Zucchini noodles are simply spiralized zucchini (cut into thin strips, forming long spiral strands). This shapes them into noodle shapes, and you can use the basic zucchini noodle recipe to make your favorite low-carb pasta! Some people refer to them as zoodles.
While this squash can easily be turned into a side dish, such as sauteed zucchini, this method for making noodles is ideal for certain high-carb dishes that you want to make keto friendly.
When it comes to flavoring these Asian zoodles, you can experiment with a variety of extras. I frequently include extra vegetables. I like to add spiralized carrots or spiralized sweet potatoes. An onion is always a welcome addition that also adds flavor, and red cabbage works well as well. Then, using an Asian chili paste, add some heat.
Grab some protein to turn this into a meal rather than just a side. Before making the noodles, I usually sauté some shrimp or thinly sliced chicken in the same pan. It can be mixed in with ginger, garlic, and oil. Remove it from the heat and set it aside while you cook the noodles.
Depending on how much protein you use, you may need to add more coconut syrup or almond butter to ensure that everything is flavorful.
How To Make Asian-Style Zucchini Noodles?
The Asian Style Zucchini Noodles consist of quite simple ingredients. Let me list them for you here:
- Soy sauce
- Sesame oil
- Sriracha
- Sesame seeds
- Garlic granules
- Spring onion
- Chili
- Carrot
- Fresh garlic
- Onion
- Raw sugar
Instructions
- First, you will have to prepare the sauce for your zucchini noodles. For this, you have to mix soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, sesame seeds, and minced garlic in a bowl.
- Now, shallow fry the onions, spring garlic, garlic, and chili.
- Add the carrots.
- Add the zucchini noodles.
- Add the sauce you made earlier.
- Garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds on top and voila your Asian-style zucchini noodles are ready.
How do you cook zucchini noodles so they don’t get soggy?
Naturally, zucchini contains a lot of water, which is why when you cook them they tend to get soggy. Simply season your zoodles with a pinch of salt (kosher or otherwise) and massage the strands to coat.
Then, in a colander set over a bowl, place the zoodles and wait. The liquid will begin to drain from the zoodles into the bowl in just a few minutes. Almost all of the liquid will have drained after about 30 minutes.
If necessary, or if working with a large batch of zucchini noodles, gently squeezing the zoodles will aid in the process of draining the liquid. There will be a tremendous amount of liquid released.
If you don’t have time to salt it and keep it aside, you can simply saute your zucchini in a large non-stick skillet. Add the zucchini noodles (with minced garlic). Cook for approximately 1-2 minutes.
To retain the zucchini’s fresh, crunchy texture, cook it only slightly. To prevent overcooking, constantly toss the zoodles with a pair of tongs as they cook. When finished, season with salt.
What Are Some Ways To Serve Asian Style Zucchini Noodles?
There are plenty of ways Asian-style zucchini noodles can be served, some of them are written below:
Serve with cooked chicken, pork, steak, shrimp, or tofu as the main course. With the addition of some protein, this can easily be transformed into an entree-sized meal.
With a fried egg, this dish can be served for breakfast. When I say this feels out of the world, I mean it. This is probably the best alternative if you’re in the mood for a yum breakfast.
Use it to prepare meals. Make a large batch of noodles and pick up a rotisserie chicken at the store. Pack noodles and chicken for quick and healthy lunches throughout the week.
Why do my zucchini noodles get watery?
Because zucchini is almost entirely water, cooking zucchini noodles releases the vegetable’s water content. If you overcook them, you’ll have a watery, mushy mess on your hands.
Here’s what you can do to ensure that your zucchini doesn’t get watery:
- Squeeze them out before cooking, using paper towels or a lightweight dish towel.
- Stick to the cook times to avoid overcooking because if it overcooks it will become soggy.
- Add them at the end of soups and sauces; they’ll cook just by being in the warm soup or sauce.
- Eat them raw – add them to a salad raw, or if you’re going to eat them with something warm, toss raw zoodles with the rest of the warmed-up ingredients.
Note: Spiralized zucchini noodles should never be boiled! It’s fine to serve the zoodles in a liquid or sauce. However, boiling noodles for other dishes, such as sauces or salads, guarantees that they will be soggy and watery.
