Pad Thai with Brown Rice Noodles

Easy, Gluten-Free, One Pan Wonder, Thai Comfort Food

Makes 4 large servings

While in Thailand, my husband had the opportunity to attend a Thai Cooking class. We LOVE Thai food, especially curries and pad thai, so he jumped at the chance to learn how to make it ourselves. In the class they learned how to make Pad Thai, Green Curry, Pad Kra Pow (sliced chili and Thai Basil) and Som Tam (papaya salad) from scratch. The teacher provided the recipes and instructions for everything, and when he finally returned from deployment we set out to make the recipes ourselves! We ended up not being able to find some of the ingredients for the Pad Thai sauce and curry paste (like tamarind, kaffir limes, etc.), so we had to just buy the packaged sauces. The recipe turned out really well, and this is definitely a satisfying comfort food. The brown rice provides a better source of protein, and while the sauce does have sugar making it not the healthiest thing in the world, this version is healthier and cheaper then what you would buy at a restaurant. 
This recipe is straight from Thailand, and we didn't have to spend $9+ per serving! :) 

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 tbs. coconut oil
• 1 diced red onion, or 1/2 cup diced shallots
• 2 tbs. Pickled Mixed Vegetables (found at asian market)
• Chicken, beef or seafood approx. 1/2 lb
• 4 eggs
• Pad Thai Sauce (we used Thai Kitchen brand) 8 oz
• Brown Rice Vermicelli Noodles, 200 g package (soak for 5 min. or according to package instructions)
• 1 cup diced garlic chives (they look like flat chives, found at farmer's markets, can also use scallions)
• 1 or 2 grated carrots
• 1 grated zucchini
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• (any more veggies you would like ... broccoli, bamboo shoots, etc.)
• 2 tsp. paprika (for color)

Steps: 

- Heat up the coconut oil on medium heat, and when the oil is hot, add the diced onions and pickled mixed vegetables. Cook for about 1 minute or until they begin to brown. 

- Add the meat and cook it well. (If using shrimp, cook it quickly and set aside before adding the eggs.) You can also add the carrots and zucchini (or any other preferred veggies) at this time. 

- When the meat is ready, add the eggs in the middle of the pan. Scramble slightly and do the "pancake" movement to spread the egg around your pan. 

- After 1 minute or until 80% of the eggs are cooked, add the noodles and Pad Thai Sauce. Using tongs incorporate everything together, and add the paprika for color. 

- The Pad Thai should barely start to become dry in the pan, then add the garlic chives and bean sprouts and cook for another 20-30 sec. Turn off the heat and serve on a plate with lime wedges, extra bean sprouts and some crushed peanuts. 
Enjoy!

Traditional Pad Thai Sauce:  4 servings  (if you can find the ingredients...)

• 4 tbs. Brown Sugar
• 4 tbs. White Sugar
• 2 tbs. Tamarind (pre-packaged sauce from the Tamarind tree nut)
• 6 tbs. Fish Sauce
• 4 tbs. White Vinegar