Zoodle Pad Thai with Chicken

If I were to dream about Pad Thai (you know, just hypothetically...), I think it would look like this. A rainbow mess of veggie noodles and hot, savory steam rising from the pan.

I mentioned it in my Thai Basil Chicken Recipe, but I love when Thai food is overloaded with veggies. Zoodles are the perfect way to do that! Regular Pad Thai calls for rice noodles, and I’ve made it that way, but what I love more is this combo of zoodles with caramelized red pepper strips and bright carrots. Hello, rainbow in a skillet!

This dish is also a “throw it all in the pan” sort of meal, which is just my style. If I know we’re going to be home late, I’ll spiralize the zucchini and chop the peppers and carrots in the morning, so that in the evening all I have to do is put things in a pan before eating. First the chicken, then the carrots and peppers, and finally the zoodles—they cook virtually instantly, so you barely have to wait before digging in!

Remember to sprinkle with crushed peanuts or cashews and a drizzle of Sriracha before you take the first bite. The crunch and zing is worth it. And if you want to really flex you culinary muscles, crack and egg into the pan in the last few minutes, scrambling it a bit. 

If you like this recipe, you'll also love this Zoodle Chicken Chow Mein, with cabbage and green beans.

Zoodle Pad Thai with Chicken

Published January 18, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 cup carrot, julienned
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 8 ounces chicken, cubed
• 1/4 cup scallions, minced 
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced 
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

For sauce:
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce 
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup 
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha (your favorite brand or homemade)
• 2 tablespoon tahini 
• 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce OR if you prefer, Worcestershire sauce for a more mild fish flavor

For serving:
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, crushed 
• 1 lime, slided in wedges

Directions:

1. First, use a Spiralizer (affiliate link) to turn the zucchini into zoodles. Set zoodles aside.
2. Heat coconut oil in a skillet or wok over medium heat. Once oil glistens, add cubed chicken, browning for about 3 minutes on each side. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked through by slicing a piece in half— meat should be white all the way through, with no visible pink. If it is cooked through, use a slotted spoon to move chicken to a plate and set aside. (If any pink is left, cook in the skillet for a few extra minutes).
3. Add julienned carrot and sliced bell pepper to skillet, sautéing until tender. Once the carrots are tender and the peppers are starting to brown on the edges, add the chicken back into the pan, along with the zoodles, minced cilantro, and scallions.
4. Make the sauce: add all ingredients for the sauce to a small jar. Secure lid on jar, and shake until all ingredients are combined.
5. Pour sauce into skillet, and use tongs to move zoodles and chicken around in the pan so that everything is coated. Allow sauce to come to a simmer, and cook for 1 minute (just long enough for the zoodles to cook. I like them al dente—soft with a tiny bit of bite left- but you can cook them another minute if you prefer them extra soft).
6. Divide amongst serving bowls and top with crushed peanuts and lime wedges.

White Wine Cream Sauce Chicken & Thyme

In France we saw endless fields of lavender, ornately designed royal gardens, and vending machines stocked by local farmers with the crop of the day. In France, we missed lunch almost every afternoon because in Bourgueil, shops close up after 2 and if you're just strolling into town for a bite to eat, you're fresh out of luck. 

We saw at least one Château a day, traveled almost exclusively by bike, and learned that a map really does you no good when roads have no signs or names. It flooded, and we drank plenty of wine.

In France, we cooked coq au vin in our little apartment, when all of the restaurants were closed. We tried to eat like the French, even when we couldn't figure out their schedule! 

It's almost impossible to tell which parts of this dish are inspired by French cooking and which are just habits learned from my mom. This coq au vin-inspired dish has home cooking written all over it:

• It starts with shallots: French shallots are French, aren't they?! Despite the fact that my mom virtually always has a shallot or two laying around, cooking with them always just feels a bit fancier to me than cooking with onions

• After you sauté the shallots, pour on the wine (in this case, white). It sizzles and pops, and in true chef fashion you should probably take a sip or two from the bottle between stirs. Get a French wine if you want to feel extra French

• Stir in the cream, and watch the sauce go from brothy to rich and creamy. Many a person has added cream to sauce... but is it very French? Maybe, or maybe not. But who cares! It's cream! And it tastes amazing. Just do it.

