I don't know about you but I can dominate some Thai food. Seriously, what is it about Thai food that makes me want to eat it so fast that I forget to come up for air? Over the past year, I have been able to modify most of my favorite Italian and Mexican recipes to be 'clean' but I haven't had much luck with modifying Asian food until now. I was STOKED when I came across this Paleo friendly Thai bowl on PaleOMG. Juli has yet to let me down, so I knew this recipe would not disappoint. Boy, was I right. The first time I made this recipe was for a Sunday dinner when my in-laws were in town. They LOVE Thai food but have been trying to eat clean as well so I thought trying this recipe was worth a shot. If it sucked balls, then I'd just order the real deal. They wouldn't judge if it was a fail, cause they're cool like that. Whelp, OMG doesn't even begin to justify how good this recipe is! It is now a staple in my weekly meal prep and I always share it with my 21 day fix challenge groups. Hands down this and my pizza bake are always my challengers favorite dishes. So instead of keeping this gem to myself, I just had to share with ya'll. You're welcome!
This recipe uses "Zoodles" (spiral sliced zucchini) instead of your typical Thai Noodle. I used my Veggetti to spiral my zucchini. Personally, I think the name 'veggetti' sounds like a venereal disease but I love this little tool so much I don't care. You can use zoodles to replace noodles in almost any recipe. It's so easy to use. Just wash your zucchini, slice off both ends, place in the Veggetti and spiral away. I usually like to pat the zoodles dry with a paper towel to absorb the excess water before cooking. I also give them a rough chop to cut up any of the really long zoodles. Zoodles cook very quickly in a pan (3-5 minutes) so I always throw them in last for whatever recipe I'm using them in (Spaghetti, Lo Mein, etc). No need to boil these noodles! #winning
The other 'clean' swap in this recipe is liquid amino acids or coconut amino acids instead of soy sauce. Never heard of amino acids for cooking? It's a great gluten-free alternative to soy sauce because of its salty umami flavor but it is salt free and preservative free. Coconut aminos are another great option to swap for traditional soy sauce. This is a dark sauce made from coconut sap that is salty and slightly sweet. It is the perfect replacement for those avoiding soy and gluten. Coconut aminos are low GI and packed with minerals, vitamin C, and B vitamins. I use it as a replacement for soy sauce in all my recipes (and for sushi)! You can usually find aminos in the soy sauce aisle or on amazon I buy braggs or these coconut aminos.
The recipe itself is pretty simple so I'll just jump right down to the nitty gritty but I wanted to leave you with one last tip. Make sure you are using the regular coconut milk (in a can). I tried this with the lite coconut milk and the sauce was too thin. You need the fat in the coconut meat to thicken this sauce properly. For my 21 day fixers, I would count this recipe as 1 red, 1 green, 1/2 yellow and 2 teaspoons. Enjoy and don't forget to breathe when you inhale this delicious recipe.
Paleo Thai Bowls
- 1 pound ground pork
- ½ small yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3-4 medium zucchinis, spiral sliced into zoodles
- 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup coconut aminos (or liquid aminos)
- 3 tablespoons chili garlic sauce (or sriracha)
- juice of ½ a lime
- ½ tablespoon red pepper flakes, divided
- salt and pepper, to taste
- fresh cilantro for garnish
- cashews for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pan add add ground pork, onion, red bell pepper and garlic cloves. Cook on medium-high heat.
- Stir occasionally to break up meat and cook down. Add a touch of salt and pepper along ¼ tablespoon of red pepper flakes. Mix well and cook until no pink remains in the meat.
- Once meat is cooked through, add zoodles to the meat and cook on low for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a small saucepan add coconut milk, peanut butter, coconut aminos, chili sauce, lime juice, ¼ tablespoon red pepper flakes, and a bit of salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat while whisking to combine until smooth.
- Once sauce is smooth, reduce heat to low and let thicken for about 5 minutes. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP or you will have runny sauce!
- After sauce has thickened, pour sauce on noodle and pork mixture and mix well to combine. I usually only use about 3/4ths of the sauce as sometimes the size of my zucchini vary. If you need more sauce you can always add more. I find that it varies each time I make it.
- Garnish zoodle bowls with fresh cilantro and cashews on top.
