Pad Thai, is a dish loved by many, including myself. We know you will love our Healthy Pad Thai with Organic Rice Noodles just as much as we do.
Pad thai, or phad thai, is a stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served as a street food and at most restaurants in Thailand.
Pad Thai has now become a common go-to Thai meal around the world, and for good reason. It’s delicious!
According to a CNN survey, Pad Thai is ranked fifth on a list of World’s 50 most delicious foods readers’ poll. “Apparently, pad Thai was popularized by Thailand’s Prime Minister in the 1940s and 50s, as a way to improve the country’s rice-based economy, farmers’ well-being and national health…”
The only problem though is when it comes to modern street food and take out, the ingredients aren’t as pure as they once were. Nowadays it’s a dish that is rarely nutritious, often containing excessive refined oils, sugar, salts, and msg.
We have good news however… this recipe has all the flavour of a great pad thai without the added no-no’s.
It’s a healthy pad thai, containing mostly a variety of rainbow veggies, your choice of protein or vegetarian if you prefer. We just grass-fed beef, however, you can use your favourite – chicken, seafood, pork or lamb. Just make sure the meat is grass-fed/free-range/organic.
We used organic rice noodles in our pad thai, the reason we opt for organic is that they are free from chemicals (pesticides) that can be harmful to your body. The rice is typically grown sustainably and is fair trade.
Should you be following a grain free or low carb style diet, you can easily swap out the rice noodles for some zucchini noodles that work just as well.
In this dish we opted for using coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, here is why…
What is Coconut Aminos?
Coconut aminos is a delicious sauce made from coconut sap. It is dark, rich, salty and slightly sweet in flavour.
It looks like a light soy sauce or tamari which is a wheat-free soy sauce, but the coconut aminos is soy and gluten free, which makes it a perfect substitute for anyone avoiding soy and gluten.
To make coconut aminos, the sap is collected from the coconut blossoms, then blended with sea salt and naturally aged. Yum!
What makes Coconut Aminos good for us?
Apart from the fact that it is free from soy and gluten, coconut aminos are a low GI and packed with minerals, vitamin C, and B vitamins. It is high in amino acids, containing 17 types. Amino acids are vital building blocks of protein and are essential to our health.
Here are 5 more reasons to love Coconut Aminos:
- Weight Loss: A hormone called Adiponectin, resides in your fatty tissue, and it is increased when eating coconut products such as Coconut Aminos. Which is great for anyone trying to lose weight because adiponectin regulates a number of metabolic processes, including fat burning.
- Immune System Enhancement: The antioxidants found in Coconut Aminos naturally support the immune system by providing protection against free radicals.
- Heart protection: Coconut Aminos and other coconut products, increase the good cholesterol in your body and help to regulate blood pressure.
- Lowered Risk of Colon Cancer: Eating coconut products can reduce inflammation and greatly reduce the occurrence of malignant tumors in the colon.
- Mental Health Benefits: Coconut is rich in inositol, this may help balance certain chemicals in the body to possibly help with conditions such as panic disorder, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Healthy Pad Thai w/ Organic Rice Noodles (Gut Healing)
- Prep Time: 15 - 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 - 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes +
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Noodle Dish
Ingredients
500g meat of your choice, flash fried in a little coconut oil (free-range chicken strips, grass-fed steak – thinly sliced or shrimp) or omit for vegetarian option
1 package organic rice noodles or Zoodles
1 zucchini
1 red pepper
½ a yellow onion
2 carrots
1 cup sugar snap peas
1 cup green or purple cabbage, thinly shaved
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 egg, beaten
½ cup cashews or almonds, chopped
¼ cup sesame seeds
½ cup fresh herbs like coriander, green onions, and basil, chopped
For the Sauce:
3 tablespoons fish sauce or vegan fish sauce substitute
Sweetener of your choice, to taste (honey, xylitol, erythritol)
3 tablespoons gut healing bone broth or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon coconut aminos
1 teaspoon chilli paste (Optional)
Instructions
- Place the uncooked noodles in a bowl of cold water to soak (if using).
- Spiralize the zucchini, red pepper, and onion into noodle-like shapes or thinly slice them julienne style. Cut the carrots into very small pieces.
- Shake up the sauce ingredients in a jar.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the veggies and prefer flash fried meat and stir-fry with tongs until the veggies are tender-crisp. Be careful not to overcook them they’ll get soggy and limp. Transfer to a dish and set aside.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Drain the rice noodles they should be softened by now (if using). Add the rice or zucchini noodles to the hot pan and stir-fry for a minute or two, using tongs to toss until they are the texture you like. Add the sauce and stir-fry for another minute or two, until the sauce is starting to thicken and stick to the noodles. Push the noodles aside to make a little room for the egg, pour the beaten egg into the pan and let it sit for 30 seconds or so. Toss everything around with the tongs. The egg mixture will stick to the noodles and everything will start getting sticky.
- Now add in the vegetables and meat, toss together, and remove from heat. Stir in the nuts and herbs and serve immediately.
Notes
P.S. this recipe also works really well without meat, so, it can be enjoyed as a vegetarian option.