Cooking zoodles in the oven is the easiest method that requires almost no tips at all. You only need a few pointers to get it right, and you can apply them to nearly any zucchini noodles recipe.
Make use of a large sheet pan. The oven method dries the noodles, but only if they are spread out thinly.
After that, pat the zoodles dry. Don’t overlook this step! When you remove the zucchini from the oven, it will be mostly dry, but as a final step, lay two layers of paper towels over the entire pan and gently pat.
How do you cut zucchini into noodles?
Handheld Spiralizer
This option works, but it feels a little more difficult and takes a little longer because the turning isn’t as smooth as with the stand-up spiralizer above. It also has several blade options for making the noodle shape and size of your choice.
Spiralizer
This is by far my favorite tool for transforming vegetables into noodles. It’s also the simplest and least fussy option.
Remove the ends of your zucchini and place them in the spiralizer to begin spinning. It has various blade options to accommodate various noodle sizes, from super thin to wider noodles.
Julienne Vegetable Peeler
This spiralizer produces thin, straight noodles but is my least favorite. It appears that some of the zucchini is wasted, and if you are prone to mishaps, be cautious or use one of the other options above.
Apply light pressure to the zucchini’s sides with a vegetable peeler. You’ll get wide, fettuccine-like slices.
Knife
Use a knife to carve. Carve strips from the zucchini, working your way up to the core. These zoodles will have a more rustic appearance and a thicker bite than peeled zukes.
Shredding With Grater
Using a grater, shred the vegetables. Shred the zucchini lengthwise with a box grater to make short, rice-like noodles. The excess liquid should be pressed out.
Mandoline
The mandoline produces slightly thicker julienne noodles than a peeler but in half the time. The mandoline makes the best flat zucchini pasta and lets you adjust the thickness.
It has several blade options, similar to the Paderno World Cuisine Spiralizer, giving you options for perfectly consistent noodles, slices, or rounds.
Should zucchini be peeled before spiralizing?
Do not peel the zucchini before spiralizing it. Yes, that’s the take.
It’s because when you peel the zucchini, the flesh becomes exposed, allowing moisture to escape. When you cook the noodles, they will become mushier. Instead, leave the skin on the noodles to ensure that they retain their shape and all of the nutrients found in the dark green skin.
Should you salt zucchini noodles before cooking them?
Yes, slicing and salting the zucchini will help pull a lot of water from the vegetable and won’t let it become soggy while cooking.
However, you should not salt the pan before cooking the zucchini because that will release a lot of water, ensure that your pan or skillet is clean and dry.
How far in advance can you spiralize zucchini?
In my opinion, you can spiralize your zucchini noodles around 4 to 5 days before and store the veggie noodles in a paper towel-lined glass container or sealable plastic bag. The paper towel absorbs excess moisture, and the airtight container stores your veggie noodles for the next meal.
Here are 5 ways that you can spiralize your zucchini noodles:
Are Zucchini noodles suitable for?
| Suitable for vegans | Yes |
| Suitable for vegetarians | Yes |
| Suitable for diabetics | Yes |
| Suitable keto-friendly | Yes |
| Low carb diets | Yes |
| Low-calorie diets | Yes |
Can You Freeze Zucchini Noodles?
Yes and no, respectively. Zucchini noodles tend to be watery when thawed because zucchini is naturally high in water.
Although you can freeze sweet potato zoodles, squash zoodles, onion zoodles, and other vegetables, we prefer to use the fridge method for zucchini noodles. You can always spiralize your zucchini noodles and put in in a zip lock in your fridge but not more than 4 to 5 days.
Summary
- Asian Style Zucchini Noodles are easy to make, all you have to do is prepare the sauce and then mix in carrots, noodles, and sauce into it.
- Zucchini noodles are naturally watery so you can opt for the above methods to drain the salt out of them.
- Zucchini noodles can be spiralized using a spiralizer, knife, vegetable peeler, and mandoline.
- Zucchini noodles can be stored for 4 to 5 days in a ziplock bag in the fridge but they can not be frozen.
- With this, I hope my blog was helpful to you, do try the recipe and let me know what you think about it.
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