Pad Thai with Edamame!

Haha. My last few posts have been pretty centered on Asian ingredients and flavors and this one is no different! However, I do feel the winds of change a-blowin' and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to wander off into some Indian flavors for awhile. Well, I mean I'm at least gonna make some chickpeas and butternut squash (cooked in coconut milk) because I've been hoarding those two ingredients for awhile. I live with three other people and our pantry has started getting crazy! Must... clear... space!!

In a change of pace from my usual Korean and Chinese-styled lunches, I made something Thai-ish. It's something I've made for a long time, and each time I made it I tweaked it a little bit more. I believe it's finally done being tweaked with and is now ready for your own enjoyment! It's really not that authentic, but I did my best with what I had available, lol. I also used edamame (which is obviously not Thai) instead of tofu because I felt I was kind of in a tofu rut and I really liked it a lot. And I'm not gonna lie, boiling some edamame for a couple minutes is really super easy. Add the edamame to some packaged broccoli slaw, a touch of fresh ingredients, and some rice noodles, and you've got your self a very quick meal. It will definitely be on your table in 30 minutes.

It's all about the garnish, baby.

I actually made up the sauce part the night before to save even more time. It worked just fine! You could also chop up all the garnishes beforehand too, if you know you're going to be in a pinch. Also, I don't have a picture of it all garnished and fancy. I forgot. All well. I'll be making this again!

Pad Thai with Edamame:
1 c. frozen shelled edamame, cooked according to package directions
1 pkg. broccoli slaw
1/2 c. minced shallots (about 2-3 shallots, can use onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tb. coconut oil

Sauce:
1/4 c. fresh lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
1 tsp. lime zest
3 Tb. Bragg's liquid aminos (or soy sauce or tamari or GF soy sauce/tamari)
1 Tb. brown sugar
1 tsp. tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
1/2 tsp. tamarind paste
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Rice noodles, cooked according to package directions, to serve
Chopped peanuts, to serve
Lime wedges, to serve
Chopped cilantro, to serve
Sesame seeds, to serve
Chopped green onions, to serve
Sriracha, to serve

1. Mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside.

2. In a large skillet or wok on medium-high, add the coconut oil and let it melt. Add the minced shallots and garlic and cook until softened and golden, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the broccoli slaw, cooked edamame, and sauce, and cook another 5-7 minutes, or until the slaw is crisp-tender and the sauce has thickened/cooked into the veggies. You can add more tapioca starch if necessary.

4. Serve the Pad Thai over the rice noodles, and garnish with the peanuts, cilantro, sesame seeds, green onions, lime wedges, and sriracha.

This makes your kitchen smell really good! And really, even if you don't normally add oil to your stir-fries, you should really add some coconut oil to this one. It gives it a little something-something. Same with the lime zest. I got a microplaner (zester) awhile back and I love it.

 

Photo from Amazon.com

I normally don't really promote kitchen gadgets or trinkets, but a lot of my recipes call for zest. The zest of a citrus fruit contains all the flavor and essence of that fruit, even more so than the juice does, due to the aromatic oils and other compounds located there. If you made Orange Tofu with orange juice once and you were extremely disappointed about the lack of oranginess, it's because it needed a boost from the zest. I use mine all the time (because we all know them box graters don't actually work with fruit!), and it's actually pretty easy to clean. It's literally one of my favorite kitchen devices. Best $12 bucks I ever spent!

Ok, shameless plug over with! Lol, and just so you know, I don't get any money from that. I just borrowed the picture and used the link so you could see what I was talking about. My blog will always be ad-free, and the other products/items/ingredients I mention are ones that I personally use on a regular basis!

Oh, and my next post will involve my Almond Joy cake. Yumz.