Chicken Pad Thai with Daikon Noodles

One of the best parts about spiralizing is that just by simply changing up the noodle type in a recipe, you can completely change the taste and texture of the dish.

I feel like I start many blog posts with “one of the best parts about spiralizing is…” but, that’s because there are a lot of best parts!

While I’ve made a pad thai on this blog before, it is a) vegetarian and b) made with zucchini noodles. Today’s recipe has a few different steps and ingredients and of course, it’s made with a) chicken and b) daikon noodles.

Not that I need to preface my recipes, but I didn’t want you to think “oh, she’s losing her edge!” or “oh, she’s running out of recipe ideas!” Au contraire, my friends.

Daikon noodles are tricky, because they have a sometimes soapy flavor on account of their bitter, radish-like notes. In this recipe, I cook the daikon noodles right after the chicken so that the juices in the chicken cooks into the daikon noodles. Then, when the noodles are added back in with the sauce, they soak up even more flavor. Voila – no soapy daikon.

More flavor emerges from cooking the garlic and scallions together, which marries well with the robust flavors of the pad thai sauce (which is, perfectly spicy – with a hint of rich coconut and refreshing lime.)

If you want, it’s easy to substitute zucchini noodles here- just amp the coconut flour up by 1 teaspoon and use two medium zucchinis. Depending on if you want a softer noodle or something more al dente, cook the noodles with the sauce anywhere from 2-5 minutes.

My main beef with asian noodle dishes is that they tend to be high in sodium. I counteract the high sodium levels by drinking a large glass of water during and after this meal. This always does the trick – plus, it helps with digestion and avoids any feeling of bloat.

On a completely separate note, I never shared with you my Halloween costume from the weekend. I was supposed to be a fitness instructor but someone called me “gym girl,” so I guess I didn’t exactly nail the costume. Oh well, I was SO comfortable.

A photo posted by Ali(ssandra) Maffucci (@inspiralized) on Oct 10, 2014 at 6:01pm PDT

Also, sadly, I didn’t eat any Halloween candy this year. Normally I indulge in some candy corn or 3 Musketeers (I know, so random!), but I didn’t. I did manage to see the NYC Halloween Parade, which I’ve never done before – for some reason, I always miss it.

Lu was a zebra. Well, he bought a zebra onesie at Target which was hilarious.

So yea, that’s my life update and my recipe for the day. See you tomorrow – can’t wait to share a new video with you on my YouTube channel. If you’re not following already, make sure to subscribe by clicking the image below – and check out my new trailer!:

Nutritional Information & Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 2 whole eggs
• 1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or oil of choice)
• ½ pound thin chicken breast, sliced into strips
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ cup diced scallions
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped cilantro whole cilantro leaves to garnish
• 1 medium daikon radish, Blade C, noodles trimmed
• For the sauce:
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1.5 tablespoon chili sauce (I used Thai chili garlic sauce)
• 1.5 tablespoon honey

Instructions

1. Scramble the eggs and set aside.
2. Place all of the ingredients for the sauce into a bowl, whisk together and set aside.
3. Place the peanuts into a food processor and pulse until lightly ground (no big peanuts should remain, but it shouldn't be powdery). Set aside.
4. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add in half of the oil and let heat. Once heated, add in the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. Turn the heat down to low and set the chicken aside on a plate, using tongs or a slotted spoon. Immediately add in the daikon noodles, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat the noodles in the juices. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until daikon has softened.
5. Transfer the cooked daikon to a large bowl and add in the other ½ tablespoon of oil. Add the garlic and scallions into the pan, stirring constantly to avoid burning and cook for about 1 minute, until the scallions begin to soften. Add in the sauce and then the flour, turn the heat back up to medium and whisk quickly so that the flour dissolves and the sauce thickens.
6. Once the sauce is thick, add back in the daikon noodles and toss to combine thoroughly, tossing until noodles are completely coated in the sauce.
7. Add in the cooked chicken (with any juices), scrambled eggs and half the ground peanuts. Cook for about 30 seconds, tossing to fully combine.
8. Plate onto dishes and garnish with cilantro leaves, the rest of the scallions and the rest of the ground peanuts. Serve with lime wedges.