Veggie Packed Pad Thai

Working in London, one of the highlights of my week was to go to a lunchtime market in the city which was packed with food stalls and trucks. The choices were incredible- Jamaican patties, Chinese stir fry, Mexican burritos, Turkish pita, Italian pasta, British sandwiches, but I would typically make a bee-line for the Thai truck- their vegetarian Pad Thai and a sprinkle of chilli flakes was the perfect lunch in my books! Pad Thai is traditionally made with fish sauce, so I wanted to try to recreate this dish at home and make an oil free, vegan version. Having done a fair bit of digging online,  I've made some changes to the ingredients and have added some more veggies for good measure!

Ingredients
1/2 tsp tamarind puree
1 tbsp date sugar
1 lime (optional)
3 tbsp soy sauce/ tamari
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 cups water
1 cup bean sprouts
1 handful spinach leaves
1 handful peanuts- I used dry roast unsalted, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sugar snap peas
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 bell pepper- I used a couple of mini peppers to mix the colours, sliced thickly
1 zucchini (courgette)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small shallot, finely sliced
1 pack extra firm Tofu, pressed to remove excess moisture
~ 8oz rice noodles

Method
In a bowl, mix the tamari/ soy sauce, tamarind paste, date sugar, juice of half a lime (optional) and rice vinegar then set to one side.
Warm a wok on medium to high heat and add 1/2 cup water. Once the water is boiling, add the shallot and garlic.
Once the shallot softens, add the rest of the water, the rice noodles, and the soy/tamarind mixture to the wok. Stir frequently to prevent the noodles sticking to the bottom of the wok.
Once the noodles begin to soften, add the courgette/zucchini, and peppers. Once the peppers soften a little, add the cubed tofu, along with a dash of soy sauce/tamari (optional).
Once the noodles are cooked through, add the bean sprouts, sugar snap peas, spinach, and half the scallions.
Serve in large bowls garnished with the rest of the scallions and the peanuts with some slices of lime.  

If you're not a fan of soy, you can substitute the tofu for black beans, and the tamari/soy sauce for coconut aminos, which are lower in sodium too!