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.
Ashley Phillips says
I've never used one before but I love making duck pancakes and would love to be able to use this for my salad to go inside it as I struggle to cut it small enough
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes says
This looks so hearty and wholesome. O really enjoy bowls like this for lunch or dinner.
Sylvia F. says
I have a slight obsession with beetroots now although I have never tried spiralized one before, looks super delicious especially with peanut sauce and extra spicy kick 🙂
Edward Guerreiro says
I have never tried one before. But would like to.
Katie says
I haven't tried spiralised vegetables before, but I would love to try spiralised courgettes to make into courgetti spaghetti.
Pam Lawrence says
I haven't yet tried serialized veggies, but I do want and intend to – i am really keen to try sweet potatoes and butternut squash ones especially, and i thjnk the sweet potato ones especially would be a perfect accompaniment to piri-piri chicken (and far lower cal than the roasted ones I usually do!)
Carole says
I haven't tried one yet. Would love to use one to make a delicious salad
whitbyranger says
I haven't tried one yet, but I am really keen to try one.
Justine Meyer says
I havent tried them but fancy carrots or cucumber x
Pooky says
I have never tried them before. I would like to try though.
Emmyw says
I'll admit I've got into a bit of a rut with my spiraliser, we keep just having courgette noodles with bolognase or another pasta sauce. This looks like a fantastic, fresh and vibrant recipe. Well done Lucy!
Sarah Maxfield says
I've never tried them, but would love to give it a go – trying to eat healthier at the moment!
Lisa Crowther says
I love courgetti – even with just a little lemon zest and thyme, it tastes so good. I think spiralising veg is a great way to get your 5 a day in. I'd like to try some more Asian inspired dishes with it so this is great inspiration x
CoxeeFoxy says
I have never tried but would love to in the future 🙂
Aimee Swift says
looks fab
Kerry locke says
I've tried carrots and courgettes and loved them
Val Hartley says
No I havent used one before
glennamy says
Haven't used one before but I think I would like courgettes the most…
Sarah Ann says
I have and I love them! I really like making turkey meatballs with courgetti. Been buying the courgetti pre made so it would be great to be able to make my own.
GreenEggs says
I had a cheap one that broke, but I used to enjoy making courgetti to go with my bolognese sauce 😀