NorCal Homes Healthy Habit: August
The place that Oprah has in her heart for bread, I have reserved for all things that are Asian Cuisine. Which, unfortunately, is often pumped full of sodium and laden with carbs… two things that are counterproductive for someone who is trying to fit into the pants already hanging in their closet. During my never-ending quest to find delicious Asian-inspired alternatives, I came across this month’s featured recipe – “Spicy Sesame Zoodles with Crispy Tofu”. When I clicked the link and the first ingredient listed was Peanut Butter, I was sold! “Spicy”, “Sesame”, “Zoodles”… let’s be honest, there’s no sales pitch necessary. Throw in some crispy tofu, an increasingly popular meat alternative, and you have something good enough to share, even though you won’t want to. If you want to get crazy, you could even replace the tofu with chicken or shrimp – go on, live your best life! I know what you’re thinking, at this point, could life get any better? Yes, yes it can. One serving of this peanut-buttery-heaven-in-a-bowl is only going to set you back 380 calories… Um, I’ll see you in line for seconds! It doesn’t stop there, a single serving contains 17 grams of protein. If the Kardashian sisters are eating high-protein diets, than so am I (along with every other female with the same People Magazine subscription). To cut back on the sodium levels in this dish, I recommend using low-sodium soy sauce and unsalted peanut butter.
Okay, okay!! My mouth is watering, too. Let’s get cooking! 🙂
Spicy Sesame Zoodles with Crispy Tofu
serves: 6
INGREDIENTS
Chili Sesame Sauce:
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ⅓ cup sesame oil
- ⅓ cup light low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chili paste (like sambal oelek)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
Zoodles and Tofu
- 12 ounces extra firm tofu
- 4-6 zucchini
- sesame seeds and scallions for topping
INSTRUCTIONS
- Chili Sesame Sauce: Shake all the sauce ingredients in a jar or toss them in the food processor and give them a whirl. If you’re going to have this cold, refrigerate your sauce for a while.
- Tofu:Press excess moisture out of the tofu. Cut into bite sized pieces. Heat a tiny bit of oil in a nonstick pan. Add the tofu and stir fry until golden brown. Add about ½ cup sauce and simmer until the sauce starts to evaporate / absorb into the tofu and becomes browned in the pan. Keep gently flipping and scraping browned bits off the bottom – after a while, you should end up with nicely golden brown tofu with some little yummy browned bits from the sauce.
- All Together: Spiralize your zucchini and toss with about ¼ cup sauce per serving. Top with tofu, sesame seeds, and scallions. Serve immediately.
Here’s some additional notes from the original post:
I did NOT cook the zoodles. I wanted this to be more like a salad, cold and creamy and crunchy. Whether or not you cook the zoodles, when the sauce hits those zoodles they’re going to get a little watery. I found that this was only a problem when I didn’t serve immediately, so to avoid excess moisture, serve it right after you toss it up!
You may want to use more tofu depending on how many servings you are wanting to get out of this. I was fine with 12 ounces as 6 servings (just doing a small scoop of tofu on each pile of zoodles) but if you were super hungry you might want more.
Storing this: I would store the sauce separate from the zoodles and tofu, and then toss it all together just before serving.
Source: Pinch of Yum