I am enjoying lots of raw food this summer. The raw dinners I have been making satisfy me and I still feel light and energized. Usually I eat cooked food for dinner but I am changing it up these days. This time of year I love going out for a walk to the beach after dinner as the sun goes down and it begins to get dark. The other night I went out to lie on the beach at night to watch the meteor shower. Did you see it WOW, so special. I loved lying on the beach at night, I am going to have to do that again before the summer ends.
This week I wanted something spicy so I made this Raw Pad Thai dish. I call it Living Pad Thai because of the sprouts. Sprouts are full of life force energy. Experts estimate that there can be up to 100 times more enzymes in sprouts than other raw vegetables. Sprouts are highly alkaline to keep your pH in balance. If you can’t find mung sprouts in the supermarket or health food store go to you local Chinese restaurant or take out and ask to buy from them. This is where I get them.
This dish is not exactly like Pad Thai in Thailand which is a hot dish made with rice noodles but has a similar taste and texture. It is quite delicious.
The key ingredient for the sauce is tamarind. Tamarind is indigenous to tropical Africa, but it is often produced in Southeast Asia or Mexico. You may have tasted it in Indian or Thai recipes. The best way I can think to describe it is very tart with some sweet hints as well. It is a common ingredient in many global cuisines. Best of all, it’s both reasonably priced and relatively easy to find in Asian or Indian food markets. If you can’t find it, the dish will be ok with a little extra tamari but it is the tamarind that makes it fabulous.
I used kelp noodles the first time I made the dish and Miracle Noodles (shirataki pasta) the second time both of these were great. The kelp noodles were a bit crunchier. Most health food stores carry both but if you want to order them iHerb is a fabulous source.
2 servings
Vegetable Ingredients
½ package kelp noodles or shirataki fettuccini
3 scallions sliced
1 cup napa cabbage, thinly sliced, use the soft upper part
1 large carrot julienned
3 cups mung bean sprouts, rinsed and dried on a kitchen towel
2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, large stems removed
Sauce Ingredients
2 Tb ginger, about 1 inch peeled and chopped
2 pitted and soaked dates
2 garlic cloves
¼ cup tamarind juice or 2 Tb tamarind paste
¼ cup water
½ cup tahini
1-2 thai chilies seeded and chopped or ¼ cup thai curry paste or sriracha
2 Tb lime juice
2 Tb wheat free tamari
1 Tb toasted sesame oil
- Blend all sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth. If you like it hot use 2 chili peppers. If not use only 1. You want it to be quite spicy. The flavor will be less hot when you put it on the noodles.
- Remove kelp noodles from package soak for 10 minutes in fresh water. Rinse very well under cold running water. Set aside and let drain. Dry on a kitchen towel.
- Prepare all the vegetables. Slice the cabbage as thinly as possible. Using a julienne peeler, julienne the carrots. Slice the scallions and chop the cilantro. Place all vegetables into a large bowl. Add the mung bean sprouts.
- Cut the kelp noodles into 3” pieces.
- Add enough sauce to coat the vegetables about 3/4 of the batch.
- Toss vegetables in the sauce.
- Serve with a little extra sauce drizzled on top
