Surprisingly Scrumptious Pad Thai

What's more...it's almost entirely raw!  Can you believe it?!  Here's another one of those delectable concoctions you taste once you're finished making it and say, "Wow, I can't believe it's that good!"

Pad Thai is a traditional dish native to Thailand.  Some of us are familiar with pad Thai as a signature dish representing Thai culture and relish the opportunity to indulge in it whenever we venture into a Thai restaurant for some savory cuisine.  Ingredients that characterize normal pad Thai include rice noodles, eggs, tofu or chicken, fish sauce, tamarind pulp, shallots, palm sugar, dried shrimp, red chili pepper, mung bean sprouts, lime juice, and peanuts (see Pad Thai for more information).  We've adopted this imitation recipe as our own and hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Pad Thai

Base

1.5 c purple cabbage, shredded or chopped finely

1.5 c green cabbage, shredded or chopped finely

1/2 lb peeled, rinsed baby carrots, shredded or chopped finely

1/4 - 1/2 large bunch cilantro, diced finely

1/2 large zucchini, shredded or chopped finely

4 c kelp noodles (rinsed and drained) OR 1 3-pack (5.29 oz.) dried mung bean noodles (boiled until soft)

(NOTE: you may want to adjust the noodle-to-veggie ratio according to your preferences)

1/2 c raw cashews, chopped finely

2-3 fresh limes, sectioned into quarters or sixths

Mix all the chopped raw vegetables together.  Rinse and drain the raw kelp noodles or boil and drain the mung bean noodles (according to package directions).  Hold the cashews and lime wedges off to the side until the dish is complete.

Almond Sauce

1 c almond butter, roasted or raw

2 inches fresh ginger root, skin removed and diced finely

1/2 c water

1 lemon, squeezed

4 T agave syrup

3 T Tamari sauce

2 T sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, diced finely

1/2 - 1 jalapeno pepper, diced finely

black pepper and Hungarian paprika to taste

Mix all prepared ingredients of the sauce together.   

*We recommend use of organic ingredients where possible.

Since this recipe can feed 4-8 people you will either be guaranteed to have leftovers or happily sate the taste buds of many.  If you are planning to have leftovers you may want to mix all the veggies together and store them separately from the noodles and sauce.  The kelp- and mung bean noodles are both easy to prepare in a very short amount of time so you may want to prepare just  as much as you think you need for one dinner and save the rest for later.  The almond sauce stores well in the refrigerator for at least a week so you may want to blend it into a mixture of the veggies and noodles one serving at a time.  Whatever method of final preparation you choose, this recipe is straight forward: once you've mixed all your veggies together and prepared your noodles and sauce, then mix all three ingredients together and top with a bit of the finely diced cashews.  Your final step is to grab a lime wedge or two and squeeze enough juice on top to appease your taste buds.  Enjoy!  

**You can easily incorporate fried tofu or chicken into this dish if you'd like.