Vegan Rad Na with Soy Curls

Vegan Rad Na - Thai Crispy Rice Noodle topped with Saucy Stir Fry Veggies and Soy Chicken

Today I am craving for a Thai Noodle dish and decided to make Rad Na which is a crispy pan fried rice noodle topped with stir fry veggies with lots of gravy-like sauce.  If you like gravy or a  thickened sauce on top of a pile of rice noodle, this is a dish you'll like.

Rad Na or Lad Na is a Thai noodle dish influenced by the Chinese culture.  It  is usually made with sliced chicken breast, Chinese broccoli, and mushrooms stir fried in a gravy-like sauce that  is usually made from chicken stock, fish sauce, and oyster sauce (thickened with cornstarch or tapioca starch).   To veganize it, I opted to use Soy Curls instead of Gardein or other chicken substitute.  It is because I just love how Soy Curls soaks up the marinade and spices I used on them.  Of course, tofu can be used also and I recommend 1 box of water packed firm tofu (about 14 oz) to replace the soy chicken.  Or you can omit the soy chicken and double up the mushrooms to be simple and direct.

Rad Na Stir Fry Ingredients, clockwise from top left:  bok choy, onion, oyster mushroom, shiitake mushroom, baby corn, garlic, and soy curls.

To replace the chicken stock or broth, this time I used Bill's Best Chik'nish instead of Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base because I wanted to control the amount of sodium or salt.  The sauces that I used for this dish is already salty enough.  I am afraid if I use salted vegetarian broth this dish will turn out too salty.   Chik'nish is the only vegetarian broth that has no salt in it so it is my preference to use when I want to watch the amount of salt I put into my dish.

The sauces I used are Thai sauces such as:

Vegetarian Oyster Mushroom Sauce, Healthy Boy brand Black Soy Sauce, and Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce.

I bought these sauces at a Thai market I visited a while back (or an Asian market may carry these sauces also).  I used a little bit of bean sauce (pictured below with the noodle) that I have on hand, a Chinese style bean sauce.  I usually use this Thai Yellow Bean Sauce, Healthy Boy brand, but I was out of it.  I also love the Sriracha sauce drizzled on top of this dish as a spicy condiment.

I also found BROWN RICE Pad Thai rice noodle (pictured below).  It works great.  This noodle dish usually uses the wide rice noodle that can be found at the Asian market.  However, I wanted to try this BROWN RICE noodle instead.  I was not disappointed.

Vegan Rad Na (Thai Crispy Noodle topped with Saucy Veggie Stir Fry)
Serve 6-8

Stir Fry ingredients:
3-4 large Bok Choy bundle (4-5 cups) or Chinese Broccoli, washed and cut into 3 inches long
5 oz or 1 cup cut baby or mini corn
5 large fresh shiitake or reconstituted dried shiitake mushrooms, sliced
8-10 fresh oyster mushrooms, sliced
5 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large onion, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp. Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce
1 Tbsp. Black Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp. Vegetarian Oyster Mushroom Sauce
2 - 2.5 cups Bill's Best Chik'nish broth
2 tsp. cornstarch or tapioca starch combined with 3 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. sugar (optional)
 Note: I don't usually use sugar but all Rad Na recipes use sugar.  I leave it up to you to use it.
Salt to taste
Note:  I found that all the sauces above provided enough salt so I didn't add any salt.
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1 Tbsp. Canola Oil or Grapeseed oil
Chopped cilantro (optional)
Sriracha sauce (optional)

Preparation of Soy Curls or Tofu:
1/2 pkg Soy Curls (4 oz dry)  or 1 box firm tofu, drained and cubed
3/4 cup Bills Best Chick'nish broth,warmed (omit if using tofu)
2 tsp. Black Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Vegetarian Oyster Mushroom Sauce
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch or Tapioca starch

1. If using Soy Curls, soak in Chik'nish broth for 10 minutes.  Then, drain the excess broth if there is any.
2. Mix reconstituted Soy Curls or tofu with black soy sauce, oyster mushroom sauce, and starch.  Mix and set aside.

Preparation of Saucy Stir Fry Veggies with Soy Curls:

1. Heat a wok or large frying pan and add oil.
2. Add the minced garlic and sliced onions.  Stir fry until onion is soft, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the prepared or marinated soy curls.  Stir fry until soy curls are brown, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add all mushrooms and baby corn.  Stir fry for another minute.  Add a little bit of broth if ingredients stick to the frying pan.
5. Add the Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce, black soy sauce, and oyster mushroom sauce.
6. Add the Chik'nish broth and white pepper.
7. Let it come to a boil, turn down the heat, and then add the bok choy or Chinese broccoli.  Combine and let it simmer for a minute.
8. Add the cornstarch or tapioca starch water combo.
9. Let it thicken and simmer for another minute.  Turn off the heat.

Preparation of Pan Fried Crispy Rice Noodle:
2 pkgs (8 oz each) Brown Rice Pad Thai noodle
4 tsp. Black Soy Sauce
4 tsp. Vegetarian Oyster Mushroom Sauce
Toasted Sesame oil
9-inch flat non-stick frying pan or cast iron pan.

1. Soak brown rice noodle in warm water for 8-10 minutes (following the directions in the package).
2. Drain noodle (don't worry if it doesn't look like it is cooked).  Divide into 2 batches for pan frying it.
3. Heat frying pan in high heat then add 1 tablespoon sesame oil.
4. Add half of the soaked and drained noodle.  Drizzle 2 tsp black soy sauce and 2 tsp oyster mushroom sauce, combine with noodle.  Stir fry and spread noodle on a frying pan about 1/2 inch thick.
5. Leave it for 3 - 4 minutes so the bottom is sizzling and crispy before flipping it to the other side.  Don't worry if noodles are sticking to each other.
6. Let the noodle becomes crispy and brown on the frying pan for another 4-5 minutes. 
7. Flip on a serving plate.
8. Repeat step 3-7 for the other batch of noodle.  The pan fried noodle should look like this picture below.
9. Serve the crispy pan fried noodle with the Saucy Stir Fry Veggie and Soy Curls on top. Add chopped cilantro if desired.  Drizzle with Sriracha sauce and dig in!

Tips on reheating or eating this as leftover:

1. I found that it is best to pan fry the noodle just before serving.  It is best to pan fry only the amount to be consumed and save the un-fried noodle in  a tight container if  you plan to eat this as a leftover.
2. The gravy or sauce tends to absorbed into the veggies and soy curls if it is consumed the next day.  You can add more broth and seasonings to produce more gravy.