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Disclosure: I received complimentary product from Perfect Earth Foods. No monetary compensation has been received for this post. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. This post includes affiliate links.
Gluten-Free Spicy Shrimp Pad Thai, featuring Perfect Earth Foods organic rice pasta, brings together the traditional pad Thai flavors and ingredients you know and love — with a little bit of a twist.
Perfect Earth Foods is on a mission to dispel the myth that gluten-free means taste-free. The company supports local farmers in northern Thailand, where the product is produced, and is made with nothing more than simply organic rice and water. Their line of products are free of peanuts, tree nuts, gluten, dairy, soy and egg, and are 100% certified organic. There are four varieties to choose from — black, brown or red rice, or pad Thai-style. All four are also offered with chia seeds as well.
As you may remember, I’m a huge fan of pad Thai, so naturally I had to give these a try. I’ve never actually made pad Thai on my own, but figured it really can’t be too difficult. I threw together just about every Asian-style ingredient I could find to come up with a semi-traditional, semi-Shaina-original sauce to use for the dish and got to work. I’ve been quite spoiled since I started dating Roger; he loves to cook and is really good at it — but it was my time to shine.
I made this Spicy Shrimp Pad Thai with shrimp, obviously, but you could really add whatever protein you prefer. Chicken, scallops, steak, tofu, or just adding in extra veggies would all work just as well. I noticed some pad Thai sauce recipes use fish sauce, which I imagine helps with the level of umami, but I’m not a huge fan of the stuff so to add in that extra flavor component, I used miso paste. I got mine at Whole Foods but you can also easily find it on Amazon here. I also spiced things up a bit with some Sriracha — only a tablespoon, but it added the perfect amount of heat to the final dish. Feel free to play around with the amount to fit your level of preference. The remaining ingredients included Tamari (if you are not gluten-free, regular soy sauce is fine to use), rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, honey and lime.
Do you like to add extra ingredients in your pad Thai? Even with a protein, I still like to add in more veggies. I used white button mushrooms, in addition to the traditional ingredients such as bean sprouts and scallions. Most pad Thai recipes also include egg, so if you want to keep yours authentic and you don’t have an egg allergy, go for it. To top everything off, I sprinkled a generous amount of spicy peanuts on top, adding an additional element of heat that really elevated the overall flavor of the dish.
It all sounds amazing, doesn’t it? But I bet what you’re really wondering about is that organic rice pasta… It was perfect, just as the brand name suggests. The texture was soft and pliable without being mushy, and there was a great amount of chewiness to it without being overcooked. It cooks pretty quickly in a pot of boiling water just like regular pasta. I recommend watching it closely because you’ll want to stop it just before it is fully cooked to drain and add to the pan to cook with the rest of the ingredients.
I hope I’ve inspired you to make your own Spicy Shrimp Pad Thai, gluten-free or not. If you do, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
For more information on Perfect Earth Foods and to purchase their gluten-free, organic rice pasta, visit their product shop, and make sure to follow them on Instagram!
- For the sauce:
- 3 tablespoons Tamari or regular soy sauce if not gluten-free
- 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon miso paste
- For the complete dish:
- 1 package Perfect Earth Foods Organic Rice Pad Thai Pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound shrimp, tail off, or protein of choice
- 8 oz. white button mushrooms, sliced
- 8 oz. bean sprouts
- 1 teaspoon scallions, finely diced, plus extra for garnish
- 3/4 cup spicy peanuts, chopped
- Chinese Five Spice, adjust to preferred taste
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- Cook pasta according to the directions on the package. (Make sure to stop cooking the pasta a minute or so before it is finished and drain. Set aside.)
- While the pasta is cooking, combine sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
- Add olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat and add mushrooms.
- Cook until soft and then add shrimp.
- Reduce to low-medium heat and continue to cook until the shrimp are almost all cooked.
- Add bean sprouts, scallions and sauce and stir well.
- Sprinkle desired amount of Chinese Five Spice.
- Add cooked pasta and combine until the sauce completely coats all ingredients.
- Garnish with additional diced scallion and chopped spicy peanuts
