Knock-Off "Thai One On" (Vegan)

The yummy vegan dish "Thai One On" (from Food for Thought restaurant in Williamsburg, VA) is sooo delicious! This version is nowhere near as good as theirs, but it does in a pinch in between visits to Williamsburg to enjoy the real thing! The quantities are flexible.

1 "bricks" of brown rice ramen per person (or other GF asian noodle)

Pad Thai veggies, thinly sliced into pinky-length strips:

Onion

Mushrooms, finely diced

Carrots

Broccoli (stalks and florets) 

Celery

Bok choy (stalks and greens)

Colored bell peppers

Snow peas

Etc.

Sauce, made of:

1 can coconut milk (shake well)

natural peanut butter, creamy, to taste (maybe 1/4–1/2 C or so?)

2 limes (lemons will do in a pinch)

tamari sauce and/or coconut aminos, to taste (maybe 2-3 Tbsp. or so?))

Little bit of honey or agave, to taste

1) In large pot (Dutch oven) put water on to boil for the noodles. Add some salt.

2) While waiting for that to boil, begin sautéing onions with SPG in a large skillet, adding each veggie as you get them chopped. No need for any oil. Just add a little water if they begin to stick. Stir frequently. Chop and add the veggies quickly, doing the harder veggies first and faster-cooking ones later. Cook all until al dente tender.

3) Once water begins to boil, continue chopping and adding veggies but also cook noodles according to package directions. For brown rice ramen, add bricks to boiling water. After 1 minute, separate with a chop stick. Boil for 2–3 more minutes until tender, then drain and rinse immediately with hot water.

4) In the same Dutch oven, whisk together the sauce ingredients to melt and warm the sauce through.

5) Add the noodles and the veggies to the sauce and stir well to combine.

6) Serve with salted Virginia peanuts and lime wedges.

Optional: Serve with grilled tofu for higher protein count and "meat-like" chunks of texture. I never bother.

NOTE: This is NOT good leftover (at least not with the brown rice ramen. The sauce gets pasty and the noodles fall apart when reheated. So if you wind up with extra sauce, save it and make a new fresh batch instead of leftovers already assembled.