At the end of a long week, there is nothing that I want more than some take-out food and a large glass of wine. But the last time my husband and I got take out from our local Chinese food place, we felt pretty disgusting afterwards. Everything was fried and greasy (albeit…delicious). So this past Friday I set out to make a more healthy version of one of out take-out favorites: pad thai!
I started by making some zucchini noodles with a mandolin to supplement the rice noodles that are traditional in pad thai.
I also added lots of julienned carrots and bell peppers to boost up the veggie factor. I tossed all the veggies and thinly sliced chicken breast in a hot pan and sauteed them in a bit of vegetable and sesame oil and seasoned with garlic, red pepper flakes, and ginger. In the meantime, I cooked about half the normal amount of rice noodles in a pot of boiling water.
Once the chicken was cooked, I added in the rice noodles and poured the sauce over the top and tossed it all together.
I served up a healthy portion of the noodles into bowls, and topped them with some bean sprouts, peanuts, and a squeeze of lime. Our craving for take-out was totally satisfied and we didn’t feel like we had just ingested a cup of grease. And just like your favorite take-out, this pad thai is almost better eaten cold the next day. Oh you don’t do that?? Well, try it…it’s awesome!
Whats your favorite take out food?
[Sorry – Yum Prints wasn’t working…will try adding the recipe again later. For now, it’s included below]
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast, thinly sliced
- 1 zucchini, julienned
- 1 bell pepper, julienned
- 2 carrots, julienned
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp garlic, minced or grated
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 5 oz rice noodles
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1/4 cup bean sprouts
- 2 tbsp peanuts, chopped
Directions:
- Place a large skillet over medium high heat and coat with 1 tsp with vegetable oil. Toss in chicken and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add in vegetables, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Stir every couple minutes to cook evenly. Cook another 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook rice noodles in boiling water according to package directions.
- In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, lime juice, fish sauce, and honey. Pour over vegetable and chicken mixture. Add in noodles and toss to coat.
- Spoon pad thai into bowls, and top with bean sprouts and peanuts. Serve and enjoy.