• Finish with thyme, fresh and herbaceous. Any even if your thyme wasn't grown in France, you can pretend it was. Top off you glass of wine before you sit down to eat.

White Wine Cream Sauce Chicken & Thyme

Published October 12, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken breast 
• 1 shallot
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (for dairy-free, try canned full-fat coconut milk)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 springs fresh thyme
• Optional: 1 cup fresh baby spinach

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2. When the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts to the pan, and brown on each side until golden (about 5 minutes each side). Move chicken to a plate and set aside.
3. Dice the shallot, and add to the pan. Sauté until soft. Add the garlic. Sauté for another minute. Pour wine into pan, and scrape bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula to deglaze.
4. Pour cream into pan, and stir gently until incorporated. Add spinach, and stir in until wilted.
5. Place chicken back in pan. Bring sauce to a slow simmer (if you turn it too hot, the cream may curdle). Add salt & black pepper, and leaves from 2 springs of thyme. Allow to simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Garnish with thyme leaves from remaining sprig of thyme, and serve hot.

Thai Basil Chicken & Asparagus

Thai restaurants seems to have a magic sauce they put on everything to make it rich and full of umami. The first section of the menu I look at is the curry section. The Thai restaurant down the street from us serves curry with Japanese Pumpkin (AKA Kabocha squash) in it, and it's to die for. When I don't go for curry, I turn to eggplant. The soft vegetable has a way of soaking up all of that magic sauce and transforming into a seared buttery bite of flavor. And when I don't order either of those, I order Thai Basil Chicken. 

Thai Basil Chicken is always smothered in plenty of the magic sauce. You think I'm full, I'll take the rest home and then five minutes later you find yourself still munching, addicted to that sauce. I'm a bit particular about Thai Basil Chicken though. Some restaurants use ground chicken and others used minced or cubed chicken... I much prefer the ones that skip the ground chicken and use chopped chicken. And unless the restaurant has pictures all over their menu, you never know what you're going to get! 

I also want my plate of Thai Basil Chicken to be full of veggies! Peppers, broccoli, mushrooms... whatever they are serving with the chicken, I ask for extra. This is where I get myself into trouble. Most of the time the waitress tries to talk me out of it. I've heard the "There are plenty of vegetables in it," line a lot. And I have said "I know, but more please," a lot. Still... never enough. 

And then I realized: Make it at home! Duh! Figure out the magic trick in the sauce, cube the chicken, and use whatever veggies look the best. Definitely one of those why didn't I think of this sooner things. Live and learn. 

Thai Basil Chicken & Asparagus

Published August 10, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 4 Thai chilies, minced, plus 5 for garnish for people who like it 🔥
• 1 tablespoon oil for frying - I used an organic sustainable red palm oil, which can handle a high cooking heat, but you can use coconut or avocado, too
• 2 teaspoons of oyster sauce (Most oyster sauce contains sugar and some contains wheat. If you have allergies, read the label! It is an important ingredient to making that secret sauce 😊)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of loosely packed Thai basil leaves 
• 1-1/2 cup chopped asparagus, with white ends removed

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a wok or large sauté pan. When the oil is hot, add the chicken to the pan. Stir every few minutes, cooking until the pieces are browned on each side. Add garlic and 4 minced Thai chilies.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the oyster sauce, soy sauce, and maple syrup. Pour into wok, and stir to coat the chicken. Reduce heat so sauce is just simmering.
3. Add chopped asparagus to pan, and cook for 5 more minutes, until asparagus turns bright green and tender.
4. Just before serving, add in the basil leaves, stirring to distribute evenly. Serve with rice or cauliflower rice, or eat it on it’s own.