Easy Vegetarian Pad Krapow (Thai Basil Stir-Fry)

This was another Woks of Life find and it was a good one! Extremely tasty and incredibly easy. It comes together in just a few minutes and is very flexible in what protein you use. I used some chopped up mysterious deep-fried tofu slices I found at the Asian gorcery store. The recipe author used chicken-flavoured seitan. I think shredded jackfruit would also work well texture-wise, but it is sadly lacking in the protein department. Tempeh, TVP, or mushrooms might work okay, although I don't think they'd be as good as the tofu or the seitan.

Sadly the Kidlet did not enjoy this one. She tolerated it, but only liked the soft bland tofu interior and avoided the crispy, saucy exterior bits. (Which was pretty much the opposite of what I was expecting, to be honest.) That said, TF and I both loved it! And, especially given how unbelievably easy it is, I think we'll be making this again (despite the Kidlet's objections).

Vegetarian Pad Krapow

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. vegetarian fish sauce or 1 additional tsp. light soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. oil
• 1-3 fresh serrano or Holland chilies, sliced
• 1-2 fresh red Thai chilies, sliced
• 5-6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 3 shallots (or 1 red onion), halved and sliced
• 250g protein of choice (seitan, tofu, mushrooms, tempeh, TVP, etc.)
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 bunch holy/Thai basil, stemmed and rinsed
• juice of 1/2 a lime

Directions

1. Combine the sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and fish sauce (or additional soy sauce) and set aside.
2. Heat wok over high heat.
3. Add oil and heat for 30 seconds or so.
4. Add both kinds of chilies, garlic, and shallots and stir-fry for a minute or two.
5. Add protein and stir-fry until it's warmed up and gets a little colour on it. (Probably another minute or two.)
6. Pour in the sauce and stir/toss to combine.
7. When pan seems dry (shouldn't take long over the high heat), pour in the water and deglaze the pan.
8. Add the basil and continue to stir-fry until wilted.
9. Remove from heat and drizzle with lime juice.
10. Serve over rice.