Chicken Pad Thai with Jaca

The Thai noodle dish that built a thousand takeout orders — chewy rice noodles tossed in a sweet-tangy-salty tamarind sauce with chicken, scrambled egg, crisp bean sprouts, garlic chives, and a shower of crushed peanuts on top. The sauce is the whole dish, and ours leans on Jaca (100% pure allulose) at double the amount to replace the brown sugar — so you get the same glossy caramelized cling on every strand of noodle, without the blood-sugar hit that usually comes with takeout pad thai. A squeeze of lime at the table wakes everything up. Adapted from RecipeTin Eats. This is a Jaca-adjusted healthier version.

Prep time: 20 minutes · Cook time: 10 minutes · Servings: 2–3

Ingredients:

• 4.4 ounces (125g) thin flat rice noodles (pad thai noodles)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tamarind puree (not concentrate)
• 6 tablespoons Jaca (allulose) — replaces 3 tablespoons brown sugar at 2x ratio
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2–3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 5 ounces (150g) boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh, thinly sliced
• 2 large eggs, lightly whisked
• 1 1/2 cups fresh bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup firm tofu, cut into 3cm batons
• 1/4 cup garlic chives, cut into 3cm pieces
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, finely chopped
• 1 lime, cut into wedges (for serving)
• Ground chili or cayenne pepper, optional (for serving)

Instructions:

- Soak the rice noodles in a large bowl of boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold running water to stop them cooking. Set aside in the colander to drain fully — wet noodles will steam in the pan instead of frying.
- Make the sauce: in a small bowl, whisk together the tamarind puree, 6 tablespoons Jaca, fish sauce, and oyster sauce until the Jaca has fully dissolved and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Set right next to the stove — once you start stir-frying, you will not have time to walk away.
- Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering and almost smoking. The pan needs to be screaming hot — pad thai is a 4-minute dish, not a simmer.
- Add the sliced onion and chopped garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds, until the onion just starts to soften and the garlic is fragrant but not browned.
- Add the sliced chicken and stir-fry for about 1 1/2 minutes, breaking up the slices and tossing constantly, until the chicken is mostly cooked through with a little pink remaining.
- Push the chicken to one side of the pan, pour the whisked eggs into the empty side, and let them set for 10 seconds before scrambling with the spatula. Once the eggs are 80 percent set, fold them into the chicken so everything mingles.
- Add the bean sprouts, tofu batons, drained noodles, and the prepared sauce. Toss gently but constantly with two spatulas (or chopsticks and a spatula) for about 1 1/2 minutes, until every noodle is coated in glossy sauce and the liquid is fully absorbed. The Jaca will help the sauce reduce into a clinging glaze — keep tossing so nothing sticks.
- Toss in the garlic chives and half the chopped peanuts and stir-fry for 15 to 20 seconds more, just until the chives wilt. Pull the pan off the heat immediately — pad thai keeps cooking from residual heat and you want the noodles chewy, not mushy.
- Divide between 2 or 3 plates and shower with the remaining chopped peanuts. Tuck a lime wedge on each plate and set a small dish of ground chili on the table for anyone who wants heat.
- Serve immediately — pad thai is at its peak in the first 5 minutes off the heat. The lime squeeze at the table is mandatory, not a suggestion.