My quick and healthy Pad Thai recipe was still missing on this blog! This is one of my go-to recipes. It is so versatile and easy to make. Truly one of my best family weekday meals; the kids love, we love and I love making it!
Make this quick and healthy Pad Thai with your favorite protein; chicken, beef, shrimp or even tofu, but the veggie version is just as good; this recipe stands out for its overload on veggies.
How I make these quick and healthy Pad Thai?
This quick and healthy Pad Thai consist of 4 components; Pad Thai sauce, rice noodles, veggies and protein (but you can leave those out if you want to).
Pad Thai sauce
Pad Thai sauce consists of 6 ingredients which are whisked together into a fairly thin pourable sauce.
One of the ingredients is tamarind concentrate, which is not widely available (depending on where you are/live). Here in Nicaragua I have not been able to find it, BUT you can find tamarind paste on every market and in most supermarkets! A thick brown paste with all the tamarind seeds still attached to it. What I do is, I add the whole package to a sauce pan with a little bit of water. I heat it up on low to dissolve the paste in water and to separate it from the seeds. I then strain it through a sieve to catch the tamarind sauce. And that is what I use in this Pad Thai sauce.
Cook the noodles
I cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package. I drain the water and set the noodles aside with a bit of oil so they don’t stick together.
Cook the protein
I heat up a tablespoon of oil in a skillet and add the protein after I have seasoned it with salt and pepper (whether it is chicken, steak, tofu or shrimp). Once cooked, I set it aside. I cut chicken and beef either before or after cooking).
Prepare the veggies (and scramble the eggs)
After cutting the vegetables to their size (carrots in lints, green beans in half, bell peppers in strips and so on), I heat up another tablespoons of olive oil in the same skillet I prepared the protein in. Once it is hot, I add the minced garlic. After giving it a few swirls in the skillet, I add the vegetables (green beans and carrots can be boiled/blanched before hand to soften them a bit). When they start to turn brown, I move them to one side of the skillet to make room for the eggs.
I add the eggs to the skillet and scramble them with a whisk. Once the eggs are scrambled, I mix them with the vegetables and add the cooked protein, noodles and the sauce. I stir to combine it all. The Pad Thai is now ready to be divided over plate and garnished with crushed peanuts and/or green onions.
This is one of our favorite quick and healthy weekday family meals. We love it and we hope you do too. It is:
super easy and quick to make – easily adjustable to every diet – a true family favorite – easy to make ahead of time – full of veggies – very delicious!
Looking for more flavorful family weekday meals? Look no further! Check out my 10 favorite family weekday meals, our family favorite weekday meal plan, weekday meals planned ahead of time to bust out family meals like a pro without any effort!
Quick and healthy Pad Thai
Ingredients
Pad Thai sauce
- ¼ cup agave nectar (or sub coconut sugar)
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate (or make yourself*)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (or sub coconut aminos)
- 1 lime (juiced)
- ¼-½ tsp red pepper flakes (to taste)
Noodles
- 1 package rice noodles
Protein
- 1 tbsp olive oil (or sub avo oil or even coconut oil)
- 1 lbs preferred protein (chicken, beef, shrimp, tofu or omit)
- 3 eggs (or omit, it's optional)
Vegetables
- 1 tbsp olive oil (or sub avo oil or even coconut oil)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 cup carrots (shaved into ribbons)
- 1 medium red bell pepper (cut into strips)
- 1 cup greens beans (cut in halves or thirds)
Garnishing (optional)
- 1 handful crushed peanuts
- 1 handful green onions (cut into small rings)
- 1 lime (cut into wedges)
Instructions
Pad Thai sauce
- Whisk all 6 iPad Thai sauce ingredients together into a fairly thin pourable sauce.
Make the Pad Thai
- Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package. Then drain the water and set the noodles aside. Mix them with a bit of oil so they don't stick together.
- Heat up a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet and add the protein after you have seasoned it with salt and pepper. Once cooked, set it aside. (You can cut chicken and beef either before or after cooking).
Cook the vegetables (and scramble the eggs)
- Cut the vegetables to their size; carrots in strips or ribbons, green beans in half, and bell peppers in strips.
- Heat up another tablespoon of olive oil in the same skillet you prepared the protein in. Once it is hot, add the minced garlic. Stir until softened. Now add the vegetables (you can boil/blanch the green beans and carrots before hand to soften them a bit. Not necessary though). When they start to turn brown, move them to one side of the skillet to make room for the eggs.
- Add the eggs to the skillet and scramble them with a whisk. Mix them with the vegetables and add the cooked protein, noodles and the sauce. Stir to combine it all. The Pad Thai is now ready to be divided over plate and garnished with crushed peanuts and/or green onions.
- The Pad Thai is now ready to be divided over plates and garnished with crushed peanuts, lime wedges and/or green onions.
Notes
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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