Zucchini noodles are a great replacement for pasta, when you want to cut down on your carb intake. This Thai Peanut Zucchini Noodle recipe is one of my favourite ways to make zucchini noodles, mainly because it reminds me of Pad Thai, a favourite noodle dish of mine. Some people like to cook their zucchini a lot to replicate more of a pasta texture and some people even skip the cooking and eat it raw. Either works, it’s all about preference. I like them to be cooked somewhere in between. Not too soggy, but also not a pile of mush. This usually means sauté-ing for a few minutes. It’s important to remember that the zucchini will continue to soften once you remove from the heat as they are still warm and cooking.
The peanut sauce I used in this recipe is a universal peanut sauce I make for many asian-inspired dishes (fresh spring rolls, chicken skewers, curry, etc). I put peanut sauce an anything I can. It’s my absolute favourite! You can adjust the heat with your favourite hot sauce, but my favourite way is to use chili flakes or fresh chili paste.
Ingredients
For the Noodles:
- 2 chicken breasts or 1.5-2 cups of cubed tofu (omit if vegan/vegetarian)
- 4 medium-sized zucchini
- 1 cup of carrot, shredded or julienne cut
- 1/2 cup red pepper, julienne cut
- 1 cup red cabbage, julienne cut
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Thai Peanut Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup all-natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes or fresh chili paste
Directions
- Over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Add the tofu or chicken. Cook the chicken fully or if using tofu, cook until browned.
- Using a spiralizer, spiral your zucchini. Chop your carrots, pepper, and red cabbage.
- In a large sauce pan, heat the sesame oil over medium high heat
- Add the vegetables to the saucepan and sauté for a couple of minutes. You want the vegetables to soften slightly, but not too much to be soggy.
- Turn the heat down to low and add your protein
- Mix the ingredients for the Thai peanut sauce together until well combined, add to the saucepan and mix until evenly coated
- Serve immediately with coriander, peanuts and white sesame seeds (optional)
Thai Peanut Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients
Zucchini Noodles
- 2 chicken breasts OR 2 cups of tofu omit for vegan/vegetarian
- 4 medium sized zucchini spiralized
- 1 cup carrot julienned
- 1 cup red cabbage julienned
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Thai Peanut Sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 cup all natural peanut butter
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes or fresh chili paste
Instructions
- Over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Add the tofu or chicken
- Cook the chicken fully or if using tofu, cook until browned
- Using a spiralizer, spiral your zucchini. Chop your carrots, pepper, and red cabbage
- In a large sauce pan, heat the sesame oil over medium high heat
- Add the vegetables to the saucepan and sauté for a couple of minutes.. you want the vegetables to soften slightly, but not too much to be soggy
- Turn the heat down to low and add your protein
- Mix the ingredients for the Thai peanut sauce together until well combined, add to the saucepan and mix until evenly coated
- Serve immediately with coriander, peanuts and white sesame seeds (optional)