Easy One Pan Pad Thai - Smart Nutrition with Jessica Penner, RD (2024)

Thisone pan Pad Thai is so easy, you’ll question ever ordering out for Thai again. It’s far tastier than any Pad Thai dishI’ve had outside of Asia.

One of the biggest drawbacks of living up north is the loss of daylight. The time change for daylight savings is the worst. I made this Pad Thai for dinner today…. at 3:30 PM. I suddenly realized that if I wanted to photograph it in natural light I’d have to hurry my booty up and start making dinner two hours earlier than usual. And the photos STILL turned out dark!

So the photos aren’t the greatest, but the recipe is!

Why Not Thai?

This Pad Thai is so easy, you’ll question ever ordering out for Thai again. It’s far tastier than any Pad Thai dishI’ve had outside of Asia. The Thai restaurants in Canada just don’t seem to know how to do it right.

One summer, my friend and I traveled/volunteered our way through South East Asia. We ate Pad Thai nearly every single day. You can’t argue with a $.50 meal!

We also took a cooking class, which was a ton of fun, but it was disappointing to come home and realize most of the key ingredients were unavailable in our city. Kefir lime, galangal, Thai basil…. no one carries those around here! The onlydish I could make was Pad Thai.

I’ve “Dietitianed” the original recipe slightly by adding more veggies and makingsome other alterations, but it still tastes incredibly authentic. WhenI tasted my creation I was transported back to the streets of Chiang Mai.

In every restaurant we visited in Thailand, there were little covered dishes containing four condiments: chopped peanuts, chili flakes, lime slices, and granulated sugar. During our cooking class we learned that these are available so that each individual can alter the meal to their own liking:

• Add chopped peanuts for saltiness
• Add chili flakes for spiciness
• Add lime slices for sourness
• Add granulated sugar for sweetness

My preference is to add a small squeeze of lime and a few scoops of peanuts.

Why It’s A Smart Choice

The recipe includes shrimp, pork, or chicken, but it’s more of an accent than the main feature. This is one way to enjoy meat, while cutting down on your intake. It’s still a very balanced meal, because the ingredients also include tofu, eggs, and peanuts, which are allvegetariansources of iron and protein.

If you give this recipe a go, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, orsnap a photo and tag it with#smartnutritionrecipeson Instagram! I’d love to see your creations! Knowing someone has enjoyedone of my recipes always makes my day brighter.