Pad Thai

Pad Thai is a favorite of mine. You could really cover just about anything with spicy peanut sauce and I would gobble it down, but the mixed veggies and rice noodles in this dish are what make it really delicious.

First I cubed a block of drained tofu, and I cooked it in a little peanut oil, soy sauce and  rice wine vinegar until it was crispy on all sides. I removed it from the pan and set it aside. Then I added a little more peanut oil to the pan and sautéed shittake mushrooms, broccoli, a chopped bell pepper and snow peas. I added some dried spicy Thai peppers mainly to add a little flavor to the vegetables - they're too hot to eat! After they veggies were tender, I added chopped bok choy and returned the tofu to the pan and let it all cook together for another minute or two. I then added peanut sauce and mung bean sprouts and stirred everything together until it was heated throughout. I served the dish over rice noodles and topped it with chopped peanuts and scallions.

This dish is so versatile that you can use any veggies you like. The spicy peanut sauce will work with just about any vegetable, and it has such a great flavor that you don't need to use anything else to season the veggies.

Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup natural smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons tamari sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil or peanut oil
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (less if you're sensitive to spicy foods, more if you like your food really spicy)
1 cup coconut milk

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Easy peasy!

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Raw Pad Thai

I really like raw pasta in the summer, and I love Pad Thai, so when I saw this recipe on Organically Me, I immediately ran into the kitchen to make it. My dad gave me a new spiralizer for my birthday, and I was itching to try it out.


The new spiralizer is pretty cool, as far as spiralizers go. It has three different blades for different sized noodles. I went with the smallest for the Pad Thai.


I usually plan to use one zucchini per person when making raw pasta. I made the mistake of buying gigantic zucchinis, so we ended up with way too much food. I followed the recipe as it is written, but I made four times the amount of sauce, because it just didn't seem like enough. And because it was really, really good. I think next time I make it I will omit the cucumber and maybe add some shredded snow peas.


This dish was really, really good, and I will most definitely make it again!!


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Pad Thai Again

I know I've already made Pad Thai, but it's extremely tasty and pretty easy to make, so I think it's going to become a regular meal in my house now. This time around, the sauce wasn't as thick but it still tasted peanut-buttery yummy. I used spicy Thai chili paste in the sauce to give it a nice spicy kick. I remembered that I'm sensitive to corn, so I didn't add baby corn like I did the last time. The stir-fry consists of sugar snap peas, broccoli, red bell pepper, mushrooms and peanuts. I did have mung bean sprouts this time, so I added them to the stir fry at the end, along with some scallions.

Adding mung bean sprouts is a good way to add a little extra nutritional value to a meal. They contain vitamins A, B, C and E as well as calcium, potassium and iron. Sprouts are also a high source of fiber, are easily digestible and contain a high concentration of enzymes facilitating the digestive process. They also add a nice crunch and mild flavor to meals, so add some sprouts to your sandwiches, salads and stir-fries!

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