Update Food Challenge: Phad Thai

I fulfilled my Phad Thai food challenge a little later than planned but I did it! My parents were visiting on the night I decided to make the dish and since they are vegan I thought I would make the dish vegan too. I found a simple recipe and replaced the chicken with tofu. Sadly, the tofu I used was too soft and fell apart while making the dish, but had I used a firmer tofu then I think this recipe would have held up a lot better.

In addition to the Phad Thai, I made Salad Rolls with Peanut Sauce and they were fantastic! I modified the Salad Rolls recipe and left out the noodles and red peppers since I didn't have them on hand and I was still pleased.

Here are all three of the recipes I made.

Vegetarian Phad Thai
Ingredients:
1 pound Asian-style rice noodles
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp hot sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1 block tofu, diced
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/4 cup chopped or crushed peanuts (optional)
4 green onions (scallions), sliced

Preparation:
Cook noodles according to package instructions.
Whisk together the soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, hot sauce and sugar.
In a large wok or skillet, sautee the tofu, onion and garlic in sesame oil for a minute or two, stirring frequently. Allow to cook for another minute or two.
Add the cooked noodles and the peanut butter and soy sauce mixture. Stir well, and allow sauce to thicken as it cooks for about 3 minutes. Top with peanuts, bean sprouts and green onions and serve hot.
Recipe found at About.com

Spring Rolls
Ingredients
Chopped romaine or butter lettuce (swiss chard can also be used)
1 carrot, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 package of bean sprouts
1 8x50 g package of vermicelli noddles
Basil or cilantro
9 inch, circular rice paper

Directions:

Place 9 inch rice paper and a pan, larger enough to fit a piece of rice paper, filled with water. Make sure there is enough water to fully submerge rice paper.

Submerge a piece of rice paper into the water for 10 seconds. Remove paper from water, place on a flat surface, and fill center with a small amount of each filling.

Fold the right and left sides of the rice paper onto the filling and then roll paper from the bottom to the top, making sure the the filling stays in the middle and that the paper is wrapped tightly around fillings.

Repeat until desired number of salad rolls is achieved.

Recipe adapted from Suite101

Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
1/2 cup natural-style creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 small garlic clove, mashed to a paste
1 teaspoon chile-garlic paste
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup water

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Stir until well combined, adding more water to thin the sauce if necessary.
Note: We like to use natural peanut butter for this recipe. If you use the conventional kind, add less sugar to the sauce.
Recipe found at Chow