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| Shrimp Pad Thai |
We love Pad Thai at restaurants, but I always wonder just how much protein is in it. Finally I found a recipe for Pad Thai that has a nice 25 grams of protein per serving yet only 345 calories. I’m in love! Now I can enjoy this guilty pleasure without any guilt at all! Plus there’s all that chewing satisfaction from the whole-wheat pasta. Yum.
This is especially fast if you keep cooked shrimp and pre-cooked chicken in the freezer. You can throw this together pretty quickly and you might have these ingredients on hand already. Kids like this too. I can’t count how many win-win-wins this makes.
By the way, the original recipe at Prevention did not include bean sprouts or shredded carrots. I like to include them for more of a restaurant experience and they don’t add much in the way of calories. Bean sprouts are a decent source of protein as well as good vitamins, so I consider them a real improvement to the original recipe.
Quick Pad Thai with Shrimp or Chicken (Adapted from a recipe at Prevention.)
4 Servings
6 ounces uncooked whole-wheat cappellini or angel-hair pasta (about 1/3 of a 16 oz. box)
1 cup cooked chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces or pre-cooked shrimp
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
3 eggs
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon peanut butter, creamy
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon chili sauce
2 teaspoons red chili flakes or to taste–individuals can add these to their plate to get the level of heat they like. Or pass the sriracha sauce at the table for added heat.
Garnishes:
Lime wedges to squeeze on top of each serving (scrub with dilute vinegar the outside of the lime before cutting)
Crushed peanuts
Bean sprouts
Shredded carrots
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Toss with the olive oil.
- In a small bowl, make the peanut butter mixture: stir soy sauce, peanut butter, sugar, chili sauce, chili flakes and water until smooth.
- Crack eggs into pan and scramble until firm. Add shrimp or chicken and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add cooked pasta and peanut butter mixture to pan, tossing with chicken and eggs. Add chopped cilantro.
- Provide garnishes that people can add to their own taste: extra red pepper flakes, crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, and lime wedges.
Maggie says
Russell that could be really good with the shrimp, but I’d add a little at a time to get the right level. Taste as you go & keep track of how much you added so you can make it more easily next time. Be adventurous!
Thanks for stopping by and let us know how it turns out!
Russell Matthews says
What are your thoughts on adding fish oil to the sauce for a truly authentic taste?
Maggie says
Some of the protein comes from the whole wheat noodles. Maybe use less pasta and more shrimp or chicken? Good luck with that Jose!
Jose says
This looks and sounds yummy! I love Pad Thai and I have to try this out. I’m wondering if I can get away with leaving out the noodles and make it a somewhat low carb entree?