastes more like spicy peanut sauce than anything, it won’t taste like plain ketchup, I promise!)
This recipe will make a substantial meal for a couple or 4 side servings. (The picture below is just a small side serving size.)
Quick Lower Fat Vegan Pad Thai (Rice Stick Noodles With Veggies in Spicy Peanut Sauce)
Serves 2-3 dinner sized portions
Ingredients:
1/2 454 g package pad thai rice stick noodles (use 227 g) (pictured are the L/5mm size)
1 large salad bowlful of frozen or fresh stir fry veggies of choice (about 4-5 cups)
Pad Thai Sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari (for gluten free)
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp ketchup (organic or low sodium)
1-2 tsp Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (depending how spicy you like it)
1 tsp liquid sweetener of choice or brown sugar
1-2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tbsp fresh ginger
Directions:
- In a medium-medium large sized pot, fill it about 1/2 way with water (about 3-4 inches deep) with water and bring it to a boil.
- Add 1/2 package of rice stick noodles and stir in to break up. Make sure the water covers the noodles. Let sit while you make the sauce.
- Combine sauce ingredients in a small blender, Vitamix or magic bullet. You may need to mince the garlic and ginger first if you have a low powered blender. (or you can double the sauce recipe and save the rest for another stir fry or an asian salad dressing.) Blend until smooth. Add a little more water if you want a thinner sauce. Taste test and add more hot sauce if you like it really hot! (I only use 1 tsp for my tastes.)
- Measure out your veggies and put a large skillet or wok to heat over medium-medium high heat. When hot add the veggies and the sauce.(Frozen will only take 4 minutes to cook, fresh will take longer.)
- Check on the noodles, you want them to just be al dente or they will rip and fall apart if overcooked. If soft enough quickly drain and add to vegetables when veggies are almost done. Toss to combine with sauce. (If you take out your noodles and let them sit for a while they will stick together in a clump, if this happens rinse them in a colander briefly and drain before adding to pan with the vegetables.)
- Stop cooking when veggies are al dente and crisp tender.
- Serve immediately.
Variations:
Use different veggies or try different stir fry mixes, add fresh bean sprouts, cubed tofu or Thai chili peppers when stir frying.
To make this recipe gluten free use wheat-free tamari instead of soy sauce. To make it peanut free substitute almond, cashew or tahini butter instead.
For single servings save half or 2/3 of the sauce (for small portions) for later or another stir fry and use 1/4 of a package of rice noodles and only 1-2 cups of veggies.
To make stir fries without oil, just use a non stick pan and sauté your veggies or tofu in a sauce. If your sauce is a little thick, don’t worry the veggies will release some liquid as they cook. Non stick pans were designed for oil free cooking, yet most people continue to use oil no matter what they are cooking.
Trouble Shooting Rice Stick Noodles
“Why did my rice noodles fall apart?” Read below.
Do not boil the noodles on the stove. Only add them to a large bowl or pot and pour boiling water over them. Let them sit uncovered until desired tenderness. They should be al dente, if you let them get really soft like overcooked spaghetti they will tear when you lift them out and stir them in.
If your noodles are broken when you lift them out of the pot or bowl when cooked, you cooked them for too long. For my size of noodles (5mm) I checked them after about 5 minutes. Keep testing them every minute until you find the exact time that works for you. Vermicelli (spaghetti/angel hair thin) will only take a minute or so. 3mm size rice stick should be checked after 2-3 minutes. Remember they will soften a little bit after you take them out and if they are already soft they will be too soft when you prepare the stir fry.
If your noodles were fine when you took them out but then broke when you stirred them into the vegetables after a while, you added them too soon and stirred too much. Let the vegetables cook until they are almost done and THEN add the noodles. (Make sure the noodles are separated and not a big clump. If clumpy briefly rinse in water again and drain before adding.) Gently toss with the veggies and don’t over stir. The biggest mistake to fried rice and fried noodles is over stirring. So make sure things are almost cooked before adding and you’re just tossing together to heat through and get the sauce on them. Plate gently to prevent the noodles from tearing too much.
What is Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce?
Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce is available at many grocery stores, Asian markets and even Costco. Click here to get it on Amazon.
Hi, just made this and it’s great! Would definitely make again, although next time, I probably won’t add sweetener. I think it would be sweet enough with the sugar in the ketchup. I used natural peanut butter and I did have to add about a scant 1/4 of water to thin the sauce. Also added chopped broccoli and pre-cooked tofu. Yum – thank you!!
This was absolutely delicious! I’m the only vegan in my family, so I usually do eat the same thing as anyone, but I made this for dinner tonight and everyone love it! Thank you so much 🙂
*dont
Has anyone determined the food values per serving? (calories and carbs, etc.).
THis sounds wonderful, and I’m anxious to try it. Thanks for your great ideas.
