kevin’s grandparents are so sweet…constantly making us food to alleviate some of the burden of cooking during school, and giving us fresh produce from their garden. a few weeks ago they sent us a HUGE zucchini! it was literally bigger than kevin’s arm and i was giddy over the prospect of getting to try another zoodle dish.
(photos and recipe adapted from White on Rice Couple)
ingredients
- 4 Tbs olive oil (divided)
- 1 pound shrimp
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin
- 6 green onions, sliced in 1 in pieces
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cups bean sprouts
- 2/3 cup bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
- cilantro
for the sauce
- 4 Tbs rice vinegar (or any other vinegar. i used apple cider)
- 4 Tbs fish sauce
- 3 Tbs ketchup
- 3 Tbs peanut butter
- 1 Tbs chili garlic sauce
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (didn’t have it and it still turned out fine)
directions
1. make the sauce: in a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients (vinegar, fish sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, and chili garlic sauce), set aside.
2. cut the zucchini into noodles or long pasta by using a vegetable spiralizing tool or a julienne peeler.
3. heat a large pan on medium-high heat. add two tablespoon of olive oil (reserve the other half for later). then add zucchini noodles and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the zucchini noodles are tender. do not overcook the noodles.The zucchini noodles should be slightly crunchy with a tender bite.
4. let the noodles rest for about 3 minutes to allow all the moisture to release. remove the noodles from the pan and drain the excess water.
5. carefully wipe the same pan remove the excess water, then re-heat the pan on medium-high heat. add the remaining olive oil and garlic. cook the garlic until soft and translucent, about 1 minute. add the shrimp and cook until shrimp is tender and becomes pink, 3-4 minutes.
6. add the bell peppers and green onions. cook for about 1-2 minutes or until tender. add the egg and stir in with the vegetables until the egg is cooked.
7. add the zucchini noodles back into the same pan, then add the sauce. cook for about 1 more minute or until the zucchini noodles are heated through. then stir in the bean sprouts.
8. serve the warm zucchini pad thai noodles with roasted peanuts and cilantro. enjoy!
these zoodles didn’t really taste like pad thai…but they still had asian flair and were definitely delicious. i was skeptical about the ketchup to begin with, and added peanut butter because that’s more typical of pad thai sauces…i think next time i’ll omit the ketchup…maybe add more peanut butter and some lime juice. the fish sauce really made the flavors pop! i strangely appreciate fish sauce…anywhoo, enjoy yall!
alice in cook-ING land 