Keto-friendly Pad Thai

When I started the ketogenic diet I mourned three losses: Pad Thai, sushi, and Philly cheese steak sandwiches.

That little star next to the words Pad Thai, indicating hot and spicy, used to scare the crap out of me, until one day in college, I stole a bite of my room-mate's order. And I realized that spicy was relative for someone who grew up in border-town Texas. After that, every Thai restaurant I went to, I ordered the same thing. Tom Kha Gai soup, and Pad Thai.

Tom Kha Gai soup was still an option, since it's naturally ketogenic. But noodles were high-carb, and the sauce could have a lot of sugar in it. Dammit.

And then I found the keto chicken pad thai recipe on ruled.me

And I made it, but it wasn't quite the flavor profile I was hoping for. A little experimenting, and now, I present the Keto Gourmet version!

Pad Thai Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 Tablespoons Sambal Olek
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger. (You can use fresh if you want, but I used the bottled version)
- 2.5 Tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Stevia in the Raw
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon ground lemongrass
- 2 Tablespoons natural peanut butter
- Zest from a single lime
- juice from two small limes, or 1 big one.
- 1 T soy sauce
-  Chopped peanuts, to taste.
- Ground pepper, to taste.

Noodles and Toppings

- 3 Medium green onions, with the greens chopped on the bias
- 6 leaves Napa cabbage, julienned
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup bean sprouts
- 2 Chicken breasts, diced into 1/2" cubes, OR 3 chicken thighs OR 1 lb shrimp
- 2 packets Shirataki noodles
- 4 T Coconut oil

**I am allergic to cumin, coriander, and cilantro. You'll never see those things in my recipes, but if you like them, by all means add them if you want. Some have suggested adding 1/4 cup of cilantro, but that's up to you. :)

To Prepare

1.) Mix together all the ingredients in the sauce recipe. Taste it. If you can't detect a distinct lime taste, add a little more lime zest. If it doesn't seem slightly salty, add a bit more soy sauce.

2.) Heat 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil in a wok, over medium-high heat, while you dice your chicken breasts.  Sprinkle chicken pieces with pepper, but no salt. There will be enough salt from the sauce. If you're using shrimp, make sure they're deveined and shelled.

3.) When the coconut oil is hot, slide your chicken pieces into the wok gently from the side (so you don't get splattered!), and cook until golden brown spots appear, stirring occasionally to make sure the chicken cooks evenly on all sides.

4.) While the chicken is cooking, open the shirataki noodles, and dump them into a strainer. The noodles may be clumped together, so I always rinse them in the sink with cold water, stirring my fingers through them to separate all the strands. After they're rinsed, I will wrap them in a paper towel, and squeeze out any excess moisture.

-- I know others mention rinsing and drying the noodles five or six times, but I still haven't figured out the reason for it. It works just fine to rinse them once as long as you separate the strands. ---

5) After the chicken is cooked, scoop it out of the wok, and add one more tablespoon of coconut oil to the pan. Once it's liquified, dump in your noodles, and they will deglaze all that delicious chicken fond off the bottom of your wok. You don't want a lot of oil in the wok, because you want the noodles to firm up via dehydration.  Stir your noodles with a folding motion, allowing them to cook for five to eight minutes.

6) When your noodles seem firm, add in the julienned Napa cabbage, and the green onions. Cook for a few minutes, or until the cabbage starts to wilt, stirring frequently with the same folding motion.

7) Add the sauce and chicken back into the wok, and fold both in until everything is evenly mixed. NOW, add the bean sprouts. They will cook extremely quickly, but their crunchy texture is lovely. If you think your sauce is a little too runny, cook it longer until it reaches the consistency you like, but I found a few minutes sufficient to make sure everything was coated.

8) Fling chopped peanuts on top if you want. Serve. Enjoy!

NOTES:

Regarding the heat level, my six and three year old both enjoyed this dish, and I would put it somewhere between horseradish and wasabi. If you like it hotter, add more Sambal Olek! If you find it too hot, cut the Sambal Olek and possibly some of the ginger.

Regarding chicken breasts versus thighs, I know thighs have higher fat (AMIRITE LADIES?) and are MORE KETO THAN THOU, BREASTS OF CHICKEN, but my kids won't eat them. They say they taste different, and are slimy. Ergo, we are all up with the chick tits here.

Shrimp can be substituted for the chicken breasts, but may cook faster. Cook them until just pink, then remove them to another bowl. They'll continue cooking in residual heat, and finish off when you're tossing them in the sauce.

CONFUCIUS KETO GOURMET SAY:

Find your happy place!  It's somewhere without laundry.

Welcome!

Introductions!

I'm a 37 year old author, with two kids. I'm married to a paramedic. I'm currently on two antidepressants, blood pressure medication (my family history is what cardiologists refer to as 'seriously concerning'), and am approximately forty pounds overweight.  I love to cook. I HATE prepackaged meals because they taste so bland to me.

I've tried several diets and exercise programs. None lasted more than a few months, either because my kids (age 6 and 3.8) wouldn't touch the meals, and I worried about them getting rickets from a substitute diet of Cheetos and ginger ale, or because the food was both expensive AND terrible. A month where I tried those WW frozen meals for lunch was the single most miserable month of my life.

I did a lot of weight lifting, and while I got much stronger, my physical measurements didn't change, improve, or otherwise do a damn thing. I found this massively annoying.

I watch the Cooking Network religiously, and I love to be inspired by the beautiful plates and delicious offerings. I own multiple Cook's Illustrated cookbooks and issues.

Why try what came across as another fad diet, with its stylishly abbreviated "Keto" name?  Because the science behind it was so astonishing and bizarre that I just had to try it. A diet to improve mental function AND weight loss? A diet aiming at getting 80% of your calories from fat to lower your cholesterol and improve your blood pressure?! Pfft, right. But then I did my research (and I recommend you do the same.)

I won't go into the science myself, because if you're here, chances are you're already interested in doing a ketogenic diet, and either want recipe ideas, meal plan ideas, or just to see if it works.

These recipes are for people who have a spice rack and love to use it, and I promise the times will be ACCURATE. None of this "saute onions for a few minutes until they caramelize" crap. We all know that's a 15 to 20 minute process. WE ARE ON TO YOUR SHIT, INTERNET! When you have children gnawing at your ankles for food, finding out your recipe is going to take a half hour longer than promised is the stuff of fuck-you feelings.

We are not down with the fuck you feelings here. We are down with NOM NOM feelings here. And possibly cat and dog pictures.