I was beyond excited when Aaron told me was bringing me home a new vegetable spiraler, spiralizer, zoodler thangamabob- since the other one I have is literally crap. (Yes, it’s the little things in life.) So tonight I wanted to try to make something without a tomato base because I feel like I’ve been making a lot of that to-mahto jazz. What can I do with noodles that’s not the traditional Italian or Mediterranean style dish I do when trying to cook healthy? So- I went with one of my favorite noodle dishes- Pad Thai. I’ll say that this dish didn’t quite taste like Pad Thai (why I just called it Thai Zoodle Veggie Stir Fry)- but definitely tasted Thai inspired and I would make it again. (We love Thai food and have a friend that owns several Thai restaurants- so this is my first attempt trying to make something similar to Miss Pookie, the most amazing Thai chef I know!)
All the vegetables were delectably aldente ( I hate soggy vegetables. They remind me of dirty baby food)- and I’ll go ahead and admit that my hand miggghtttt have slipped and dolloped a spoonful of peanut butter onto my bowl. (Um- it’s protein ok?) Feel free to add some shrimp or tofu to this dish if you’re craving more! If you’re a staunch vegetarian, double the mushrooms! MMM! Or a vegan (I’m so sorry for you) just omit the egg- obvi.
Top Left- New Zoodle Ma-bob (Maxam brand) top middle: pieca-crap plastic zoodler that doesn’t even say the brand name on it and I threw the box away.
You might be wondering what kind of zoodle-mabob I got and how it worked. Well, what I will say is: it worked better than my other pieca-crap zoodle-mabob. I’ll make this review quick as I don’t really recommend you buy either. I WILL continue my search for something more efficient and effective. If you have any brand or product recommendations when it comes to zoodle-mabobs- please comment and recommend!!!
The maxam Brand zoodle-mabob does have a suction cup so you can stick it to the counter top because you’ll be doin’ a bit of cranking with the handle to “spiralize” the vegetable. That being said, the suction cup doesn’t work. Also, the directions are minimal at best and made me feel like I should ride the short bus after reading them. Not because they were over complicated, but because it said something like “put yo veggie in the hole and turn the crank.” Instructions that weren’t explanatory in the least when looking at the actual anatomy of the contraption.
The Maxam zoodler is more efficient than the hand twist zoodler because it uses more of the vegetable and less goes to waste, and once you actually get the vegetable inserted properly and get the crank going, its much faster. With the white plastic zoodler, I keep feeling like I’m going to cut my hand and much more of the veggie goes to waste. I usually have to end up chopping up the left over veggies and using it for a stir-fry a few days later.
I will say- it took two of us to zoodle all the zoods with the Maxam. I WILL use this zoodle-mabob again, but it’s a two person job and I’ll only use it until I find a superior product- I wanna zoodle all by myself, damnit. If you’re interested, here is the link to the Maxam on Amazon, listed at $21.85, normally $62. The reviews are mixed.
Again- recommendations people!!!
Ok, kitchen rant over and here come some yummy photos and the recipe. (There will be no left overs, beware!)
I kept tonight’s dish lean and green. I was really wanted to make something healthy; the mushrooms added a meaty heartiness that helped to fill me up,
Seriousy, sooo good. I mean, go ahead and just treat yourself to a teensy itty bit of peanut butter on top while it’s still hot. You know you wanna. . .
So here’s the recipe ladies and gents, I hope y’all enjoy it as much as we did. Aaron even went to the fridge looking for left overs a few hours later- which is a huge compliment coming from the turdy-food snob! Bon Apetit and dip up y’all!
- 5 medium sized zucchinis
- 1/2 head of broccoli, chopped
- 1 c snow peas
- 1/2 c purple cabbage, sliced
- 1 c mushrooms, sliced
- 2 heaping Tbsp minced garlic
- 1/4 c peanuts, chopped
- 1 lime, cut into quarters
- 1/4 c chopped cilantro
- 1/4 c chopped green onions
- 3 eggs, scrambled in hot oil
- 1/4 c coconut oil
- 1/4 c fish sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/4 c rice vinegar
- 2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- In one bowl, mix 1 Tbsp garlic, oyster sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, crushed red pepper, fish sauce and coconut milk. Set aside.
- Zoodle your zuchinnis.
- In a wok, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp sesame oil. Add zoodles and stir until cooked to aldente.
- Remove zoodles from wok and drain, then set aside.
- In same wok, heat remaining oil and let get hot. Add veggies. Saute until aldente. Remove from heat.
- Drain excess water from veggies.
- In same wok, using just a dab of oil, fry the eggs just scrambling at the end.
- Remove eggs from wok.
- Add the zoodles back to the wok along with 1/2 of the onions, 1/2 of the chopped cilantro, the remaining 1 Tbsp garlic and egg. Mix together.
- Add veggies and mix.
- Then add sauce and turn heat up.
- Mix and heat for about 2 more minutes and remove from heat.
- Drain excess liquid.
- Top each portion with a bit of the remaining cilantro and green onion, a squeeze of the lime quarter and chopped peanuts.
- I like to add a dollop of natural peanut butter to the top of my bowl while it's still warm. yum!
- Also, make sure to choose gluten-free options for your fish and oyster sauce if you have a gluten allergy! Not all sauces are created equal.