Wow your family with this easy Paleo Pad Thai recipe made with authentic ingredients and rich flavors!
Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium heat for three to four minutes, stir frequently so they don't burn, and then set aside.
Prepare your zucchini noodles using a spiralizer or julienne peeler (see photo in post)
Mix the fish sauce, tamarind puree, coconut aminos, and coconut sugar together in a small bowl.
Heat one tbsp oil in a large cast iron skillet over a medium heat and add the garlic and cook for one minute.
Add chicken and cook for a couple of minutes on all sides until cooked through, then cook the shrimp in the same way but for just one to two minutes per side until it turns pink.
Push meat and shrimp to the sides of the pan, add a touch of oil if the pan is dry and pour in beaten eggs in the middle and scramble over a medium heat. (see photo in post)
Add the zucchini noodles (and bean sprouts if using) to pan along with the pad thai sauce and scallions. Toss the noodles and meat in the sauce and warm through for a couple of minutes.
Serve immediately, sprinkled with toasted almonds and serve with a wedge of lime.
Nutrition - Label does not include optional beansprouts. If you omit the coconut sugar it will reduce the carbs to 18g and 15g net carbs per serving. However, you should know that authentic Pad Thai sauce has a LOT of sugar so the taste will be quite different. I have not tested it with any of the low carb sugar substitutes so if you want to do that my advice would be to taste the sauce before you add it to the meat and vegetables, to see if you like it.
Substitutions - there really is no substitute for the tamarind paste, it's what makes Pad Thai what it is! However, I recognize that it can be hard to find unless you have a Whole Foods or Asian Grocery store in town, so if you can't find it I would just omit it and accept that the sauce will taste a bit different. You could substitute low sodium gluten free soy sauce for the coconut aminos if you have to, but the coconut aminos have a natural sweetness that makes up for having a bit less sugar in this recipe.
Fish Sauce - I love Red Boat fish sauce, it very pungent (in a good way!) with a rich depth of flavor and has no funky additives or added sugar like some of the more popular brands. My grocery store carries it now, and you should be able to find it in Whole Foods.
adapted from Recipe Tin Eats
found on www.noshtastic.com