Healthy Pad Thai

Recipe at bottom of page

Asian food is one of my favorite cuisines. I love how many Asian dishes have textural contrast and play the sweet and spicy game on your taste buds; with each bite you take, there's another blast of flavor you didn't get the first time.

Unfortunately, a lot of restaurants load on the sauce. Although these sauces are delicious, they can be filled with lots of sodium and calories. This dish uses a light sauce that delicately coats the Pad Thai, while still delivering the classic flavors your used to. Try using low sodium soy sauce and avoid adding any additional salt to the dish.

I absolutely love noodle dishes, especially Pad Thai. However, often times when I order it in the restaurant they pile the noodles high. I always give into the delectable dish and end up eating way more than one serving of noodles. This recipe only calls for a half a serving of noodles per person! You may be thinking, "A half a serving!! That won't satisfy me!"Don't worry you won't miss them. We're bulking the rest of the dish up with Veggie Noodles! This was actually my inspiration for this dish because I just bought a julienne peeler and was dying to try it out. These Veggie Noodles tasted so good that I could eat this Pad Thai without the regular noodles- I just might try that next time!

This recipe was so delicious! I pumped it up a bit by squeezing some lime juice and Sriracha sauce over it before digging in!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Eat it with chopsticks, it tastes better that way:)

Julienne Peeler

I used Udon Noodles but only cooked them for 4 minutes,
while the directions said to cook them for 13-14 minutes

Cooked Noodles

Cooked Chicken Strips

Yummy Pad Thai

Serves 4

Ingredients:
Pad Thai 
   12 oz Chicken Breast
   1 Zucchini
   1 Yellow Summer Squash
   5 Large Carrots
   1.5 cup Bean Sprouts (1/2 cup will be used for garnish)
   4 oz (2 servings) Japanese Noodles- linguini like noodles add to the Pad Thai look
   Small handful of Peanuts for garnish
Sauce
   4 tbsp Soy Sauce
   1 tbsp Rice Vinegar 
   1 tbsp Honey
   2 tsp Cornstarch 
   1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
   1 tbsp PB2

Directions:

1. Prepare the Sauce: Mix all of the ingredients listed under "Sauce"in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Prepare the Veggies: Use a julienne peeler to slice the zucchini, yellow summer squash, and carrots. Stop peeling the zucchini and yellow summer squash once you have reached the seeds- you don't want seedy strips, they will be too watery. Be careful peeling the carrots, you don't have to use the whole carrots if it becomes to hard to peel. Put the julienned zucchini, yellow summer squash, carrots, and 1 cup of bean sprouts aside on a plate.
3. Cook the Noodles: Cook the japanese noodles according to the packaging. It's better to cook them al dente because they will continue to cook later when you stir-fry them. Once the noodles are done, run them under cold water to prevent them from cooking any further. Set noodles aside.
4. Prepare the Chicken: Clean the chicken and cut into small strips.
5. Cook the Chicken: Spray a large pan with cooking spray. Turn the stove on medium-high heat and place chicken strips in the pan. Flip chicken strips once they looked half way cooked through. Take chicken strips out of the pan when they are completely cooked through. Set cooked chicken strips aside.
6. Start Stir-fry'n: For the stir-fry, you will be using the same pan in which you cooked the chicken. Turn the stove on medium-high heat, spray the pan with cooking spray, and place the prepared veggies in the pan. Occasionally toss the veggies so they do not burn. Cook the veggies until they are warm (approx. 3 minutes). Then, toss the prepared noodles, chicken, and sauce in the pan. Continually toss the stir-fry until warm (approx. 3-4 minutes).
7. Serve it up: Place cooked Pad Thai on a plate and and garnish with peanuts and the remaining 1/2 cup of bean sprouts. Dig in! 

Try adding some fresh lime juice or Sriracha sauce to your Pad Thai for some extra flavor, enjoy! 


Nutrition Facts: