Name: Spicy Zoodle Pad Thai Salad
Total time: 30 min
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

My Zoodle Pad Thai Salad recipe is a refreshing low carb version of the beloved Thai street food, made with spiralized zucchini.

Zoodles (spiralized zucchini noodles) make a fun, and healthy, variation on Pad Thai!

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.

Spicy Zoodle Pad Thai Salad

4.80 from 5 votes

Zoodle Pad Thai Salad is a refreshing low carb version of the beloved Thai street food, made with spiralized zucchini.

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Total Time:30

Servings: 6 servings

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

sauce

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

garnish

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.

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Course: main course salad

Cuisine: Thai/American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: 30 minute meal, healthy, salad, Thai, zoodles

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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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.

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