If you’re on a Paleo diet and you love Thai food, this Paleo Shrimp Pad Thai with Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles) is perfect for you. It is delicious with all the sweet and sour flavors of traditional pad thai but without the rice noodles. Although zucchini noodles don’t have the same taste as rice noodles, with all the flavors in this Pad Thai sauce, zoodles are a good substitute. You can also use carrot “noodles” if you prefer.
I love Pad Thai because it’s so very versatile. You can add any protein that you like – from chicken to shrimp to tofu. It’s the sauce that make this stir-fried dish so delicious.
I have tried to make Pad Thai a million times with different sauce recipes. I’ve even made it with peanut butter (total fail!) This Pad Thai sauce is delicious. It’s the perfect blend of sour with tamarind concentrate, sweet (using agave sugar, instead of the traditional palm sugar or brown sugar), fish sauce, and a dash of dark soy sauce (for color). It is so delicious and so simple to make.
You can find tamarind concentrate on Amazon or at your local Asian grocery store. If you can’t find tamarind concentrate, look for the blocks of wet tamarind pulp at the store. Just soften it up with some boiling water (6 oz of tamarind pulp to 1 cup of boiling water) for 15 minutes, then strain it through a fine mesh sieve.
Some recipes online call for ketchup and lime juice, in place of tamarind concentrate. I’ll try it sometime, but I don’t see how ketchup and lime juice gives you the same result. Tamarind has a distinct flavor. If you try the ketchup method, let me know how it turns out!
I serve my Paleo Shrimp Pad Thai with a side of fresh bean sprouts and a squeeze of lime. So delicious and filling. My husband, who is on a paleo diet, loved this. He said he didn’t miss the noodles at all … Well, he missed them a little, but the flavor and all the textures in this recipe kept his palate very happy.
Enjoy and happy cooking!
Paleo Shrimp Pad Thai with Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup carrots, shredded
- 1 cup firm tofu, cubed
- 8 shrimp, deveined
- 2 medium zucchini, spiralized into "noodles"
- 2 medium eggs, whisked
- 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts, divided in half
- 4 green onions (scallions), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup toasted peanuts, crushed
- Lime wedges, for serving
- chili flakes, for serving (optional)
Pad Thai Sauce
- 3 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp agave syrup
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
Instructions
Make the Pad Thai Sauce
- Mix together the ingredients for the Pad Thai sauce (the tamarind concentrate, agave syrup, fish, fish sauce, and dark soy sauce). Taste it and adjust the ingredients based on your taste preference. (More tamarind for a more tart sauce.) Set aside.
Cooking the Paleo Pad Thai
- Heat oil in a large wok or frying pan over medium heat. Add the sliced red onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute, until the onion softens slightly.
- Add the carrots and tofu and cook for another minute. Add the shrimp and cook for another 1-2 minutes, or until they become pink on the outside.
- Add the zucchini noodles and mix everything together. Then, make a well in the middle of the pan and add the eggs. When the edges start to cook, mix it with the other ingredients.
- Add the Pad Thai sauce and half of the bean sprouts (reserve the remaining for plating) and cook for 2-3 minute. Stir everything together.
- Add the scallions and then turn off the heat. Give everything another good stir. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts on top.
- Serve with bean sprouts and lime wedges on the side. Add chili flakes for a spicier flavor.
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