It’s my husband’s birthday this week and he loves his Pad Thai, so I decided to make a healthy version! More veggies, less fat. This was my second try with a Paid Thai recipe, and I think this time I got it! (The coconut aminos really do the trick!)
See below how I modified this already-healthy recipe from Fit Men Cook.
Ingredients
Main:
- chicken breast
- flat brown rice noodles
- minced garlic and ginger paste
- Veggies:1 red bell pepper
- 1 cup mushrooms (I like them un-chopped!)
- 1 cup green onions (chopped)
- 1.5 cup bean sprouts
- fresh cilantro
- fresh basil for garnish
Sauce:
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar (or fish sauce)
- 1/8 cup Coconut Aminos (I love this one I found at Sprouts via Instacart!)
- 1/8 cup Red chili pepper sauce (hold on this if you have a kiddo, save for each individual plate)
- juice from 1 lime
Directions
- Prep. Start a pot boiling water for the brown rice noodles. Chop up veggies – bell pepper, mushrooms, green onions, limes, and cilantro. (Bonus: You can chop the veggies the night before!)
- Slice chicken breast into small pieces. Drop ginger paste and/or garlic paste into a pan. Toss in chicken breast pieces and cook. Add pepper, lime, and minced garlic to the pan.
- Drop rice noodles into boiling water.
- Sauce. In a bowl, mix rice vinegar or fish sauce, red chili pepper sauce (save this for the actual dish if you have a kiddo!), and coconut aminos.
- Drain noodles. Splash with a quick shot of cold water.
- Wrap Up. Toss the veggies in with the chicken. Drizzle the sauce over the mix. (Cook to your liking. I actually cooked the veggies up a little more than I typically like. If you want to keep them crunchier, keep the veggies on top of the chicken and don’t stir it all up!)
- Build your plates. Toss the noodles, add chicken and veggie mix, add a little more lime, and garnish with basil.
My favorite part about this recipe is the Coconut Aminos. I’ve been using them in EVERYTHING that requires a bit of a salt kick or that soy sauce flavoring! It’s soy, wheat, and gluten free and has less sodium than traditional soy sauce. Debate is still up, but some studies report that coconut aminos also have 17 amino acids, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B–and scores low on the glycemic index.
I’m sure I’ll keep coming up with better and better ways to make this yummy dish in a healthy way, but we loved it! It was spicy, satisfying, and not as greasy as your typical Pad Thai would be. Maybe next time I’ll try tossing it with an egg…
