Semi-raw, vegan pad thai with kelp noodles

Who doesn’t love pad thai?  It’s got a great balance of flavors.  The crunch of crisp vegetables, and noodles in a sweet, savory sauce, the brightness of Thai basil, cilantro with a squeeze of lime.

It’s uh-mazing.  The challenge? It’s a walking nightmare for those with life threatening food allergies.  Welcome, semi-raw, vegan pad thai with KELP NOODLES!

What the frick are kelp noodles?

They are translucent, carb free noodles made out of kelp.  The best part, they are top 8 allergy safe noodles with a dedicated facility free of gluten, dairy, eggs, tree nuts, and peanuts. Yay!

These noodles are great because they are not your typical kelp noodles that are high in iodine. They’re safe to eat every day.  Kelp noodles are great in salads, soups, and sautéed.  Bonus: if you’re needing to cut weight, they’re LOW IN CARBS!!!!!

Getting started.

Play around with what you have.  Traditional pad thai has bean sprouts, nuts, tamarind sauce, fish sauce, carrots, cabbage and eggs.  I used tempeh, for higher protein macros and because it’s fermented for extra nutritional benefits.

• Don’t have dates? Use maple syrup.
• Carbs not an issue?  Use rice noodles.
• Don’t care if it’s vegan use fish sauce.

Bottom line, this isn’t baking, it’s cooking.  A lot of this stuff is easy to cut out, substitute and play with your already stocked refrigerator. Make it the way you want. It’s a basic structure for pad thai.

The Nitty Gritty

Do NOT substitute for the tamarind. Modify as it suits best for what you have on hand, but make the effort to get tamarind paste because it’s what makes this dish authentic.

The kelp noodles has a scant 6-7 calories per serving, allowing you to enjoy this dish guilt-free. This dish is high in iron- for iron deficient folks like myself, no refined sugars and I have to say, it’s pretty freaking amazing.

Semi-Raw Vegan Pad Thai

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 8 minutes
• Total Time: 28 minutes
• Yield: 4 People 1x

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Ingredients

• 1 lb sea kelp noodles
• 1 cup red cabbage (shredded)
• 1 cup carrots (shredded)
• 2 cup baby spinach
• 1 cup kale (blanched)
• 1/4 cup Thai basil (chopped)
• 3 Thai Bird chili peppers (chopped (optional))

Protein

• 1 package tempeh cut into 1/4 strips ((8oz package))
• 2 tsp garlic (minced)
• 2 tbsp shallots (minced)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)
• 1 tbsp Braggs liquid aminos
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (dried)

Sauce

• 1/4 cup tamarind paste (seedless)
• 4 pitted Medjool dates
• 1/4 cup Braggs liquid aminos
• 2 tbsp Braggs apple cider vinegar ((or lime))
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 2 tbsp sesame oil (toasted)**
• 1 1/2 tsp red curry paste

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Instructions

Prep Kelp Noodles

1. Prep the kelp noodles by rinsing them thoroughly and cutting the package in half. Use a salad spinner to dry the noodles or let them dry in a colander while prepping the remaining ingredients.

Prep Sauce

1. Combine tamarind, dates, apple cider vinegar, tahini, sesame oil, and place in a blender and 1/2 cup of water to blender.
2. Blend ingredients and continue to scrape the side of the blender down as necessary. The mixture should not be runny, it should be about the consistency of pancake batter. Set aside.

Prep Tempeh

1. Combine tempeh with aminos and red pepper flakes.
2. On medium to low heat, with 1 tbsp. of olive oil add shallots and garlic to the pan. Stir fry for 30 seconds and add tempeh with red pepper flakes. Allowing tempeh to cook for 4 minutes on each side.
3. Remove tempeh, set aside.  Turn off heat.

Final Step

1. Combine kelp noodles, cabbage, carrots, kale, cilantro, spinach with sauce. Mix the ingredients altogether.
2. Top with tempeh and garnish with Thai basil.

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Notes

Raw:  If you don’t heat the shallots and garlic, I highly recommend to blend it up in the sauce. 

**Omit toasted Sesame Oil if following whole food plant based

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