Pad Thai with Shirataki Noodles

Recently I was sent a cookbook to review. The book titled 'The Healthy Voyager's Global Kitchen' by Carolyn Scott-Hamilton is a collection of vegan recipes from around the world. The book is broken into chapters based on country (Italy, Africa, Japan, Russia, etc.). 


The photos are gorgeous and explanations are easy, but I wasn't crazy about titling chapters by country. This means that when I'm looking for an easy appetizer to make, I have to flip through the book, rather than going to a particular section. 


Last weekend I made the pad thai and minestrone soup and have been enjoying them all week. The pad thai was so, so good. I subbed in Shirataki noodles for the rice noodles. For those of you that aren't familiar, Shirataki noodles are made of a mixture of tofu and the root of the Konnyaku (something resembling a yam). Why eat these unusual noodles? Because they are 20 calories a serving! The entire package comes out to only 40 calories, and I quite like them, and plan to sub them regularly for noodles and pasta even. I also left out the bean sprouts as I wasn't able to find them. 

You can find the book here. 

The dish was delicious but I had to double the amount of noodles. The recipe calls for 8 oz rice noodles, but that seemed way too little to me, especially for 6 people. I doubled the amount of noodles and it worked out perfectly for 6. Also, I have a feeling I could make this recipe healthier and I think I might try to. I don't think 1/2 cup peanut butter is necessary; I think the dish could get away with 1/4 maybe? And I might have reduced the amount of oil as well, but we'll see if I can make a healthier version soon. 


All in all, the dish is delicious, easy to make and my two friends who were over loved it too. One of them hates anything fishy and said she couldn't even taste the fish sauce, which is a plus. This is exactly the kind of dish I'd love to serve to guests one night- feels fancy, but is actually really easy. 


Based on this recipe alone, I would definitely recommend this book. Stay tuned for my minestrone review, from 'The Healthy Voyager'. 


Nutrition Info
Serves 6
Calories: 357
Fat: 26g
Carbs: 26g
Protein: 11g
(This nutrition info is based on the original recipe, not my substitution with the Shirataki noodles)


Thank you Carolyn for sending the book! It's been a lot of fun trying your inventive recipes.