Pondering how to use up a bumper crop of zucchini? Go beyond zucchini bread and zucchini boats and try something different — Raw Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai. You’ll get all of the flavors of Pad Thai and an extra generous helping of vegetables in this clever dish (omit the fish sauce to make it 100% vegan).
Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai
Ingredients
FOR THE ZUCCHINI “NOODLES”
- 2 extra large or 12 small zucchini (enough to make 10 cups of noodles)
- 4 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 Tbsp. Thai red curry paste
- 1 Tbsp. lime juice
- 1 Tbsp. tamarind concentrate
- 2 tsp. fish sauce (optional)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
FOR THE PAD THAI:
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 cup coarsely chopped dry roasted unsalted peanuts
- 1/2 cup chopped mint
- 1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced
- 1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
FOR THE PEANUT SAUCE:
- 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tbsp. lime zest
- 1 -2 inch piece lemongrass, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp. minced ginger
- 1 Tbsp. sriracha sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 Tbsp. lime juice
- 3 Tbsp. agave
- 3 Tbsp. tamari
Instructions
PREPARE THE ZUCCHINI NOODLES:
- Use a spiralizer to cut the zucchini into angel hair threads, OR use the smallest setting on a mandolin, OR use a vegetable peeler to cut long strips of zucchini, then slice into thin noodles. You’ll need a total of 10 cups of noodles.
- Place the noodles in a large bowl.
- Heat the coconut oil over medium heat just until it liquifies.
- Remove from heat and stir in the red curry paste, lime juice and tamarind concentrate.
- Sprinkle salt over zucchini, then toss in the coconut oil mixture.
- Set aside, covered, for 30 minutes.
MAKE THE PEANUT SAUCE:
- Place the peanut butter, water, lime zest, lemon grass, ginger, sriracha sauce, garlic, lime juice, agave and tamari in a blender and process until smooth. The sauce will be quite thick.
ASSEMBLE THE PAD THAI:
- Drain most of the marinade off the zucchini noodles. Reserve the extra marinade and set it aside.
- Pour half of the peanut sauce over the zucchini and toss to coat. Toss in some of the reserved marinade to thin the peanut sauce if it is too thick.
- Toss in the cilantro, peanuts, mint, onion and bell pepper and serve immediately (at room temperature) with the extra peanut sauce on the side.
