Thai Chicken and Zoodles

“Not to sound like we are late to the whole low carb party, but we kind of are. Trendy keto and paleo diets have been around for years and preach about the benefits of a low carbohydrate diet. Rather than a low carb diet, our personal philosophy is everything in moderation. Time to get off the soapbox and talk about food.

We have not cut anything completely out of the diet but have greatly reduced the amount of carbohydrates and simultaneously raised the number of veggies we have on our dinner plate. A new-ish ingredient that has helped out greatly in our efforts is the zoodle, a clever hyphen of zucchini and noodle where you spin a squash into rotini-like shapes. You can use a zoodle anywhere you can use regular pasta, but after discussing it with Andi we came to the conclusion that a zoodle would be perfect to swap out with the soba noodles in our Peanut Chicken recipe. We changed up the peanut sauce a touch to help let the zucchini shine through the richness of the recipe.

This quick and easy dish is perfect for a weekday night dinner for two people.

Making a zoodle is rather difficult if you are trying to make it by hand; believe me when I say I’ve tried and it did not go well for the zucchini or the dish. A vegetable spiralizer is a must when making any type of zoodle. Look for one that suctions to the countertop which will make your life that much easier it eliminates the need to chase the device all over the counter.” – Joe

Ingredients

For the sauce:

• 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons Tamari
• 2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
• 1 lime zested and juiced
• 0.5 teaspoons Sriracha
• 2 teaspoon cilantro – chopped

For the dish:

• 2 chicken breasts – skin and cartilage removed, diced
• 1 small yellow onion – diced
• 3 clove garlic – minced
• 1 medium sized crown of broccoli – florets removed and stem chopped down
• 1 zucchini – spiralized

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

2. Set a large skillet to medium high heat and add two tablespoons olive oil.

3. Add the chicken to the skillet and brown on all sided, or for about five minutes.

4. Remove the chicken from the skillet, turn the heat down to medium, and add the onion, garlic and broccoli. Cook for three to four minutes or until the broccoli is tender.

5. Add the chicken back to the skillet along with the sauce and bring everything to a simmer.

6. Add in the zoodles to the pan and bring to a simmer once and stir. Remove the pan from the heat.

7. To plate, use a pair of tongs to scoop the chicken and zoodles and place into two bowls. Use a spoon to scoop the sauce into each of the bowl, top with more cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice.