Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Pescatarian, Vegan, Vegetarian
Serves: 5
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

This dish definitely reminds me of street food in Thailand! But just without the sugar!

Description

My visit to Thailand was definitely one of cultural exploration. More importantly, it was an exploration of Asian cuisine.

Traditional Pad Thai is a stir-fried noodle dish which is commonly served as a street food. The typical ingredients include rice noodles, tofu, fish or soy sauce, garlic, shallots and palm sugar.

So I thought to myself, how can I make this dish healthier?

First, let’s break down what can be improved upon:

• A lot of fish and soy sauces tend to be heavily processed, with a large addition of salt, sugar and wheat. This isn’t great for the diabetic, coeliac or gluten-sensitive, or any other health-conscious individual for that matter… this is why I’ve substituted for coconut aminos, which is made from just two ingredients: coconut tree sap and mineralised sea salt. If you can’t find coconut aminos at your local supermarket, you can use tamari or liquid aminos as an alternative. These are soy sauces which are lower in salt and wheat-free (always make sure to check the label to ensure this if you have an allergy).
• Whilst it is typical for Asian dishes to incorporate sugar to add a touch of sweetness, my healthy version skips out on the palm sugar. Sugar is well-known to cause many problems with our health, including increasing our risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity.
• Rice noodles often tend to be in the form of white rice, which is often refined and is lacking in fibre. Instead I have replaced these with brown rice noodles, which you are likely to find in your local health foods shop. Brown rice contains more vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals than white rice does, and does not spike blood glucose levels as high as white rice.

I love taking a closer look at the ingredients of a dish and thinking about how I can make a few swaps to make it healthier, without compromising on taste.

Let me know how you find this recipe!

Ingredients

Paste

• 3 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
• The zest of 2 limes (remember to save the juice for the sauce)
• 1 handful of fresh coriander stalks
• 1 red chilli, deseeded & diced

Pad Thai

• 200g brown rice noodles
• 200g organic and fermented tofu, cubed
• 100g beansprouts
• 2 pak choi, washed & chopped
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 6 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced lengthways
• 50g cashew nuts
• 1 handful fresh coriander leaves (chopped)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Sauce

• Juice of 2 limes
• 4 tbsp coconut aminos

Method

1. Place the garlic, lime zest, chili pepper and coriander stalks into a pestle and mortar and grind into a paste.
2. Cook the brown rice noodles in boiling water for 10 minutes.
3. Whilst the noodles are cooking, heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in a pan and then add the red onion and gently fry for 5 minutes. Then add the paste and fry for another minute, until aromatic.
4. Add the red pepper, pak choi, tofu, half of the spring onions, and half of the bean sprouts, stirring well to ensure everything is coated in the paste. Cook for a further 5 minutes on a medium heat.
5. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl (i.e. the lime juice with the coconut aminos).
6. Gently toast the cashew nuts in a frying pan. Keep an eye on these to ensure that they don't burn. Once toasted, keep these aside.
7. Once the rice noodles are cooked, drain with a sieve. Stir the noodles into the pan with the vegetables and tofu.
8. Stir in the lime and coconut amino dressing.
9. Serve each portion out and top with the toasted cashew nuts, remaining bean sprouts, spring onion and fresh coriander leaves.