A medley of raw spiralized vegetable noodles served with pan fried smoked marinated tofu and a totally addictive spicy peanut dressing.
I have been creating so many cakes and desserts recently (for freelance clients) that I often find myself with as many as five different kinds of sweet options and nothing for lunch.
This is not as great as it might sound to some – there’s only so much cake one can eat without bouncing off the walls on a sugar high.
I often turn to my spiralizer in times like these – making a quick stir fry or zoodle dish to balance out the inevitable ‘tasting’ bites I take while baking. Or I did until my spiralizer literally fell apart during a (failed) sweet potato noodle experiment.
Thankfully, as if by magic, I received an email asking me to review the Oxo Tabletop spiralizer the very next day my previous device finally gave up the ghost.
Over the past three years I have tried every version of spiralizer going, from julienne peelers, to handheld ones, to tabletop versions. If you are at all serious about spiralizing vegetables I would suggest you skip straight to the tabletop version.
And having now tried three of those I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Oxo one is my favourite and my best.
The Oxo tabletop spiralizer races ahead the competition with a single – but significant – improvement. Rather than rely on small suction cups on each of the legs, the Oxo spiralizer has a large central suction cup that literally locks it to the tabletop – it won’t budge no matter how vigorously you use it.
It has three blades options – Spaghetti Cut, Fettuccine Cut, and Ribbon Cut – which store neatly away in a box when not in use. And unlike my previous two devices it has a really good grip on vegetables provided you follow a couple of essential spiralizing rules. Adhering to these will save you a lot of frustration and small ‘half moon’ shaped noodles!
Choose vegetables that are solid, not too soft fleshed, and at least 4cm in diameter and length. Cut the ends of the vegetable as flat and even as possible to ensure proper grip on the spiralizer.
You might need to cut some of the longer/larger vegetables in half – like butternut squash for example. I had great success getting long – very long! – noodles with this gadget, so long in fact that they had to be cut down to a more manageable size before serving.
This recipe was inspired by a Bon Appetit recipe which popped up on my Facebook feed – itself a loose interpretation of Indonesian Gado Gado.
The peanut dressing is pretty much all you will want to eat once you get a taste of it (why are peanut-based sauces so freaking addictive?). I used spiralized courgettes (zucchini), mouli (daikon), beetroot and cucumber but you could use any combination you like.
Gado Gado is usually served with boiled eggs but I wanted to keep this recipe vegan so I added pan fried smoked tofu. It was utterly delicious – and kind of made up for that slice of coffee cake I had for breakfast!
for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
Spiralized Vegetable Noodles with Smoked Tofu and Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 200 g (7oz) smoked tofu sliced thinly
- 3 spring onions scallions sliced into thin rounds
- 2 courgettes zucchini
- 1 mouli daikon, peeled
- 1 large beetroot peeled
- half large cucumber
- 1 tsbp black sesame seeds
- handful cashews
- handful fresh coriander cilantro leaves
- lime wedges to serve
- a little sesame oil to fry
- For the peanut sauce
- 3 heaping tablespoons smooth peanut butter
- 2 large garlic cloves sliced or minced
- 1 red chilli deseeded and finely diced
- small piece fresh ginger peeled and finely diced
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- juice of half a lime
Instructions
- Spiralize the courgettes, mouli and beetroot using the spaghetti blade. Use the ribbon blade to spiralize the cucumber. Arrange the vegetable noodles in a large bowl.
- Heat a splash of sesame oil and pan fry the smoked tofu (I used Taifun Organic Smoked Tofu with Almonds & Sesame Seeds). Set aside.
- Dry fry the cashews in the same pan for a couple of minutes and roughly chop. Set aside.
- Add another tiny splash of oil and pan fry the garlic, chilli and ginger for a couple of minutes over low heat. Stir in the peanut butter and enough hot water to thin it out into a smooth sauce. Turn off the heat and whisk in the soy sauce, sriracha and lime juice. Transfer to a bowl.
- Arrange the spring onions, chopped cashews, tofu and coriander leaves over the noodles. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve with the hot sauce on the side. Once the sauce is mixed in with the noodles the vegetables will soften slightly and get infused with the wonderful flavours of the dressing. Serve with extra lime wedges on the side.
Maggie Ali says
I've never tried spiralizer but would love to give it a go!
Charles Fletcher says
I haven't used one before but would like to try.
susan smith says
No i havent used one before, but would love the chance
Natalie Charman says
I haven't tried any yet.
Julia Linsley says
Butternut Squash Noodles with Chicken and Roasted Red Peppers : Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
2-6 oz. chicken breast
1 red pepper
1 cup red sauce (homemade or your favorite healthy brand)
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Directions :Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Slice off the top of the squash and cut off the bottom (bulbous) part of the squash in order to remove the seeds.
Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler and chop it in half make it fit in the Spiralizer.Spiralize! Separate the noodles and put them on a baking tray.
Slice a red pepper into strips and lay on the same the baking tray.
Drizzle the noodles and red pepper with Sauce and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 9 minutes.
Separate the noodles into two plates. Add 3 oz. of baked or grilled chicken, ½ cup of red sauce, and a sprinkle of fresh parsley to each plate.
Lucy Locket says
I've tried courgetti and I really like it so this would be fantastic
Charlotte Owen says
I've tried courgette noodles before and would love to win this to try myself
Tracy K Nixon says
I have spiralised carrots and courgettes and I often make courgetti with pesto and balsamic tomatoes and courgetti, ricotta and tarragon tarts.
Hazel Murphy says
I have had shredded courgettes in place of spaghetti when I was trying to loose weight which were great but I don't have recipe for you.
Stevie Fairbairn says
I've not tried spiraled foods but I'd like to try deep fried maris pipers or even swede.
Millie Moo says
I've not tried them but would love to try spiralized courgette
Millie Moo says
I've not tried them but would love to try spiralized courgette.
Leanne Hansell says
I have not tried spiralized vegetables.
Tracey Peach says
I've never tried but would love to because it looks fun! 🙂
Joanna Butler-Savage says
carrot works for me
Iain Maciver says
not so far but soon I,m sure
RebornLovers1 says
no i havent used one before x
Jenny Toal says
No I haven't but looks fun
Jennifer Haden says
I've never spiralised anything, but have been wanting too. I'd love to make some spiralized courgettes for some ramen soup 🙂
Anonymous says
I've never actually tried using a spiraliser but I like the look of a tomato and roasted pepper sauce over some spiralized courgettes.