Healthy Pad Thai: Delicious and Authentic

For the Sauce:

• 225 g Tamarind soaked, made into paste, see directions for how much to use for the sauce
• 2.5 cups Hot Water for soaking the tamarind
• 3 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 2 tbsp Coconut Sugar
• 1/2 Lime juiced
• 1-2 Thai Red Chili Pepper de-seeded, see notes

For the Pad Thai

• 4 oz Pad Thai Rice Noodles about 2-3 mm thick
• 1 head Broccoli chopped into florets, about 2 cups
• 1 tbsp Avocado Oil divided, as needed
• 1/2 Sweet Potato medium sized, spiralized
• 1 Shallot finely chopped
• 8 oz Tofu sliced into strips, drained (extra firm)
• 2 cloves Garlic minced
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Bean Sprouts
• 1/4 cup Roasted Peanuts chopped

For the Tamarind Paste

1. Add the tamarind block to a large bowl and pour the just boiled, hot water over top and let it soak for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, use your hands to break apart the tamarind as much as possible. Prepare a sieve over top of a large bowl and pour half the tamarind and water in the sieve and push it through to make the paste. Use your hands to really push it through the sieve to ensure you get as much as possible from the tamarind. Repeat with the remaining piece of tamarind, until it's done and you have gotten as much as you can from the tamarind. There will be pieces remaining. You will be able to get about 2 cups of tamarind paste.
3. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the tamarind paste and bring to a low simmer, stirring frequently. Once it has boiled and simmered for a few minutes, remove from the heat and pour into mason jars.
4. Reserve 1/4 cup tamarind paste for the recipe and store the rest in the mason jar(s) in the fridge. You can store this in the fridge for a few months, possibly even longer.

For the Pad Thai Sauce

1. Add the 1/4 cup tamarind paste along with the fish sauce, coconut sugar, lime and chili peppers to a blender and blend on high until smooth. Set aside.

For the Pad Thai

1. Soak the noodles in a large bowl or dish in cold water, until softened. This takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and rinse just before you're ready to cook them.
2. In a large non stick pan or wok, over medium heat, add the broccoli florets along with a splash of avocado oil. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bright green. Add the spiralized sweet potato noodles and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
3. In the same pan, add more avocado oil as needed, and over medium heat, add the shallot and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the tofu and cook for an additional 3 minutes, add the garlic and toss everything to coat for about 1 more minute.
4. Add the rice noodles, half the sauce and toss to coat, then add the sweet potato noodles and broccoli back into the pan along with the remaining sauce and quickly toss. Move the noodles to the edge of the pan and add the eggs. Let them sit for about one minute and then scramble them. Move the noodles to be on top of the eggs, add the bean sprouts and cook for about one more minute. Turn the heat off and give everything one final toss.
5. Divide onto plates and top with chopped peanuts, extra bean sprouts, lime wedges and green onion.