Whole30 Pad Thai

I love Thai food. But since Tommy is allergic to rice and peanuts (among other things), he hasn't had the pleasure of trying Thai food yet. I recently bought some tamarind paste and wanted to try and make my own Pad Thai. I couldn't find sugar free Fish Sauce locally and didn't feel like ordering it online, so I used anchovies instead. And dates as the sweetener to make it Whole30 compliant. There's definitely some room for improvement, but it was a lot better than a recipe I tried years ago for a healthier version of Pad Thai. 

The sauce tastes really strong straight out of the food processor. And it's very thick. But it mellowed out a lot when I added it to the veggies and chicken. Tommy only tried a couple bites with the sauce since he's never had tamarind before, but he LOVED it. I hope he still likes it tomorrow! 

I cooked the sweet potatoes and the cabbage together, but that didn't work out all that well. The cabbage needed more cooking time and the sweet potato noodles pretty much broke down into tiny pieces. So I wrote the recipe with the way I should have done it and cooked the cabbage separately and added it to the noodles at the end. 

Overall I would definitely call this a success. Of course it's not as good as authentic Pad Thai, but for an allergen friendly and Whole30 compliant recipe it was pretty good. I'll definite make this again. Probably with a couple tweaks...

Whole30 Pad Thai

3 grilled chicken breasts, diced
1 head green cabbage, sliced thin
1 large sweet potato, spiralized
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
4 medjool dates, pitted
1.5 Tbsp tamarind paste
2 anchovies fillets
1 Tbsp coconut aminos
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Combine the dates through red pepper flakes in a food processor until smooth.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat in a dutch oven size pot. Add the cabbage and saute until tender. Remove cabbage from the pot and set aside for later.
3. Add the remaining oil to the pan. Cook the spiralized sweet potatoes until tender but still firm. Add the cabbage, chicken and sauce. Carefully stir to combine until all ingredients are warm.

Why I Don't Ask First

Unless someone has food allergies or intolerances, I usually just cook what I feel like eating. Ben's brother used to live nearby, and more than once I cooked something that I didn't realize he hated (like sweet potatoes) and he always ended up loving it. Tonight it was Ben's turn.

This is how our pre-dinner dialogue went tonight:

Me: "I thought I'd make the red cabbage from your family cookbook to go with the chicken."

Ben: "I think I hated that cabbage."

Me: "Oh."

Ben: "Well, that was a long time ago and my grandma really liked it. My mom probably wouldn't have put it in the cookbook if it wasn't good."

90 minutes later...

Ben: "This cabbage is so good. I think I could sit on the couch and eat the whole pot."

I'm so glad I didn't check with Ben before I bought the ingredients! We'll definitely be making this again. I hope it reheats well since we have a lot leftover. 

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

1 medium head red cabbage, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons bacon fat

2 apples, cored and chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

1. Remove and discard the outer cabbage leaves. 

2. Melt bacon fat in a dutch oven sized pot.

3. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.