Well I can’t very well move on from summer without sharing the story of the season.
I feel a bit bad spinning it into a story because it does have an unfortunate outcome but if there’s anyone I know who can take a situation like this and turn it on its head, it’s this guy.
Our budding actor was back in action this summer with a great program out of Palo Alto offering ‘professional training for serious young artists’. All was going along tickety-boo until one day our young Robert De Niro decided to have a Raging Bull moment and take his acting career to a whole new level (the movie buffs among you know exactly where I’m going with this…).
When our son was asked to act out the emotion “anger” he decided to punch the wall in front of him with full force (no half measures people, this is serious acting). Now, to his credit, the wall was fully padded with one of those thick gym mats (the kind that baseball players hit without restraint, all limbs on board) so he thought he was safe. But in this case, regrettably, our inexperienced boxer broke a wrist and a finger in the process. Not a fun day at camp.
But there was some light at the end of the tunnel and a line delivered in a way that only he can that sent this mom into hysterics.
After spending a painful and at times emotional afternoon in the ER (this was his 7th and 8th broken bone after all), our weary but undefeated fellow glances over at me in the car and says “well, look at it this way Mom. Now I can say that I broke two bones in someone’s body by throwing a single punch. So what if it happens to be my body!”
(I had to pull off the road I was laughing so hard).
~~~~~~~
Well, I’m just delighted with the way this recipe turned out.
I often venture new experiments but if they don’t meet a certain taste threshold, they never see the blog.
This recipe packs all the delicious flavor you would expect from a traditional Pad Thai but uses the fall classic butternut squash in place of rice noodles. The raw vegetable ‘noodles’ are tossed into the sauce at the last minute allowing them to warm up but maintain their al dente texture – the result is a resistant bite and no mush.
As much as I adore the taste of grain-based noodles/pasta, they don’t play a big part in my diet at this stage. Sure I’ll enjoy the chef recommended gnocchi when I’m dining out on occasion (and savor every morsel) but generally, I find this kind of food doesn’t do me a lot of favors. I just end up feeling bloated, tired and unproductive waiting out the storm until the diabetic coma passes.
Our whole family loved this dish – hope you do too!
Butternut Squash Pad Thai
Butternut Squash Pad Thai (naturally grain free, gluten free)
For the Pad Thai
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1 Tbsp grapeseed or olive oil
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1/2 butternut squash, peeled and shredded with this handy tool
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1 shallot, diced
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4 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 generous cup fresh bean sprouts of choice
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2 eggs
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1/4 pound medium-size shrimp (about 8-10 shrimp)
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1/4 cup chopped green onion
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4 Tbsp chopped roasted peanuts
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1 fresh lime, cut into segments
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Optional: chopped cilantro
- 1 Tbsp (or slightly more) tamarind
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce
- 2 Tbsp coconut palm sugar (substitute brown sugar)
Serves 2
Nutrition & Cooking Notes:
- You can easily substitute chicken or tofu in place of shrimp in this recipe for the protein component.
- Pad Thai derives its distinctive flavor from tamarind (not soy sauce). You should be able to find tamarind in the Asian section of your grocery store but, failing that, certainly at any Asian grocery store.
- This particular sauce does have some kick to it (heat) so if spicy is not your thing, diminish the chili garlic sauce or omit it altogether depending on your sensitivity level.
- When it comes to preparing Thai cuisine, I always recommend sampling the sauce to determine the right balance of sweet, salty, sour, spicy — this way, little adjustments can be made suited to your particular taste preference.
Directions:
- Cut butternut squash in half (lengthwise).
- Peel half the butternut squash with a simple carrot/potato peeler (reserving the remaining half for roasting and adding to soup, sauces, dips and stews).
- Using this tool (the best $11 investment you’ll ever make) or a spiralizer, shred/spiralize the peeled portion of the butternut squash, setting aside the resulting ribbons or ‘noodles.’ The skin of the butternut squash, even once peeled, is a little tougher than other vegetables such as zucchini so it may feel a bit resistant to shredding at first. Once you’ve found the right angle though, you should have no trouble carving into it to create your ribbons/noodles.
- Meanwhile, in a small container with fitted lid, combine sauce ingredients: tamarind, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce if using, and sugar, shaking well to combine. Taste the sauce and make any desired adjustments to try and achieve the ideal balance between sweet, salty, sour, spicy ~ the hallmark of Thai cuisine.
- Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat and sauté the shrimp in some grapeseed or olive oil just until opaque (this should only take a minute or so). Remove shrimp and set aside.
- In the same skillet, sauté shallot and garlic over low-medium heat just until softened and fragrant.
- Add the bean sprouts to the skillet, mixing to combine with the onion/garlic for another minute.
