Pad thai was made popular in Thailand during World War II and has since become one of the country’s national dishes. There are some rumours it originated in China, but ‘Pad Chinese’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it does it!
I ate Pad Thai every single day in Thailand! It rarely tastes identical with restaurants and street vendors adding their own twists. It’s such a quick and healthy meal, I watched the Thai chefs with intrigue to see how they mastered the perfect Pad Thai with such limited cooking space at the side of a busy street.
I can’t take the credit. This was served as lunch just before we went jungle trekking
I wanted to create a vegetarian version using simple ingredients and an easy method of cooking to make it super quick to knock up.
INGREDIENTS
1 x carrot
100g bean sprouts
2 spring onions
10 almonds
1 glove of garlic
1 small chunk of ginger
Juice of half a lime
1 free range egg
1 teaspoon of almond butter
1 teaspoon of coconut oil
Half a teaspoon of coconom tamarind infused coco sugar
Shake of tamari sauce (gluten free soy sauce)
1 serving of pad thai or buckwheat noodles (M&S sell brilliant ones ~ avoid ‘wet’ ones which contain wheat, gluten and oil)
Thai Street Food vendors are like artists. Their skills are amazing,
Grate the carrot and ginger. Finely chop the spring onion and garlic clove and stir everything together with the bean sprouts and juice of half a lime.
Boil a pan of water. Once the water is bubbling add your noodles and lower the heat. Meanwhile heat a teaspoon of coconut oil in a heavy bottom pan or wok and throw in the grated / chopped veg.
This version is made with Pad Thai Rice Ribbon noodles
Stir a teaspoon of almond butter, half a teaspoon of tamarind coco sugar and a shake of tamari sauce through the ingredients in the wok.
By now your noodles should be cooked through (they only take 5 minutes) If anything you want them a little on the firm side as they’ll carry on cooking in the wok. Drain the water and add them to the veg.
Crack an egg into the wok over your veg and noodles and use a fork to move the yolk into the egg white. You ideally want everything nicely mixed. You can actually beat the egg before adding it if you like but stirring it through in the pan makes things quicker and saves washing more dishes!
Once the egg has cooked through serve on a plate of in a bowl adding some coriander and chopped chives to decorate. Squeeze some lime over the pad thai. Traditionally the thai vendors sprinkle peanuts over the meal. My skin hates them! Almonds are much more alkaline and taste just as delicious. Whizz 10 of them together to create fine, chopped up pieces and sprinkle over the noodles. Add a few sprigs of coriander and some chives to decorate. I guarantee you’ll be addicted!
My Goodness 