Zoodle Pad Thai Salad is a refreshing low carb version of the beloved Thai street food, made with spiralized zucchini.
I’m a huge pad Thai fan, I always order it in Thai restaurants and I’ve made it myself lots of times. I decided to try out my new Spiralizer and create a variation of the dish by replacing the traditional rice noodles with ‘zoodles’. I just loved the result, and to be honest I couldn’t really tell much difference between the zucchini and the noodles, this version tasted exactly like my favorite pad Thai.
I resisted getting a spiralizer for quite some time, but I think all this super hot weather made the thought of veggie noodles sound really enticing. It took me just about a minute to get a big pile of bouncy ‘zoodles’ and to fall in love with my new kitchen toy. The zoodles were surprisingly long and resilient — I think I expected that they’d be watery and so delicate they’d fall apart, but it’s just the opposite, they look and behave just like regular noodles!
We ate this as a cold salad, and also as a hot dish and loved it both ways, the zoodles hold up well in either case. A refreshing combination of lime, ginger, garlic and cilantro, along with fish sauce and soy sauce forms the pad Thai flavor base. Mine gets a dose of protein from the tofu, and a great crunch from bean sprouts, water chestnuts, and roasted peanuts.
See my Spicy Pad Thai for a classic recipe that uses rice noodles, and my Pad Thai recipe for one that includes chicken. They’re all great in their own way.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 large jalapeno pepper, minced, seeds and all
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 4 ounces tofu, cut in small cubes
- 6-8 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 can water chestnuts, sliced thinly
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 2 medium zucchini, spiralized
- large handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 large limes)
- 3 Tbsp fish sauce (substitute soy sauce for vegetarian and vegan)
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, rough chopped
- more fresh cilantro leaves
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wok and saute the garlic, ginger and jalapeno for several minutes, stirring constantly. Push them to one side and add the eggs. Scramble them, breaking them up as they cook.
- Whisk together the sauce ingredients and add to the pan. Heat until it comes to a boil, and then add the tofu, scallions, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, and zoodles. Stir fry for a minute or so, tossing everything really well to distribute the sauce evenly and just barely soften the zoodles. Toss in the cilantro and take off the heat.
- Serve hot right away, or remove from the pan and refrigerate to serve chilled as a salad. Garnish with lime wedges, chopped peanuts, and fresh cilantro.
notes:
- I just barely heated the zucchini noodles through in the wok before taking it off the heat. They can wilt quickly, and I want to retain a little bit of their texture.
- Fish sauce is a fermented sauce that really gives pad Thai its authentic umami flavor, you’ll find it in the Asian or International section of your store. For a vegan version, use soy sauce.
don’t forget to pin it!
24 Comments
Katherine | Omnivore's Cookbook
July 5, 2016 at 5:15 amLooks and sounds like a beautiful dish.
Laura | Tutti Dolci
July 3, 2016 at 7:55 pmI love these Thai flavors! This is just the salad I crave on hot summer nights :).
Chris Scheuer
July 3, 2016 at 7:32 amThis is my kind of eating! It looks so fresh, vibrant and full of flavor. I love my spriralizer though I forget to pull it out sometimes.
Sue
July 3, 2016 at 10:59 amI’m just getting to know mine, potatoes are next :)
Robyn @ Simply Fresh Dinners
July 3, 2016 at 7:07 amLOVE this, Sue. And I thought the zoodles would be kinda mushy, too. What a great surprise and I spiralize everything I can get my hands on. It makes the ordinary look special as well.
I’ve never made Pad Thai Salad at home…crazy! This will remedy that :) Happy 4th!
Sue
July 3, 2016 at 10:59 amThanks Robyn, you too!
Rosemary Wolbert | Sprigs of Rosemary
July 2, 2016 at 8:33 amI love my spiralizer. Mine is an OXO — inexepnsive, easy to store, pretty easy to use. Just a little effort. Great salad,Sue.
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Medeja
July 2, 2016 at 5:00 amSounds very healthy and looks amazing!
Sara
July 1, 2016 at 9:46 pmI am kind of obsessed with my spiralizer and this is such a fun way to use zoodles! Can’t wait to try it!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
July 1, 2016 at 5:09 pmLove this take on classic Pad Thai! Great summer eating :)
cheri
July 1, 2016 at 2:25 pmBeautiful dish Sue, love your pad Thai dishes, both ways!!! I have a spiralizer but have only used it a few times. Started a pin board to pin more recipes. Pinned this one. Have a wonderful 4th!
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert
July 1, 2016 at 1:51 pmOh boy this looks great! I love Pad Thai and my poor spiralizer has gotten lonely lately so I need to get it out for this recipe! Can’t wait for our zucchini to be ready to pick!
Molly Kumar
July 1, 2016 at 11:57 amWhat a pretty looking healthy salad. I love how easy it is to make and it would be a great work lunch too.
Joanne R
July 1, 2016 at 11:30 amHow many ounces of tofu?
Sue
July 1, 2016 at 11:48 am4 ounces, just updated, thanks Joanne.
SallyBR
July 1, 2016 at 11:19 amI ADORE my spiralizer and have blogged about quite a few versions of veggies using it – you should try butternut squash for a delicious version too
I’ve got a zoodle with sundried tomato pesto coming up next week, hope you can take a look at it…
You made a gorgeous Pad Thai, which is also a favorite dish of mine… I rarely order because it can be so heavy, so zoodles definitely sound perfect for it
Sue
July 1, 2016 at 11:50 amThanks Sally, I’ll definitely check out your zoodle dish, it sounds great. I know what you mean about regular pad Thai, depending on the restaurant the noodles can form a clump, but not with these zoodles, they stay nice and bouncy and fresh!
SallyBR
July 8, 2016 at 7:49 amthere you go, Sue… if you’d like to take a look here is the link (hope it’s not too rude to include it, slap my hand if you feel it’s inappropriate)
https://bewitchingkitchen.com/2016/07/08/zucchini-noodles-with-sundried-tomato-pesto/
Sue
July 8, 2016 at 8:35 amThat’s a big YUM Sally!
Amy
July 1, 2016 at 10:13 amI love using my spiralizer, it is so much fun. Love trying new recipes using zoodles, so good and so good for you!
Kylee
July 1, 2016 at 10:09 amI do love me some thai flavors. This is a gorgeous looking meal – looks like a winner to me.
April J Harris
July 1, 2016 at 10:08 amI resisted buying a spiralizer for some time too but I’ve just succumbed to temptation to so this is perfect timing! Love how you have replaced the noodles with zoodles – so much healthier! The flavours in your Pad Thai Salad are just beautiful and I can’t wait to try it.
Sue
July 1, 2016 at 10:32 amI feel like I’m the last person to get one, but I’m really happy I have it now, I think it’s especially good to have during the hot summer months.
Chris @ SimpleFood365
July 1, 2016 at 9:44 amWe love Zoodles in our home. They are a great alternative to pasta and this looks delicious!