- Spread the onion/garlic/sprouts mixture to the sides of the pan and add eggs to the center allowing them to set slightly before gently mixing in with the other skillet ingredients (the heat should not be too high at this point – you don’t want to brown the egg just delicately cook them).
- Return opaque shrimp to the skillet, mixing to combine with the other ingredients.
- Add the butternut squash ‘noodles’ to the skillet along with the sauce (being sure to give it a good shake before adding it), mixing to integrate and warm through.
- Divide the warm butternut squash shrimp pad Thai between two plates (I like to bring some of the shrimp to the top of the plate) and top with a sprinkle of green onions, peanuts and cilantro as desired.
- Serve a lime wedge or two alongside each dish and be sure to squeeze some fresh lime juice all over the pad Thai before savoring (the lime is not meant as mere decoration!).
Oh no… what a story! The minute I read ‘punch’ I knew it wasn’t going to end well! I’m glad to hear that your son (and mom) are ok. Boys will be boys? I think so ;)
I’ve been meaning to get to this recipe- it’s a lovely alternative to grain based pad thai as you suggest. Just the vitamins and minerals alone take this to the next level. I have a butternut squash sitting out on my doorstep as fall decoration (I have no more room in my kitchen for the amount of squash from my CSA) but perhaps it’s time to bring it in! This will make a lovely meal.
Haha, boy reality it is! Perfect description :) xx
I love how bright this dish looks and am so excited to try it. My daughter loves pad thai. And I’m loving this as it’s made so healthy! I truly need to get that little gadget!!
Oh my gosh how did I miss this post! I am laughing so hard :) I love getting a good dose of boy reality from you. I can just picture my future self.
And your dish sounds delightful. I definitely do not cook enough with shrimp. Some thing I need to fix :)
but wait, you should have still had some coconut curry chicken left for lunch ;-) (DELISH!)
OMG Kelly I just made Zoodle Pad Thai for lunch, I guess great minds think alike!
enjoy.
Haha, I must have missed that part! If I could still eat pasta and metabolize it the way I did in my 20s, I would Ninj ;-).
OK, now I feel really bad for dissing veggie strand “pasta” in my last post because THIS. LOOKS. AWESOME. :-)
be sure to tell mr. n not to go punching walls! ;-)
Thanks so much Patricia! Glad this one resonates with you.
Good thing indeed :) so nice to see you here Mandy ♡ – thank you for visiting :) xx
Aw, thank you Clare. Yes, the retort is what sent me into spasms :) it was full of self-deprecating humor (it wasn’t a ‘tough guy’ comment) I just wish I could deliver his voice on the blog to go along with it! So happy to hear about the julienne peeler — you won’t regret it!! :o)
Haha, thank you Alison ~ so happy we discovered each other :) welcome to Inspired Edibles.
Elizabeth, you are so thoughtful, thank you. I’m not sure if it was the tense afternoon that made the laughter more explosive but yes, his sense of humor is so refreshing and welcome. It will stand him in good stead throughout his life. I’m so happy to hear your reaction to this recipe — I hope you enjoy it if you give it a try!
that he does Angie :) xx
Good thing, a sense of humour. Poor boy must be in so much pain though.
Fabulous pad thai!
Have a super day.
:-) Mandy xo
No half measures for sure… and that retort “so what if it happens to be my body!” is just the best. What a spirit your son is! I hope he’s healing well and that he gives himself (and mom) a little rest period before the next raging bull moment :) – 8 bones is a lot. Good for him for keeping his sense of humor through it all.
And this dish looks divine. I love everything about it and… I’m not sure if I told you but I did buy the julienne peeler so now I can make it too – yay!!
Oh no! I hope he’s okay. Mr. N will certainly appreciate this story. He’s taken a hit or two for acting…fortunately no broken bones though! I can’t believe he’s had 8 broken bones. I would be a nervous wreck by now!
Your dinner looks fabulous. This too will be appreciated by Mr. N in particular. He has quite and affection for Asian dishes. I know Mike and I would enjoy this one too. Miss A…she’d eat the shrimp. :) Hope you have a fabulous day Kelly!
Your son is a riot !!! I’m not sure I would be able to muster half his grace under similar circumstances. I’ve only started following your blog recently but I can already tell how much I’m going to love it :). This pad thai looks amazing and I love the smart subbing – you still get all the flavors you crave without the diabetic coma (haha! love that). Thank you Kelly.
Your son has a wicked sense of humour :-))
I love those low carb noodles… must get a veggie spiralizer too.
Butternut squash noodles?? Brilliant! Brilliant! Cannot wait to try it! :)
(Sigh..) her photo did not make the cut…. how unfair is that? Oh, the poor, poor pup, discriminated against….
Great recipe, I was waiting to see it….
gives me yet another veggie to spiralize, my favorite activity in the kitchen, apart from baking bread and playing with the pups.