Recipe: Low-carb Pad Thai with kelp noodles
Kelp noodles have been in my radar for ages. Kelp is a seaweed, and thus these “noodles” are grain-free low carb and a good source of iodine. I haven’t been able to find them in shops yet and I didn’t want to pay a fortune for the ones that are sold online (they come from the US). Fortunately, I don’t crave noodles/pasta that often anymore, but I was still curious about them. Finally, I gave up and bought a package.
This 340g bag costs $10.50 plus shipping in the online shop I bought it from. The noodles come surrounded by liquid and must be rinsed before using. They do not require cooking but you can soak them for a while to soften them up.
Given its appearance and texture I thought they would work better in an Asian-style dish than an Italian pasta remake. I chose a Pad Thai recipe and tweaked it to make it low-carb.
Low-carb Pad Thai with kelp noodles
Ingredients
- 340 g kelp noodles
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1 small red chili optional
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 spring onions sliced
- 2 spring onions in 2-inch pieces
- 1-2 tsp coconut or palm sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 eggs beaten
- 8 large prawns peeled and cleaned
- 250 g chicken breast thinly sliced
- 100 g enoki mushrooms
- 40 g blanched & chopped almonds
- coriander leaves
- 1 lime in wedges to serve
Instructions
- Rinse the noodles and drain them.
- Combine tamarind with 1 tablespoon water.
- Pound chili, garlic, and sliced spring onions (reserve the 2-inch pieces) with a mortar and pestle.
- Combine both mixtures in a bowl. Add the sugar, fish sauce and lime juice.
- Heat your wok. Add 1 tablespoon of oil. Scramble the egg and reserve.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil. Stir-fry the chicken, add the prawns, noodles and spring onion pieces.
- Toss with sauce.
- Mix with egg and serve topped with enoki mushrooms, coriander leaves and almonds.
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13 Comments
Paleo Suz
I need to try those Kelp Noodles! A great source of iodine I’d imagine
JasmyneTea
I’m not even Paleo but I would try this recipe just for the novelty of the noodles, they look pretty cool!
SarahKate (Mi Casa-Su Casa)
Ok, forgive me for being a total loser… but what is Peleo?? Sounds like an age in which dinosaurs lived.
lateraleating
It’s basically avoiding foods that are evolutionary new and known to cause health issues, such as processed foods, added sugars, seed oils, grains, legumes, dairy, etc.
Tina
Awesome! I’ve been meaning to try Kelp noodles for a while too! How did it taste? (crunchy? soft? tasted like nothing?)
lateraleating
They tasted like nothing so I’ll be trying them with Italian-style sauces next. The texture is similar to vermicelli noodles, perhaps with a little bit more bite to them.
Gen
I found that when stir fried they held up well and improved in texture, absorbed the sauce flavor and we’re good. The only low carb noodle option I think i would use. Did not like then raw.
Food is our religion
Recipe sounds too easy! I have no excuse not to cook now!
Julie
Wow didn’t know it was so hard to find kelp noodles here! Love to see how they turn out with the italian sauces.
sugarpuffi
wow $10.50 for a bag of noodles!
machisan
what an incredible meal!
wholepromise
A great adaptation here with the kelp noodles. I am yet to find them in my local organic store but I look forward to getting my hands on some one day to try them. They look amazing here in this dish.
muppy
wow these look fantastic, it sounds really interesting, i’m going to keep my eyes out for these now! might try the recipe in the meantime with normal noodles, sounds lovely 🙂