Thai food is something that I know lots of us miss when going Paleo, but on The 21-Day Sugar Detox, the desire for interesting flavor combinations and exotic tastes can often kick in on over drive. When you're not eating sweets and treats, it's important to feel that you're truly enjoying your meals. Enter my Shrimp Pad Thai recipe – it uses zucchini noodles that you can make easily with either a julienne peeler or a spiralizer tool.
Ingredients
- 4 large zucchini or yellow squash
- 1 cup snow peas, sliced lengthwise into thin strips
- 4 dozen extra-large shrimp (peeled & deveined for easier eating, pictured unpeeled)
for the sauce:
- 1/2 cup almond butter or sesame tahini (raw or roasted)
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
- 4 drops fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon minced or grated garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
for garnish:
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions (scallions)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced cucumber
Instructions
Fill a large pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil, covered, over high heat. Place a steamer basket in the pot.
While the water comes to a boil, shred the zucchini or yellow squash into noodles using a handheld julienne peeler, a spiralizer tool, or even a regular vegetable peeler (if using a regular peeler, the noodles will be wide and flat versus spaghetti shaped). You should get 4 cups of noodles. When the water is boiling, steam the noodles in the basket for 3 minutes, then remove them and set them in a colander to drain off the excess liquid as they cool slightly. Place the snow peas on top of the noodles in the colander.
Place the shrimp in the steamer basket over the still-boiling water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until pink all the way through. The cooking time will vary with the size of the shrimp.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients until well combined.
Place the noodles, snow peas, sauce, and shrimp in a large skillet over medium-high heat; toss gently to combine and heat through.
To serve, garnish with sesame seeds and top with the green onion and cucumber slices.