Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Most Delicious Meal I've Ever Made: Paleo Pad Thai

Here's the thing: these pictures are the worst. I took this at 8 PM last night in my kitchen with absolutely no natural sunlight, not that I'd know what it even looks like anymore seeing as we had a BLIZZARD YESTERDAY!!! But I digress. These pictures are the worst.

They're the worst because this meal is the best, and the truth is no image could capture how delightfully delicious my paleo take on pad thai is. 

Here's the other thing: forget what you know about spaghetti squash. Any time you need a grain-free "noodle," just use a vegetable peeler on some squash and carrots, boil them in some water just as you would real pasta, and then voila! The BEST pasta replacement I've tried yet.

Covered in delicious almond sauce and you will never order take out pad thai again--even if you could give two shits about paleo. 
It's seriously that good.
So good, that I don't even care how inadequate the pictures are...I needed you to have the recipe ASAP. I'm a giver.

Paleo Pad Thai
Makes 4 large servings

Almond Sauce

  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 large knob ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup creamy almond butter
  • 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. coconut aminos
  • 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp. honey (optional)
  • juice from 1 lime
  • 1/3 cup canned coconut milk
  • salt and pepper

 Pad Thai

  • 3 large zucchini squash
  • 3 large yellow squash
  • 3 large carrots
  • 1.5 lb. steamed chicken breast
  • green onion, diced (for topping)
  • handful of almonds, roughly chopped (for topping)
  • fresh lime wedges
1. In a medium saucepan, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and saute for a a minute or two until the oil is fragrant and the garlic and ginger are softened.
2. Add almond butter, fish sauce, coconut aminos, vinegar, oil, honey, lime juice, and coconut milk and whisk until incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (If the sauce is too thick, add more coconut milk; if it's too thin, add more almond butter. You can also play with the seasonings like fish sauce and coconut aminos until the flavor is the way you like it!)
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil--salt the water.
4. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the vegetables into wide "noodles". Add them to the boiling water and cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the "noodles" are tender. 
5. Drain noodles and toss them with almond sauce that you've made. (Use as little or as much as you prefer.)
6. Top with sliced chicken breast, green onion, almonds, and fresh lime wedges and serve.



23 comments:

Megan | Freckled Italian said...

This is so exciting! Pad Thai is one of my favorite dishes in the world but I always feel so gross after. No more!

Anna said...

This sounds delicious! I'm addicted to carby noodles but I may have to give this a try...and I already have a vegetable spiralizer to make veggie noodles that has been collecting dust for quite some time!

Jenna | The Eighty Twenty said...

Honestly, these pictures aren't even bad - and I'm wicked excited about this creation - I see it in my future when I beg for take out and James says no let's cook. THIS!

Jane {In The Pink & Green} said...

Yum!! This looks really good...pad thai is one of my favorite non-Paleo treats so I'll definitely have to give this version a try! Thanks for sharing! xo

Hannah said...

NOM nom nom nom.

That is all.

Champagne Lifestyle on a Beer Budget

Gayla said...

Looks delish! I would eat that!

christin said...

ah-mazing.

Whim Wham Life said...

I am so making this for dinner tomorrow! Drooling! xoxo

Laura Humphrey said...

Im thinking you should come over one night since my kitchen is almost ready to be used to its full potential and we can have another cooking lesson!! I promise not to drink 2 bottles of wine to myself! ;) Miss your face as usual!

Susan said...

Pad Thai is one of my favorite foods. I'm so hungry right now I want that for breakfast.

Unknown said...

I made this last night and it was so good! Super easy and I actually felt like I was eating pad thai. Thanks for sharing!

Kary said...

I just made this and it's awesome. I tweaked it a bit by using hot sesame oil as opposed to regular. It added just a bit of kick. This goes in the dinner rotation. Thanks!

Kristin W said...

I wish so much that this was Whole 30 approved! I'm putting it on the recipe list for immediately after though. It looks amazing...

Modern Camelot said...

I made this last night, and it was SO good. It was a lot of work, so the husband was bitching, and then towards the end is all "I don't even like Pad Thai, I hate coconut, I hate almonds" etc. And then we missed the part the chicken was supposed to be steamed so had raw chicken when everything else was done while we made the chicken...but WOW it was awesome! And he loved it, and kept muttering how surprised he was, haha. Thanks for posting this!!

Mo (New on U) said...

Ok, so I knew the sauce was going to be good (how could it not be), but being spaghetti squash fans I was REALLY REALLY hesitant about the noodles. UM - I don't think I'll ever do spaghetti squash again! We kept raving about the "noodles" - they were so good! Thanks for being so smart and for sharing your smartness. Hope wedding planning is going well!

Kamila said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this amazing recipe! I made this for guests last night to rave reviews. The zucchini noodles were delicious; what a great substitute for the spaghetti squash. I had some leftovers so I made some egg strips by whisking eggs with coconut aminos and frying like an omelet in coconut oil and cutting into strips. I added the egg strips to this recipe and it was great for breakfast. Thanks again!

Elana said...

Sofa King Good! Seriously outstanding! I made one small error, which was not draining the, "noodles" as well as I should have, so it made my perfect sauce a tad bit too thin. Regardless, it was WONDERFUL!!!

Nicole said...

Being not only gluten free, but mostly grain free due to cross-reactions, this has seriously become my "comfort food" meal! I think I've made it...6 or 7 times? I tell everyone about this dish...even just posted it on my facebook site because so many people asked me about it. I can tolerate legumes, so sometimes I swap the almond butter for half peanut butter just because of the cost, but it is seriously phenomenal any way you do it! The only thing I've found is that I run out of sauce for the amount of "noodles" there are. So I always double it and figure I can always just make more veggies :) THANK YOU!

Lori Beth said...

Just made this last night (after searching a week for coconut aminos- thank you whole foods) it was absofreakinglutely delicious! I also used coconut vinegar and no salt (we can't use it on our 60 day challenge) all I can say is AMZING! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Mellissa said...

I just made this and WOW. This is seriously amazing. AMAZING. I followed the recipe to the letter, and AMAZING. So happy I made this, it is crazy delicious. My kids loved it, I loved it, and if I somehow don't eat the leftovers before later tonight- my husband will love this.

THANK YOU!

Anonymous said...

OMG is right! Delish. I knew we would want extra sauce so I doubled the sauce portions. Also, we had whole roasted chicken so I used a mix of white and dark meat -which was excellent! To the person who said 'it was a lot of work' I disagree. we had dinner on the table in about 20 minutes, albeit the noodles take a little time (and practice), the rest was easy peasy.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely delicious! Did not think it was hard at all! I have a vegetable spiralizer, so that part was easy! Hubby and 18 year old son LOVED it! Will become a regular at our house!

Anonymous said...

Made this for dinner tonight & it was delicious! Simple & tasty. Big hit in our house!

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