Saturday, September 26, 2009

Pad Thai


My Mom just told me that I haven´t posted enough ´raw food posts´lately. ..& that's true! The reason is mainly that I am creating new recipes for Raw Bistro, which are being kept in the vault ..for now : ) ..and to be honest, at home I am eating very simply. I have a few bottles of salad dressings I made in the fridge. I buy lots of lettuce and live primarily off green smoothies and salads. I have a batch of crackers made, some easy nut cheese in the fridge, lots of tomatoes, olives.. last week I made a nut meat and wrapped it up in big lettuce leaves with guacamole, salsa.. and of course I have left overs of the new foods we are creating.

One of which is what I think of as a grown up, more alluring version of one of my favorite previous recipes. Pad Thai! This recipe is very similar to traditional pad thais, creamy and delicious.

One of the most essential flavors in a Pad Thai is the tamarind, which has an incredible sweet, sour, incredibly complex flavor. Blocks of tamarind can be found in most Asian and Indian grocery stores. ..and its easy to use once you get used to it. just break off a piece, soak it in water and squish it in your hand, strain through a metal sieve/strainer and throw away the stones and stringy parts. The part that gets strained is the tamarind paste that you use.

Pad Thai

1 Green Zucchini – spiralized
1 Yellow Zucchini – spiralized
1 Carrot – angelhair spiralized
½ Red Pepper – julienned
6-8 leaves Nappa Cabbage – thinly sliced
¼ c Cilantro leaves – chopped
Optional – 1 package Kelp noodles – soaked in warm water to soften, rinsed and drained

Sauce:
1 c Cashews
2 T Almond butter
1 Tomato
¼ c Tamarind sauce
3 Medjool Dates
2 T Nama shoyu
2 T Olive oil
1 T Sesame oil
1 Lime – juiced
1 Garlic clove
1 t Salt
½ t Black pepper
½ t Sambal Oelek
¼ t Coriander seed

Topping and Garnish:
¼ c Cashews – coarsely chopped
½ t Sesame oil and Salt
2 Green Onions – sliced diagonally
2 T Red Pepper – diced small
Sesame Seeds
Cilantro leaves

Place vegetables, and softened noodles if using, in a bowl.
Prepare topping, mix chopped cashews with sesame oil and salt together in a small bowl and set aside until ready to serve.
Make Pad Thai sauce by blending all sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy. Mix sauce with vegetables and noodles. To serve garnish with cashews, green onions, red pepper and sesame seeds and cilantro leaves on top.


Disfrutalo! Bien Aproveche y Salud!!
(To your health and Enjoy your Meal!)

2 comments:

vivranthing said...

Hello!

Where did you get your kelp noodles in Toronto? That pad thai looks mouthwatering.. mmm

Robin 'Keiko' Gregory said...

Hi vibrant thing!!
Thanks, yes, I love it!
I dont use kelp noodles any longer.. my research partner did lot sof research and doesn't think they are raw at all. I am not sure.. but they seem very heavily processed, and I would be surprised if they actually are raw. They are made mainly from sodium alginate -a white powder, a sodium salt extracted from a brown seaweed.
I just dont see how all the processes can be done at a low temp.

Anyway, that being said - they can be ordered striaght from the company Sea Tangle - http://www.kelpnoodles.com
and Upaya Naturals here in Toronto carries them ..an internet company but they have a pick up place here in the city.
www.upayanaturals.com

I made Pad Thai last week without them.. all veg noodles, and it was just as amazing!!
All the Best!