This low carb version of pad thai is a delicious way to enjoy your favorite Thai dish without all the guilt.
Whenever we have Thai food, we can’t resist ordering pad thai. A while back, I decided I was going to make homemade pad thai and bought fish sauce and everything. And then I never made it. But now I’ve made a healthier version with zucchini noodles! The zucchini noodles work great. They soak up and absorb the sauce, while adding a bright spring green to the dish as well. Usually, I see pad thai garnished with shaved carrots and raw sprouts, but I had some leftover bell peppers and decided to use them instead. They add a great crunch and colorfulness to the dish. The pad thai sauce is also really simple to make. It’s not quite the same as ones used at my favorite Thai restaurants. After some research, I think it’s because I didn’t use tamarind paste. But since I don’t cook with tamarind paste often, I didn’t want to seek it out just for this dish and I found plenty of pad thai sauce recipes that didn’t use it. This was still a fun and tasty dish. I tried to make a big batch so there’d be leftovers, but then I found myself snacking on the leftovers throughout the day so once again, I have nothing left as I’m writing up this post.
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Pad Thai Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchinis spiralized
- 1 extra-large egg whisked
- 3/4 cup bean sprouts divided
- 1 medium bell pepper thinly sliced (I used 4 different colored bell peppers, but only 1/4 of each one)
- 2 tbsp roasted peanuts divided
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
for the pad thai sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp distilled vinegar
- 1 heaping tsp sriracha sauce
- 1/2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add all sauce ingredients and mix together. Taste and adjust as needed. Different fish sauce brands have different amounts of sodium, so you may need to adjust the other ingredients slightly. Set sauce aside.
- Add oil to a large pan and bring the pan to medium-high heat. Add in zucchini and stir and cook until zucchini is just cooked. It should still maintain it's crunchy texture. Place zucchini through a colander, draining out any liquid. Set zucchini aside, still in the colander. More water should drain out as the zucchini cools.
- Add garlic, 1/2 cup bean sprouts, bell peppers (reserve a handful of slices for garnish) and 1 tbsp peanuts to the pan. Stir fry until just cooked. Move your cooked vegetables to the side of the pan. Add in the whisked egg into the empty part of the pan. As the egg cooks, make swirling motions into the egg with a whisk or chopsticks, so that the egg scrambles as it cooks. After egg is cooked, mix it with the vegetables. Add back in zucchini. Pour in sauce. Stir fry everything together for a few minutes until everything is evenly mixed and heat. Garnish with remaining raw sprouts, bell peppers and roasted peanuts.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
YAAAS one of my favorite variations of zoodles!! I’ll need to try it with your homemade sauce next time 😉
hope you enjoy!
I love pad thai! This version sounds so fresh and perfect for spring
it really does taste like spring!