Pad Thai is a popular Asian dish with stir fried noodles and vegetables. This healthy version of pad thai with tofu involves water frying the vegetables, resulting in less calories and a higher nutrient density than a lot of versions, which can contain a lot of oil. Oil contains 120 calories per tablespoon and often contributes a significant portion of the calories of a stir fry such as pad thai, especially when not prepared at home. 

This pad thai with tofu recipe is still tangy and full of flavour with the mix of lime juice, fresh ginger, fresh coriander and garlic. Some additional sweetness is provided by the maple syrup and sweet chili sauce.

It is also a quick meal to prepare and is a great way of getting a lot of veggies in one meal. If you don’t have the vegetables listed in the recipe on hand, it is easy to substitute for whatever is available. Other vegetables such as mangetout, beansprouts or some baby spinach leaves all work well. This version uses plain button mushrooms but I personally love to use other varieties such as shiitake if I have them available. Whenever I make this dish at home, no two versions are ever the same.

Tofu is also something that tends to divide people. Some people like it and others find it bland. For me, I find that it is something that tends to take on the flavours of the ingredients of the meal it is made with. If you haven’t eaten it before, it can be a texture that takes a little getting used to. If it’s just not your thing, it’s easy to still make this recipe, by substituting with some extra vegetables or some beans of choice.

There are a lot of noodle varieties to choose from. I recommend trying to find a whole grain variety such as wholewheat noodles or brown rice noodles.

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Pad Thai with Tofu

A healthy version of the popular Asian dish. This ad thai recipe contains loads of fresh vegetables and is lower in calories than most versions.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Course: Main Meals

Author: SimonDeaneHealth

Ingredients

• 300 g tofu
• 300 g whole wheat noodles or brown rice noodles
• 1 fresh chili
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger
• ½ a medium sized courgette zucchini in US (120g)
• 120 g mushrooms
• 1 medium head of broccoli 300g
• 2 medium carrots 150g
• 4 spring onions
• 1 red pepper
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 2 limes juice of
• 3 tablespoons of tamari or a low sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
• A bunch of fresh chopped coriander including stalks

Instructions

• Chop the peeled garlic, chili and peeled ginger into small pieces. (As always, you can leave the chili seeds in for extra spice.
• Put a pot on a medium high heat and add 100ml of water. Add the garlic, ginger and chili stirring regularly once things start to heat up.
• Chop up the mushrooms, spring onions, broccoli, red pepper, courgette and carrots and add to the pot. Let simmer for about 5 minutes stirring regularly.
• Drain the tofu, cut into little cubes, and add to the pot.
• Add the maple syrup, lime juice, tamari, tomato puree and sweet chili sauce, and continue to simmer for another five minutes, with regular stirring.
• Cook the rice noodles according to the instructions on the packet.
• Put a bed of noodles into a bowl and add a scoop of the mixture from the pot on top. Sprinkle with some chopped coriander and serve.