Pimpin' Pad Thai

As some of my readers may or may not know, I like to cook my meals for the week ahead of time.  Most Sundays, I write a shopping list, buy all my ingredients, then spend my afternoon cooking and packing meals into Gladware.  Then I freeze everything and grab n' go my meals for the rest of the week.  It's a great way to make sure I minimize how much processed food I eat, and inevitably my body feels better.  I like to know exactly what I'm eating!  I'm suspicious of ingredients that sound like chemicals. Sometimes I use Amy's Organics frozen foods... but I try to cook my own food as often as I can.

I've been slackin' in the Sunday Cooking department over the past few months, but now I am back to cooking my freezer meals!  This week, I hit upon a particularly delicious pad thai recipe, so.... you're welcome.  :)

Look how pretty the peppers are in the wok!

See below for the recipe...  One note, I like my food HOT, so for the chiles, I used several green thai chiles with a couple red jalapenos - and I kept the seeds in.  Dee-licious.

WW PAD THAI (with chicken, shrimp or tofu)

WW Points per Serving: 8

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

•     7 oz packaged rice noodles   
•     1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
•     1/4 cup(s) fish sauce, divided
•     4 cup(s) broccoli, florets
•     1 medium carrot(s), finely sliced
•     1/4 cup(s) fresh lime juice, divided   
•     3 Tbsp sugar   
•     3 Tbsp water   
•     1 1/2 tsp ginger root, fresh, finely minced   
•     2 spray(s) cooking spray   
•     4 tsp peanut oil, divided   
•     1 tsp green hot chili pepper(s), or red chili pepper, Thai-variety, deveined, seeded, minced*   
•     1 medium garlic clove(s), minced   
•     1 1/2 cup(s) bean sprouts   
•     2 1/2 oz peanuts, dry-roasted, salted, minced (about 1/2 cup)   
•     1/2 cup(s) cilantro, fresh, minced   

Instructions

1. Soak noodles in cold water for 1 hour.
2. Place chicken in a small bowl and cover with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce; set aside.
3. Steam broccoli and carrot until crisp-tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately immerse in cold water; drain and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, in another small bowl, combine remaining 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, 3 tablespoons of lime juice, sugar, water and ginger; mix well and set aside.
5. Coat a large wok or skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium-high heat; add 2 teaspoons of oil. When hot, add chicken; cook, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and cover to keep warm; set aside.
6. Drain noodles thoroughly. Off heat, coat same wok or skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium-high heat; add remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. When hot, sauté garlic and chili pepper until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add noodles and fish sauce mixture; cook, stirring, until sauce is mostly absorbed, about 3 minutes. Stir in chicken and peanuts; remove from heat. Add remaining tablespoon of lime juice, bean sprouts and cilantro; mix well. Yields about 2 cups per serving.

**Penny's Word to the Wise: The fish sauce smells GROSS during prep, but is super tasty once it's all cooked and stuff.  :)

Behold (!) the deliciousness!

Comments

[brooke @ claremont road]

I LOVE pad thai! And I love that this is a WW meal... thanks, lady!!

[marie]

that looks delicious! Might have to try this one...sans the peppers, though, as I am a wimp. :)

[Bossyboots]

It's amazing!!! Try it!!!

[Ali]

Ooo I've been looking for a tasty Pad Thai recipe! I cannot wait to try this, thanks :)

[Charmi]

ooh i'm gonna have to try this! thanks :)

[Kristin ~ Bien Living]

Hey! YUM! Do you know of a substitute for the fish sauce?