Pad Thai

The one thing that I do miss a lot since the surgery is pasta dishes. No, not just Italian dishes, but also things like Pad Thai. I really had a taste for it today and was in one of those "pity party" moments until I remembered that we bought a spaghetti squash over the holiday. I  had thought to make spaghetti while I was home, but just never had time. John made me bring the squash with me back to Cleveland and I promptly forgot about it. Once I realized I had it, I thought why not use spaghetti squash instead of rice noodles. To make things even more fun, I have tamarind juice concentrate, so I could make truly authentic Pad Thai. Here's how I did it.

 Spaghetti Squash Chicken Pad Thai

•  1 small spaghetti squash*
•  1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
•  2 cups cooked chicken*, shredded
•  2 small carrots*, shredded
•  4 cloves garlic*, minced
•  1 egg*
•  1 Tbsp soy sauce
•  Pad Thai Sauce (see below)

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Wash spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise and place cut side down on cookie sheet. Bake about 45 minutes or until fork pokes easily into squash. Cool about 10 minutes and then remove flesh from skins with a fork.
2. Beat egg with soy sauce. Heat oil in a medium skillet. Saute garlic in oil then add egg and scrambled. Add chicken and heat through.
3.  Add spaghetti squash and Pad Thai sauce; mix until coated. Add carrots and heat 1 minute longer.
4.  Serve with crushed peanuts.

 Pad Thai Sauce (with tamarind)
 1/3 cup fish sauce
 1/2 cup sugar
 1/2 cup tamarind juice concentrate
 4 cloves garlic*, minced

 Combine in a small bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved (heat may speed this up).



 Pad Thai Sauce (without tamarind)
 1/3 cup chicken stock*
 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
 1 Tbsp lime juice
 3-4 Tbsp brown sugar
 2 Tbsp fish sauce
 1 Tbsp soy sauce
 1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper

 Mix until sugar dissolves.

 Note: Both fish sauce and tamarind can be found at Asian supermarkets. The tamarind is very sour so you will have to adjust the sugar according to taste.However, if you don't like or are afraid to try tamarind, I have included a sauce recipe that uses rice vinegar and lime juice instead.

*CSA ingredients