5 Healthy Asian-Inspired Dishes to Make for Dinner [all vegan!]

If I had to pick one dinner theme of 2019 thus far, the answer would be easy: Asian inspired dishes.

We could maybe chalk it up to #pregnancycravings, but the combination of delicious carbs combined with nutritious veggies and some sort of flavorful sauce has been at the top of my mind when I come up with dinner ideas for the week. Plus it’s easy to throw a plant-based protein into the mix, like beans or tofu. And we can’t forget one of my favorite parts: adding chopped peanuts, cashews, or sesame seeds on top!

Get your sauté pans out, because today I’m sharing 5 awesome Asian dishes that I’ve been making lately (Bonus: All of these ideas are vegan Asian recipes!).

Vegan Pad Thai with Tofu & Peanut Sauce.

I created this recipe for Shape a couple of months ago, and it’s definitely been on repeat in my kitchen.  My take on classic Pad Thai features a hefty helping of rice noodles, crumbled tofu and antioxidant-rich purple cabbage, carrots and bell pepper.

The star of the recipe, though, is the homemade peanut sauce. You make it by tossing peanut butter, soy sauce, fresh ginger, fresh lime, agave nectar, and a touch of rice vinegar into a food processor. The result: A flavorful sauce you’ll honestly want to eat with a spoon (spoken from experience).

Packed with so much flavor, my husband always comments about how filling the dish is. Talk about noodle cravings satisfied! The dish is great to make for a post-workout dinner when you need to refuel.

Get the recipe here. >>

Vegetable Fried Rice with Cashews.

This beautiful dish from Vanilla and Bean might have been my first try at making homemade fried rice. It’s packed with jasmine rice and veggies, including mushrooms, peppers, and broccoli, and the flavors of the dish are amplified with ingredients like ginger and garlic.

Get the recipe here. >>

Thai Green Curry with Tofu & Cashews.

Featuring ingredients like brown rice, Baby Bella mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, green curry paste, and coconut milk, this recipe is another Asian dish that I created for Shape. Instead of crumbling the tofu as I did with my Pad Thai recipe, I opted to cube a block of extra-firm tofu and sauté until crispy. My hubby likes tofu better crumbled, and I go back and forth – it really depends on my mood. It’s just a matter of preference! If you’re not a tofu fan, you could also make crispy garbanzo beans or simply throw in a can of your favorite type of beans into the sauté pan at the end.

Get the recipe here. >>

Coconut Curry Noodle Bowl.

I discovered this recipe from I Heart Vegetables last year, and it quickly became a go-to Asian dinner recipe of mine. Coconut curry is just SO GOOD! The recipe is really easy to whip up, and I usually add in some sort of green veggie into the mix, like broccoli or zucchini.

Get the recipe here. >>

Veggie Tofu Stir Fry with Brown Rice.

Curious about bok choy but never know what to do with it? This recipe is a great way to foray into cooking with it. Simply slice the bok choy, along with shiitake mushrooms, green onion, water chestnuts, and broccoli (Are you sensing a broccoli theme here? I love using broccoli in Asian dishes!), then cook them in sesame oil and brown rice vinegar. Next we add in some soy sauce, brown rice, and tofu, and cook it all together, lastly topping our bowls with a drizzle of sesame oil and sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Get the recipe here. >>

Tell me.. Do you have a favorite Asian dish? What have you been making for dinner a lot lately?