This easy crispy tofu and zoodles coated in a creamy peanut sauce comes together super fast and is heavy on the flavour. Healthy, delicious weeknight dinners just got a whole lot better.
I love easy cooking but I also like tasty, packed full of flavour meals that have me saying YUM. This meal comes together so fast, it is perfect for those nights when you really don’t feel like cooking but you really know that you shouldn’t get Uber Eats again…
Plus, it is pretty healthy and by using zucchini that has been spiralised to trick my brain into thinking I am eating carby noodles when in fact I am enjoying a healthy serving of vegetables, it just makes this meal so much better. There is no heavy feeling after, just all the good, delicious, satisfied feels. Yes please.
Let’s talk about the creamy peanut sauce for a second. The first time I made this, I used a different sauce I found from a different recipe and it was really really salty. The balance of soy sauce was off and it was not good. I realised, why use something different when I already have a peanut sauce I love? So I went back to my chicken satay noodles and took the sauce from there. It worked perfectly.
What I love the most about the sauce is that it has just the right amount of spicy, salty, sour and sweet. All those flavours coming together to balance each other and work together. It truly is a good thing.
Next we have the zucchini noodles – which are kind of controversial in my house. I love noodles and could eat them every day, but also know that I need to eat more vegetables. I bought the spiraliser in an attempt to trick myself into enjoying zucchini. Simple as that. And for a while I was eating them but still not actually loving them. My husband is less subtle and really just hates them, making a disappointed groan everytime I express that I am going to try them again.
But that was before this meal. This meal changed all the feelings of zucchini noodles in our house. It made them exciting and tasty and something that we really enjoyed eating. The amazing peanut sauce combined with the still a bit crisp zucchini just work magic together to become the healthy alternative that I had always hoped it could be.
How to make crispy tofu with peanut sauce
Ah the crispy tofu. I love this stuff. Learning to cook with tofu has been a journey for me, but I really enjoy it and we tend to eat it pretty regularly when in need of a break from meat.
The big tofu turning point for me, was starting to buy my tofu from the asian grocer rather than the supermarket. It is super cheap and you can get the firm tofu that cubes really well and becomes these crispy fried little pieces.
First, blot any excess moisture from the tofu so it’s pretty dry, and cut into cubes. Heat the oil in the pan and add the tofu, turning until the sides start to brown.
And then you add the sauce. What happens next is instead of the sauce just smoothly coating the little bits of tofu, it clings to the outside of each piece and sort of solidifies making this delicious peanuty coating that gets really crispy as you continue to cook it in the pan. It was not what I expected the first time I made this, but now it is the only way.
Those crispy bits of sauce have so much flavour and add an amazing texture to the creamy zoodles.
This is one of those meals that I eat on the reg and I thought it deserved it’s place on the blog as it is so simple, but so good. I know you will enjoy this quick and easy healthy weeknight dinner of crispy tofu and zoodles with peanut sauce as much me.
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with #eightforestlane as I would love to see.
Crispy Tofu and Zoodles with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 medium zucchinis
- 300 grams firm tofu
- sesame seeds , optional
Peanut Sauce
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1-2 tablespoons sriracha
- juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Spiralise the zucchini, sprinkle with salt and leave in a colander in the sink for 30 minutes to remove excess water and prevent them from going soggy. Rinse and drain, patting dry with a paper towel to remove excess salt and moisture prior to adding them to the pan.
- Make the peanut sauce. Put all sauce ingredients into a bullet blender or food processor and blend until creamy.
- Drain the tofu and blot dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Cut up into 2 cm cubes.
- Heat some oil in a pan, and add tofu. Only stirring occasionally, let tofu start to brown. Add in about half of the sauce and stir through the tofu. Sauce will start to cling to the tofu and get crispy on the outside. Keep stirring until all tofu/sauce is golden brown. Remove tofu from the pan and set aside.
- Turn the pan heat down to medium and add zucchini noodles and just enough of the remaining sauce to coat the zoodles. Stir through until zoodles are evenly coated and heated through.
- Serve zoodles in a bowl with a big scoop of the tofu on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and eat immediately.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
If you like this recipe, try these!
5 Minute Sweet and Spicy Noodles
Chicken Satay Noodles
Turmeric Fried Rice
Vegan Spiced Chickpea + Veggie Bowls
Vegan Mac and Cheese
Tofu Lettuce Cups with Peanut Sauce
Save it for later:
sheenam | thetwincookingproject.net
This looks great! Specially the peanut sauce sounds amazing.
Sally
Thanks!