I was thrilled when Stacey of Paleo Parents asked me to participate in the PF Chang Paleo Recreation Round Up. Having only been to PF Chang’s once, I perused their online menu to see what I could paleo-ize. I’ve already created quite a few Asian inspired dishes here on the blog, and they’re some of my favorites. But Pad Thai was a code I had yet to crack. So when I saw it on the PF Chang’s menu, I decided it had to be the one for the recipe round-up.
If I were to put together a list of the most misunderstood dishes (in all of my spare time), pad Thai would be on it. In restaurants, it’s often way too sweet, too sticky, too… much. The beauty of Pad Thai is in its restraint and in its contrast of flavors and textures. When I told Simon that my plan for Monday was to make paleo pad Thai, he asked it I would be making a satay sauce. I gave him my best ICan’tBelieveYou’dEvenAskThat face and explained to him that there would be no satay sauce involved. There are peanuts in traditional pad Thai, but not peanut sauce. In this variation, there are cashews, but no cashew sauce. Of course he then requested that I also make chicken satay to go with it. Sure no prob. Right after I work on that Misunderstood Dishes List.
The first feat in making a paleo version of pad Thai was the noodles. I love zucchini noodles in so many applications, but this definitely isn’t one of them. I’ve used Kelp noodles, but am never happy with how crunchy they remain, even when I cook them. Lucky for me, a gigantic Asian supermarket is a mere 20 blocks away, where there’s an entire aisle of noodles. Most of them are rice and wheat based, but I lucked out and found sweet potato vermicelli. I left with about 5 different kinds of noodles, all paleo friendly. Win.
This recipe could easily be made with leftover cooked chicken or pork instead of or in addition to the shrimp.
Paleo Pad Thai
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients
- 4 ounces sweet potato vermicelli
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1 tablespoon coconut vinegar
- 2 tablespoons palm sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 4 teaspoons coconut oil
- 1/2 pound medium shrimp, (peeled and deveined )
- 1/2 cup raw cashews,
- 1 cup diced scallions,
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 eggs, (well beaten)
- 1 tablespoon dried shrimp, (optional)
- 1/4 pound daikon, (julienned with a julienne peeler or spiralizer)
- 1/2 a lime (cut into wedges)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Set a medium pot of water over high heat. Once boiling, add the sweet potato noodles and boil for 5 minutes. Drain. They’ll be a bit al dente, but will soften when you finish the dish.
- Meanwhile, combine the tamarind paste and 3/4 cup boiling water in a small bowl. Stir to combine.
- In another small bowl, combine the fish sauce, palm sugar and vinegar.
- Strain the tamarind mixture through a fine mesh sieve into the sauce.
- In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 teaspoons of coconut oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the shrimp and cook for 1 minute on each side. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
- Add the cashews and stir constantly until they’re golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove to a small bowl.
- Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of coconut oil in the wok or skillet and add the 2/3 of the scallions and the garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds and then add the beaten eggs. Once they start to set, stir to scramble and cook for 20-30 seconds or until cooked.
- Add the sauce, then the noodles and dried shrimp, and stir.
- Add 2/3 of the daikon, the cooked shrimp, and 2/3 of the cashews. Stir for 30 seconds to one minute, or until everything is heated through and the noodles are to your liking.
- Serve garnished with the remaining daikon, cashews, scallions, cilantro and lime wedges.
Notes
Make sure to have all of your ingredients prepped before you start cooking, it all happens fast once you start!
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Erin Walker says
I CAN’T wait to try this!! I’ve never used sweet potato vermicelli before. I’ve never even heard of it! Thank you for the recipe!!
-Erin
zenbellyblog says
This was the first time I used it… You should have seen my kitchen today; every kind of grain-free noodle I could find was in it! I liked the sweet potato noodles best, they’re good and chewy and rice noodle-like.
Paleo Granny says
Wow! Looks delicious – hope I can find sweet potato vermicelli noodles in Vancouver.
zenbellyblog says
If not you should be able to order them online!
ariyele ressler says
omg have i just died and gone to swoon heaven? yes. yes i have. now i need to track down sweet potato vermicelli!
zenbellyblog says
Sunset Super has it for sure, and I’m sure a lot of the other Asian markets do too.
Amber says
I’ve never seen the sweet potato vermicelli! What are the ingredients? Thanks!
zenbellyblog says
just sweet potato and water! : )
Hilary Owen says
Thai food is my favorite—pad thai is so good and I can’t wait to try this!
sommer says
yum, can’t wait to try this. Do you know how to make Pad Kee Mao (Drunken NoodleS)?
it is my absolute favorite thai meal!
zenbellyblog says
I haven’t ever attempted it, but I’ll add it to the list of recipes to tackle!
Russ Crandall says
Great recipe! Love sweet potato noodles.
zenbellyblog says
Thanks! Me too… I think I actually found out about them from your site 🙂
Monique says
I just doubled this and it’s delicious! Couldn’t believe that the sweet potato noodles weren’t rice noodles. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Nicole says
Are those better than rice noodles?
zenbellyblog says
They are very similar to rice noodles, but are grain-free! If you don’t avoid rice, I don’t think it makes that much of a difference.