This looks so easy and tasty! Will add to my “to-do” list for sure!
A fantastic Tamarind sub is taking one dried prune, date and apricot, adding 1 tbsp of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Covering the dried fruit with boiling water (no more than an inch above the fruit). Let it sit until the fruit expands and is soft (30 mins).. puree and PRESTO. Great substitute!
Probably the tastiest dish I’ve had in a long time and easy to make. Thank you so much.
Oh I’m so glad to hear! Yes this is a super easy recipe to make. 🙂
I finally got to make this. I think I am hooked! I got a little too much ginger in there, and I had to play with it a bit. I didn’t use too much sriracha so that everyone could add hot peppers if they wanted it spicier. Thank You! (I hope the ketchup doesn’t get me too bad)
Hi. What brand of rice stick noodles are those? I have not seen any that wide. The ones I can buy close to home, are rather skinny. = (
There are SO many different sizes. The skinny ones are Vermicelli noodles usually used for Vietnamese salads and rice paper rolls. These are Pad Thai size stick noodles. They say Banh Pho on them, but Vietnamese Pho soup can use any size of rice noodle.
My package says L on it, but I’ve seen much larger rice stick noodles. I would guess they are the 5mm size. There’s also 3mm size that some people prefer. Get either, just not the tiny spaghetti sized noodles. Here’s a 3mm size on Amazon. I couldn’t find a 5mm.
But if you go to Chinatown or the Asian section of your grocery store they will usually have the Vermicelli (spaghetti size) and a Pad Thai size (3 or 5mm).
Thank you for the info! I live quite a ways from an “expanded” grocery store. There is an Asian market an hour and a half away with other stores we frequent when it’s time to load up…so as long as I fit it into the plan, and REMEMBER, I’ll be able to try it = )
BTW, to my great surprise at a no frills here in toronto in a portugeuse/italian-Cdn neighborhood i found candied tamarind for a very reasonable price.
sometimes buying things dehydrated makes sense – i’ve bought candied ginger this way at bulk stores & then just soaked it in previously boiled water: it was lovely in a stir fry; this way i could have ginger ‘on the road’ per se, at the cabin or camping, for instance: vegetarian cooking while camping? arghhh!! the memories!! 20 years ago if you were veggie people assumed you could live off of overcooked veggies & fish sauce.
so thanks for the recipe, sans the fish sauce!! my intestines thank you!!
I have some tamarind paste I bought but I haven’t opened it yet! I would love to use it, but I didn’t want to do it for a blog recipe as most people wouldn’t know where to find it and I wanted something everyone can make no matter where they live.
yes, thanks for the share!!
& especially to pour water over the noodles – i tried this once with the 1 minute vermechelli noodles – they turn out better than just trying to ‘dip them in boiling water’ i could never get all 3 ingredients co-ordinated quite right: either noodles or veggies would be cold. once i saw a video of how they make noodles in thailand in boats & sell them by the bowlful to people in other boats, like a floating marketplace …: & this was how it was done: simply keeping the broth warm & pouring over the noodles: ancient chinese secret? i guess.
so thanks again for sharing. i usually just use a miso sauce but i will try this peanut sauce, sounds great!!
M. (mmmm)
Oh yes in Thailand they still have these floating markets. It’s so cool! The thin Vermicelli noodles yes it’s best to pour hot water over them. My noodles took longer I think 5 minutes or so, but if you get the 3mm or thinner style it will take less time.
It’s best to use only part of the package, then if you overcook you can just try again. If my noodles are ready first I just drain them and then rinse them in water when they’re stuck together before adding to the almost done stir fry. Or if it’s being added to soup it doesn’t matter, just put in a bowl and pour soup over it.
this looks deelish. I think I would use tamarind paste instead of ketchup
I have tamarind paste at home, but most people don’t know what tamarind is or where to get it. So I wanted to make something more friendly to everyone. Honestly you will not taste the ketchup. I don’t use ketchup in Asian dishes ever, but to reduce the amount of fat and give it some tanginess it really benefits because it has tomato sauce, sugar and vinegar in it. Tamarind is all tang without any sweetness, so you may need a little more sweetener in it.
So….did someone try with tamarind? I have it, and would like to avoid the ketchup because of the sugar!
Great recipe in its simplicity, V!
And thanks for the rice noodle trouble-shooting tips – I especially like that you only have to pour boiling water over them and let them sit for a (short) while. So easy – at least it should be…maybe after a couple of tries, getting the timing right with the veggies;)
Yes it just takes a little practice. Always with noodles you must watch them and test them. If you walk away and come back you can have over cooked noodles and then you won’t know how long they sat and how long is too long. Best to just time it and watch and keep testing the texture and then write down the time for next time so it’s less hassle.
I love noodles & always want to try new recipes of noodles i like your dish & recipe looks great. Thanks for share with all !!