One of J’s favorite dishes is Pad Thai from almost any restaurant.  He says “you can judge an Asian restaurant by their Pad Thai.”  This got me thinking, how would he judge me based on my Pad Thai?  Being a good husband he knows to always give very supportive critiques(luckily not necessary for this dish).  He said it was as good as you can get at any restaurant.  I hit the Pad Thai jackpot, and I owe it all to Cooking On the Side.  Their Pad Thai recipe is easy and authentic.  Unfortunately I started cooking on auto-pilot this evening and didn’t remember to take pictures until about half-way through.  I apologize for only giving you a shot of prepared sauce and noodles.  Oh well, use your food imagination.

Speaking of imagination, I used my imagination tonight to make a butterscotch version of Salty “Caramels”.  They are so so good.  J had to put the container away so I’d stop eating them.  I sort of just threw dates and pine nuts into the food processor until I had the right consistency.  I stayed close to the same 2:3 ratio of pine nuts to dates and tossed in the rest of the butterscotch chips(about 1/2 cup).  Then I froze them for about 20 minutes, and enjoyed(a lot).  Tomorrow I have to get up early and get my blood drawn.  It’s all worth it for good news on the hypothyroid front.  I’ll keep you posted!

Shrimp Pad Thai (adapted from Cooking on the Side)
yields 4-6 servings

  • 4 tablespoons lime juice (about 2 limes)
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce (fear not, you can’t taste it)
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tsp pinches red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 1/2 lb. medium sized-shrimp (peeled, devained)
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 8 oz. brown rice Udon noodles
  • 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons roasted peanuts, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges

Whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and red pepper flakes.  Meanwhile cook the Udon noodles according to the package: bring water to boil, place noodles in pot, return to boil, turn heat to medium and cook for 5-6 minutes.  Strain the noodle and set aside.  Note: both of these can be made ahead of time and refrigerated if necessary.  Heat wok pan with canola oil over high heat.  Add the garlic, shallots, and shrimp.  Cook until shrimp are pink in color, about 2 minutes a side.  Remove prawns (it’s okay if you get shallots as well) and set aside.  Reduce heat to medium and add eggs to pan.  Scramble eggs with small whisk.  Once eggs are thoroughly cooked reduce heat to low.  Add the sauce and noodles.  Toss until well mixed.  Add shrimp and bean sprouts.  Toss until well mixed.  Garnish with peanuts, cilantro, scallions, and squeezed lime juice.  Enjoy!

I tried to remove as many of the shallots as possible when taking out the shrimp(didn’t want them mixing in with the scrambled eggs).  Also you may have noticed how little shrimp I used.  My stomach is still on the fence about shrimp ever since a bad stomach flu a few years ago.  You can do as little or as much shrimp as you like, or even substitute chicken.  Make sure to re-whisk the sauce before putting it into the wok.  I noticed most of my sugar separated to the bottom of the bowl.

I think these noodles are perfect texture and consistency for this dish.  There was no hint they were brown rice. Which brings me to the best part about this dish, it’s GLUTEN FREE. Make sure to read packaging labels as gluten can be hidden in many products.  Be careful with fish sauce as some brands have been found to contain gluten.  You could easily substitute with gluten-free soy sauce if desired.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!