How good are Pad Thai’s? It’s probably the most common and well-known Thai dish out there that is easily recognizable to anyone who’s familiar with Asian cuisine. That said: I’ve got a mum whom I spent two weeks in Thailand with who never got around to understanding that this was the most common dish. It made for some good belly-laughs!
But, Pad Thai is commonly known as a noodle-dish. How bout a spin on this so that we make it into a pad-thai risotto? So when you feel like that creamy (normally calorie and fat-filled!) risotto, swap it with this one for a spin on the flavors without losing the creaminess of the dish, but without the massive guilt.
Reserve this for a treat night, it’s still a rather carb(y) dish, so don’t eat 3 bowls of this if you’re trying to watch your weight :)
This dish is not suitable for vegetarians, unless you leave out the fish-sauce and is also gluten & refined sugar-free.
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 1/2 cup Barley, rinsed
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 can full-fat coconut cream
- 1/2 red capsicum, chopped
- 1 small zucchini, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, chopped
- Chopped parsley, fried shallots and lemon to serve
Pad Thai sauce:
- 1/2 cup tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp brown rice malt syrup
- 1/4 cup vegetable stock
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli
- 1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
Directions:
- Whisk Tamarind Concentrate and rice malt syrup in a medium sauce pot over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add Fish Sauce, tamari, stock and dried chilli. Bring heat to high, boil for 30 seconds then remove. Taste the sauce. Add lemon or lime juice.
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Heat coconut oil in a large pot to a medium heat – add the onion, chilli and garlic. Cook, stirring for 3 minutes until the onion is soft, then add the barley and Pad Thai paste and cook, stirring to coat the grains, for a further 1 minute.
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Add the stock along with the chopped vegetables. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and cook until all liquid is almost absorbed and the rice is tender, but still with a little bite to it. Add the coconut cream and cook for a further 10 minutes.
-
Top risotto with parsley, fried Asian shallots and lemon wedges and serve.
