Eggplant Pad Thai

Bringing over Northwest Cavegirl recipes. Cavegirl Stephanie here...

So, on to take two on Pad Thai. If you missed version one, in all it's clumped cat food glory, look at the previous post. I renamed that post to Paleo Quick Pad Thai, because I realized it's all Paleo unless you use a baddie fish sauce. If you can't find a clean fish sauce, gather yourself some coconut aminos, drag a sardine through it and call it good.

Take #2 features eggplant "noodles" in a bit tangier sauce with cute little shrimps. If you're not a nightshade eater, I'm sorry, but stay tuned as I plan to sample other options for this idea.

Pad Thai for ONE - eggplant noodle version

Ingredients:
1 T. fish sauce (Red Boat fish sauce is pretty simple ...or whatever soy-like sauce you want to use to make this more paleo)
2 T Lime juice
1t. honey
1/4 red onion
1 clove garlic
1 tsp chili garlic paste
1 tsp coconut oil
6-8 shrimps (raw)
1 small eggplant
Toppings: cilantro, green onions, etc. This is such a personal preference sort of thing.

First, prepare your eggplant noodles. Trim the ends off of your eggplant. (Mine was about 7-8 inches long and about 3 inches in diameter at it's widest point. I used an aubergine for this, but I think this might work better with the slender Thai eggplants that we get in our markets. I'm going to gather a few and try that, too.) Using a mandoline at thin but still substantial slicing thickness. I think mine were a few centimenters thick. Then, stack the slices and using a sharp knife, cut the slices into noodles.

You might want to toss these with a bit of lemon juice if it will be a while before you get them in the pan, just so they don't get too discolored.

Mix together this sauce and set aside:
1 T fish sauce
2 T lime juice or lemon, whateveh
1 t. honey

1/4 red onion, cut into long strips
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp. chili garlic paste
2 tsp. coconut oil

Stir fry onion in coconut oil until transluscent. Add in garlic and chili and stir fry for a minute or so with the exhaust fan on (trust me, that chili paste will get you, really... did you not believe me last time?).

Add the eggplant noodles and shrimps, stir it in nicely, you want your onion/garlic/chili getting really friendly iwth the noodles and shrimps so that they are imparting their flavor. Stir fry for a minute or two, letting some of the moisture fry out. Then add in fish sauce mixture and mix it around nicely until combined. Stir fry until the shrimps are done and the eggplant is nicely cooked but still has some "al dente" feel to it. The sauce allows the eggplant to get a bit of steaming, but doesn't leave them tasting washed out.

Add in 1/4 c. chopped cilantro and green onions and whatever other toppings you might desire on your own pad thai. Toss a bit and serve!

This one I liked better than the spaghetti squash one. The "noodles" had more of the mouth feel that I was looking for. I DID plop about 2 T of peanuts on top of them. Peanuts don't bother my tummy at all, so I eat them from time to time. If they bother you, put some almond butter or sun butter in with the sauce, or chop up some brazil nuts or something to get that lovely salty crunch on top. What I completely forgot was the eggs... Next time, I'll scramble an egg, set it aside and stir it in at last before dishing it up.