When I lived in Oregon and Washington, I used to indulge in great Thai food as often as possible. Sadly, my options are more limited in Montana. But a few years ago, I found this fantastic public-access TV show called “Thai Food Tonight” and watched this charming lady, Dim Geefay, and her daughter Cathy cook up all the Thai classics. I was inspired, and thought, “I could totally do this myself.” The TV show has been off the air for several years, but thankfully, Dim has posted many of her recipes as video clips on her website. You can view them here. Try it! They’re a hoot to watch, and they make Thai cooking look manageable!

So for all you friends in rural locations where Thai food and ingredients are challenging to come by, here’s my advice: Each and every time you visit a larger city, take a moment and stop in at an Asian grocery. Stock up on the basic ingredients for Thai cooking: Good quality fish sauce, a jar of tamarind paste, kaffir lime leaves, coconut vinegar, palm sugar, dried shrimp, curry pastes, and anything else that looks interesting. Then whenever you get a hankering, you’ll be prepared, and can avoid the “wish I wouldas…” If you have more immediate access to an Asian grocery, pick up some fresh ingredients, too, like galangal and thai basil. This advice applies to Mexican food, too. Be sure to stop by a Hispanic grocery while you’re at it…

Here is my attempt to create a healthier, paleo-friendly version of one of my favorite dishes. Pad thai is a hearty classic that has all the great signature flavors of Thai cooking: lime, garlic, fish, tamarind…yum! But I figure my body would probably do better without a big glut of rice noodles, so as a healthy substitute, I replaced the noodles with julienned strips of yellow summer squash. Tastes better, looks better, and you’ll never miss the noodles. Having all your ingredients prepped and ready will really help. This meal comes together fairly quickly if you’re prepared:

Ingredients:

2 TBS tamarind paste
1/2 C. warm water
2 TBS coconut aminos (or soy sauce if you prefer)
2 TBS fish sauce
2 TBS palm sugar
1 TBS coconut vinegar
2 TBS coconut oil
1 C. chopped green onions
1/2 C. shredded carrot
1/2 C. shredded broccoli
1 jalapeño or serrano chile, diced finely
1 TBS grated ginger (a frozen chunk of ginger with a micrograter
works great, and saves you the trouble of peeling the ginger)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 eggs, whisked
1 cooked chicken breast, chopped into long, bite-sized chunks
3 C. yellow summer squash, sliced into “noodles” with a Julienne Peeler
1 C. mung bean sprouts
1/2 C. chopped, toasted cashews
Crushed red pepper flakes
1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix tamarind paste, water, coconut aminos, fish sauce, sugar and vinegar together, and set aside. This is your base flavor.

Over a high flame, heat the oil in a wok or large pan. Once the oil is shimmering,  toss half of the green onions, and all of the carrots, broccoli, and chiles into the wok, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds. Then add the garlic and ginger, and stir for another 30 seconds.

Add the eggs to the wok, and scramble until cooked, about 30 seconds. Try to keep everything loose and light as you stir.

Add the chicken and squash noodles and mix together. Then add in the sauce, and half of the bean sprouts and cashews. Continue to stir and toss for about a minute, until everything is heated through.

Transfer to a serving dish, and top with the remaining green onions, bean sprouts and cashews.

Serve with the pepper flakes and lime wedges. Enjoy!