A delicious Thai style noodle dish that comes together in minutes! It is also vegan and vegetarian, gluten free friendly, veggie loaded, protein and fiber rich, and low carb thanks to use of shiritake noodles, but I’ve also included swap outs in the recipe notes for the meat lovers who want to make this with chicken or Turkey meatballs instead of the plant based. The creamy vegan peanut sauce can be made with almond, cashew, or sunflower seed butter instead if needed. This is one superhero of a homemade takeout dish and will come to the rescue even when Thai cravings strike on the busiest weeknight!
Makes: 4 Servings/20 mini “meatballs”
Ingredients:
Meatball Ingredients:
- 1 8 ounce package Turkeyless Protein Patties from Trader Joe’s (or other plant based meat if preferred) See Recipe Note for meat version
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (Or substitute Tamari for gluten free)
- 1 tablespoon vegan fish sauce, optional, or add a small pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper – See Recipe Notes
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon chopped Thai or regular basil
- 2 green onions, chopped
For Peanut Noodles:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- 1 cup chopped baby bok choy
- 1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
- 1 cup pre-shedded carrots
- 1 package of shiritake noodles, rinsed and drained-I love using the wider fettuccini style-or use cooked brown rice noodles
Peanut Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon red Thai curry paste
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or substitute Tamari for gluten free)
- *1 tablespoon vegan fish sauce, optional, or add an extra tablespoon of soy if needed-See Recipe Note
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon sriracha or other Thai chili sauce
- 1/4 cup of natural unsweetened peanut butter-or substitute almond, cashew, or sunflower seed butter if preferred
- 6-8 ounces light or regular canned coconut milk
- 1/4 cup mix of chopped cilantro and basil for garnishing
- Splash of fresh lime juice or fresh lime wedges for serving, optional
Directions:
Make the meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Remove patties from package and reform combining them into one mixture.
- Make a well in the center if the mixture and add the rest of the ingredients. Use your hands to combine the ingredients into the mixture mashing with your hands.
- Breaking off 1/2 tablespoon size pieces at a time, roll into mini meatballs and place on a silicone lined baking sheet.
- Place in preheated oven and bake approximately 10 minutes.
While the meatballs bake, make the peanut noodles:
- Mix the sauce ingredients together (peanut butter through coconut milk) and set aside.
- Heat sesame oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the veggies and sauté briefly to soften slightly. Add fresh grated garlic and ginger and stir to combine.
- After about a minute add the Thai red curry paste and stir to incorporate. Add the peanut sauce and stir to combine with the veggies.
- Lower heat slight and allow mixture to simmer and become bubbly. Then add the shiritake noodles (or cooked brown rice noodles) and stir well to combine.
- Remove the meatballs from the oven when ready, (it should be close to this point) and add to the sauce. Stir well to thoroughly incorporate the meatballs and coat with the peanut sauce. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and basil, add a squeeze of fresh lime, if desired and serve!
Recipe Notes:
- For a non-vegan version of this dish add 1 tablespoon fish sauce into the meatball mixture and the sauce omit the extra pinch of salt and pepper and half the amount of soy sauce.
- If adding the extra soy in place of the regular or vegan fish sauce in the peanut sauce, I recommend doing so after finishing the sauce and tasting to make sure adding the additional soy won’t make it too salty for your taste.
- Swap out the plant based Turkeyless meat for ground chicken or Turkey to make a meat version of these « meatballs » use 8 ounces ground chicken or turkey, add in half of a beaten egg, a couple tablespoon milk and two tablespoons GF or regular breadcrumbs. Broil the meatballs in high for 5-6 minutes.
- If GF, please note the Turkeyless patties have oat flour in the ingredients if the oat processing is a concern.
Enjoy this recipe or have questions? Feel free to leave a comment!
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