Pad Thai used to be one of my benchmark dishes to judge a Thai restaurant is. When done right, it’s a wonderful dish busting with fresh flavours and textural contrast.
Of course since having diabetes and going Low Carb, it’s been years since I last had Pad Thai.
Then the other day I was picking zucchini in the garden and wondering what I could do with it… And so my Zucchini & Chicken version of Pad Thai was born!
I’ve kept the ketchup because it adds such depth of flavour along with the sweetness and it’s only a few tablespoons. Plus I’ve been using a sugar-reduced ketchup which is surprisingly tasty. However, if you want to steer clear of the sugar then use tomato puree or tomato paste.
There are roasted peanuts in the picture, I’ve left them out of the recipe to keep it to 6 ingredients (the oil doesn’t count). However you’re welcome to live dangerously and serve with peanuts scattered on top.
Zucchini & Chicken Pad Thai
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini (courgette)
- 3 tablespoons lime juice + an extra lime to serve
- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup (sauce)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce or soy
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 chicken thigh fillets sliced
- 1 bunch coriander (cilantro) leaves picked
Instructions
- Spiralize zucchini or slice into ribbons using a mandoline or vegetable peeler. Toss with a pinch of fine salt and allow to stand for a few minutes.
- Combine lime juice, ketchup, fish / soy sauce and oil in a small bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning with more lime / fish sauce / ketchup as needed. You’re looking for a balance between sour, salty and sweet.
- Heat a little oil in a very hot wok or large frying pan. Add chicken and stir fry until just cooked through. Place cooked chicken in a small bowl.
- Pat zucchini dry with paper towel. Return wok / frying pan to the heat. Add a little more oil then quickly add zucchini and sauce. Stir well and allow everything to warm for a minute or so. Remove from the heat and stir in the cooked chicken.
- To serve, divide chicken and zucchini noodle mixture between two bowls. Top with coriander / cilantro leaves and extra lime.
WINE MATCH: Thai food is best with a crisp cold beer. If you’re like me an insist on having wine with everything, a dry white wine like Riesling or Pinot Gris is best.
Variations & Substitutions
pantry-friendly – zucchini = cooked noodles or spaghetti. Lime = 1-2T rice vinegar. Skip herbs or replace with roast nuts.
hot! – toss in 1-2 small chopped red chillies with the chicken I use super hot Thai ‘birds eye’ chillies but any fresh chilli like serrano will work.
vegetarian – replace chicken with scrambled eggs or firm tofu, tempeh, extra peanuts or chickpeas.
nut-free – add a handful bean sprouts for crunch.
different nuts – also great with cashews or macadamias.
more substantial (low carb) – increase the chicken, add in some scrambled egg or serve with lots of roast peanuts or cashews.
more substantial (carb-lovers) – replace zucchini noodles with rice noodles, other noodles or spaghetti cooked according to the packet. Or serve with steamed jasmine rice.
paleo / sugar-free / very low carb – replace tomato ketchup with tomato puree. And use the fish sauce option instead of the soy.
more veg – add any veg you enjoy in a stir fry. Snow peas, bean sprouts, green beans, capsicum (bell peppers) are all great.
no coriander / cilantro – replace with basil leaves or mint. Or use a handful of roasted peanuts to garnish instead.
keto / ultra low carb – replace ketchup with extra lime or just skip it.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
zucchini – will keep for 2 weeks or longer in a plastic bag in the fridge. To keep it even longer, cook sliced zucchini in a little butter until just soft then store in an airtight container in the fridge.
lime – will keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for months.
tomato ketchup / fish or soy sauce / oil – keep them in the pantry.
chicken thigh fillets – freeze them.
coriander – best to use for another meal. Can be frozen but will wilt when defrosted.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – more lime or some salt.
too dry – you’ve cooked the chicken for too long. Next time check the chicken earlier. For now a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or some avocado or mayonnaise will help.
no spiralizer – use avegetable peeler or a sharp knife to cut the zucchini into fat ribbons and then slice each ribbon into noodle shapes. Or just slice the zucchini into rounds – it won’t look like pad thai but will still be delicious.
Prepare Ahead
The zucchini can be spiralized up to 3 days ahead. Don’t add the salt and keep in an airtight container in the fridge. Everything else is best hot from the wok.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I’m going to give this a try tonight, Jules!
I have had a spiralizer for years and, just like you, I use it so rarely that it doesn’t justify the precious cupboard real-estate that it takes up. I have a peeler hand-tool that cuts things into little matchsticks and it takes up no more space than a regular veg peeler. Just looks like a regular veg peeler with extra sharp teeth.
I’m going to try this with the extra firm tofu, since that’s what I have on hand. Do you have any recipes/articles for how best to deal with tofu? Bonus points if it’s a make-ahead situation where I can cook up a bunch of it and have it ready for recipes throughout the week.
We’re trying to eat less meat to help out the environment and reduce our contribution to animal suffering. But honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing in the tofu department. Ha!
Thanks for everything you do for us, you’re one of the precious gems of my household sanity.
Best regards — Jamie
I’ve been playing around with tofu lately Jamie. It’s a fun source of protein.
For something like this pad thai just dice it and brown as per the chicken and then I’d season it with some soy sauce to marinate in while you cook the zucchini.
The other way I’ve been using it is slicing into thick slabs and cooking under the grill – then using it like toast for a tuna melt or cheese on toast.
I’ve also been playing with using it in sweet cooking instead of flour. Early days on that front but definitely potential.
More tofu recipes definitely coming soon!
Made this today. Lovely. But leaves a bit more washing up than some other recipes,
Yes that’s the down side to the spiralizer Sue. Sorry!
I made this with chicken breast. Very good. I sliced up a lime very thin and cooked it in with the zucchini.
Ooh nice addition with the lime Paul!
Hi, Jules. I have a small kitchen.Should I buy a spiralizer or mandolin? Is the mandolin more versatile? What features should I look for in either product? Thank you.
It really depends on how often you want to make spiralized veg or shaved vegetables salads Paul,
To be honest, I only use my spiralizer a few times over the summer when zucchini is in season. And the rest of the time it just sits in my cupboard.
And my mandoline is broken.
I’ve been meaning to buy a new one but so far I’ve found it just as easy to either use my knife to slice finely or use the slicer blade on my food processor.
My knife cutting isn’t as fine as the mandoline but it’s much quicker – and less washing up. And I just salt the vegetables or dress them and let them sit while I make the rest of the meal and that softens them enough so I don’t mind that the texture is thicker.
If you have a good vegetable peeler you can use it to make good zucchini noodles. Shave into thick ribbons with the peeler and then slice each ribbon into thin noodles with a knife. They won’t be as pretty looking as a spiralizer but will still taste good.
What do you think?
If you’re still keen to invest happy to give direction about features.
Excellent question!