Zucchini Pad Thai
I adore Pad Thai. But I don’t often order it anymore at Thai restaurants because of all the added sugar… and salt… and oil… and white rice noodles! Well, this recipe has none of those health-stealing ingredients. And it is oh-so-yummy.
As a lunch, I was really surprised at how this dish filled me up and lasted me throughout the day—considering that it has no beans and no starch from grains. This dish can be easily made to be RAW, too. Just shred the carrots instead of slicing them. And chop the broccoli pretty small so it’s easier to chew.
Ingredients
5-6 small-medium zucchinis
4 carrots, sliced (or shredded for raw version)
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2 cups broccoli florets (chop them small for raw version)
~ for the sauce
½ cup smooth peanut butter (use raw almond butter for raw version)
2 cups water
2 TBS chopped cilantro plus a bit more for garnish
2″ knob of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
2 TBS tamari or other low sodium soy sauce (adjust to taste)
6 dates, pitted
1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
Method
Steam the carrots, pepper and broccoli until just tender. If creating this as a raw dish, shred the carrots and chop the broccoli a bit smaller. Slice the pepper as you ordinarily would.
Using a mandolin or a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchinis lengthways until you reach the seeds. You won’t use the seeded parts—save them for a soup or a vegetable stock.
Place all of the sauce ingredients into a high powdered blender and blend until smooth.
Warm the sauce on the stove (skip the warming if doing raw).
When the veggies are tender and the sauce is warm, toss all of the ingredients together. You may wind up with some extra sauce. Save it to top some steamed greens or green beans… yum.
Add love! 💗
Garnish with some chopped cilantro.
Since the zucchini is not cooked, it will leak a lot of its water when the sauce hits it, so this is a dish to serve right away.
Serves 2. Enjoy!
