Gluten-Free Chicken Pad Thai

Gluten-free | Sugar-free | Dairy-free

Serves: 4 

Pad Thai is arguably the most popular Thai dish outside of Thailand, which is a collection of fresh ingredients cooked quickly in a delicious Pad Thai sauce, making it a favourite dish among many. Traditionally, Pad Thai is a stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served at street food stalls and dine-in restaurants. This dish is typically made with rice noodles, protein, peanuts, a scrambled egg and bean sprouts, among other vegetables.

As always, I've been in the test kitchen playing around with this delicious Thai classic to come up with a version free from gluten, sugar & dairy, and the results don't disappoint! My recipe is super tasty, easy to make, and much healthier than the traditional kind. 

In the recipe, I have increased the volume of vegetables and replaced the traditional rice noodles with noodles made from konjac, making it extra healthy. You can choose to use chicken, as I have done, but alternatively, you can use prawns or tofu.   

Hints, Tips & Tricks

In place of rice noodles, I use Konjac noodles made from water and the fibre of the konjac plant. Konjac noodles are very low in calories and won't spike insulin or raise blood glucose. They're an excellent alternative to rice noodles as they produce a similar texture. Although these noodles are healthier for you, eating them occasionally is still recommended. You can purchase konjac noodles in the supermarket's health food aisle, online or at the health food store. 

I use my Sweet As Fibre Syrup as a refined sugar substitute in this recipe due to its natural sweetness. My fibre syrup is a low-calorie prebiotic fibre made from 100% pure chicory. Feel free to use your own fibre syrup, but read the labels. Many companies lace their syrups with malt extract and stevia to make them sweeter. If your fibre syrup isn't golden, it probably isn't 100% pure. Click here if you would like to purchase my Sweet As Fibre Syrup. 

This recipe requires Bridget's Sticky Sauce, a healthy cooking sauce I use in many of my recipes. It's simple, healthy and packs a lot of flavour without adding unnecessary calories. If you need the recipe, you can get it here.

RECIPE

Ingredients

Pad Thai Sauce

• 1 tbsp tamarind soaked in 60 ml (2 oz) of boiling water for 10 minutes
• 30 g (1 oz) Sweet as Fibre Syrup
• 2 tbsp fish sauce

The rest of the recipe

• 2 tbsp Bridget's Sticky Sauce
• 300 g (10.5 oz) raw chicken thigh, thinly sliced or raw prawn tails
• 300 g (10.5 oz) cabbage, thinly sliced
• 400 g (14 oz) konjac noodles (see above for details)
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1 handful of snow peas, asparagus or garlic stems, sliced into bite-sized pieces 
• 1 large handful of bean sprouts
• 1 tbsp dried shrimps
• 2 tbsp chopped chives
• Lime wedges to serve 

Method

For the Pad Thai sauce 

1. Squeeze the soaked tamarind pulp with your fingers, extracting the thick liquid into the soaking water. Discard the pulp and mix the fibre syrup and fish sauce into the water. Taste for flavour; the sauce should be a nice balance between sweet, sour and fishy. Add more fibre syrup or fish sauce to balance the flavours if needed.  

For the rest of the recipe

1. Heat a large wok on medium to high heat with the sticky sauce and fry the chicken or prawn tails until just cooked. Add the cabbage and stir fry for a minute. Remove the ingredients from the wok and set them aside. 
2. Set the wok back on to medium to high heat and add the noodles along with the pad Thai sauce and stir fry for 30 seconds. Set the noodles to one side of the wok and add the eggs. Using chopsticks or a wooden spoon, move the eggs around the wok to make a broken-up scramble.
3. Add the snow peas, bean sprouts and dried shrimp and stir fry for another 30 seconds and then add the chicken and cabbage and stir fry for another 30 seconds. 
4. Remove from the heat, sprinkle over the chives and serve with a lime wedge.