Gluten Free Pad Thai can be just as delicious made fresh at home, as it can be if you ordered take out. This is one of our family favorites when it comes to Thai food. Its sweet, tangy and nutty flavor with the crunch of fresh carrots and roasted peanuts over a bed of tender and yummy rice noodles. The best part in my mind, it’s cheaper to make at home. And, its ingredients are all real ingredients.
Many Pad Thai recipes out there call for peanut butter in their recipes. However, an
authentic gluten free Pad Thai recipe does not actually contain peanut butter. In fact, the only nut anything is some roasted peanuts that are generally used as a garnish. However, I’m a rule breaker and I love peanuts and real peanut butter.
The recipe below does not call for peanut butter. However, if you’re like me and always forget to buy tamarind paste… we’ve gotta do our best to make it work with what we’ve got. And yes, I use peanut butter when I’m in a pickle.
What If I Don’t Have Tamarind Paste
Well, this is a tricky one. Authentic Tamarind Paste is responsible for the nutty, sweet and sour notes in the flavoring of the main dish. However, I personally hardly ever have Tamarind sauce on hand in my pantry. So, I came up with a solution. It’s not an exact flavor swap, but the recipe still turns out pretty good. I use 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (or rice vinegar) for the sour, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice and 2 Tablespoons lime juice, with 2 Tablespoons each of coconut sugar, tomato paste and peanut butter. I whisk it all together and pour it over… and it’s pretty yummy.
Fresh Vegetables
Using fresh carrots adds a little bit of a sweet crunch to this dish. Matchstick or shredded carrots would work perfect. Since we garden like we do, we use carrots that we have preserved through blanching and freezing. So I cook with sliced carrots, as you may see in the picture. And they work just fine too.
For sprouts, any of your favorite sprouts work. But mung bean is considered the best for their nutty flavor. But I’ve also used radish sprouts. Either way, it’s surprising how much nutrients are in sprouts. My only “thing” is that like to rinse them first, before adding them to any dish. Also, as an option you can really add any veggie you want. Sometimes I’ll add some broccoli florets as well.
This recipe cooks quickly, so make sure all of your ingredients are prepped and ready to go.
Enjoy!
Gluten Free Pad Thai
Ingredients
Pad Thai Sauce with Tamarind
- 1/2 cup Tamarind paste see notes if you don’t have tamarind paste
- 2 tbsp gluten free fish sauce
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
Pad Thai
- 16 oz gluten free pad Thai rice noodles cook to package instructions
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil to coat pan
- 1 small yellow onion
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Lbs large shrimp (or protein of choice) Approx. 30-40 shrimp
- 4 farm fresh eggs beaten
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 3/4 cup roasted peanuts
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 bunch green onions sliced
- 2 avocados sliced for garnish
- red pepper flakes for garnish optional
Instructions
- Make sure shrimp is thawed.
- Prepare rice noodles according to package directions.
- While rice noodles are being prepared, oil the bottom of a large pan or wok over medium high heat.
- add shrimp, and sauté for about 2-3 minutes. Then add garlic, yellow onion and toss until shrimp is coated.
- push shrimp to one side, then on the other side, pour beaten eggs in lines to make ribbons. Then use a spatula to blend the egg ribbons into the shrimp.
- Add the carrots, sprouts, half of the peanuts and sauce. Mix well. Then add the noodles and toss gently together until well mixed.
- Drizzle lime juice over the top, and then plate.
- On each plate add green onion, avocado slices, fresh bean sprouts, the remaining peanuts and red pepper flakes if desired.
Notes
