Asianish, Zoodles and Meatballs- it actually works!

Are you part of the spiralizer revolution yet? You should be! This fun new way to serve veggies is bringing a smile to cooks everywhere. I have been seeing so many creative uses for spiralized veggies. The obvious curly fries, of course, but spiralized potatoes made into hash browns and latkes, long swirls of cucumber and carrot made into salads and slaws and so much more can add some fun to mealtime. What exactly is a spiralizer? It's a tool used to cut vegetables into long curling cuts, spirals, like long springs of food. They can be as simple as the inexpensive As Seen On TV Vegetti to spiralizing attachments to power appliances, with something in every price range. Ever since the spiralizer hit the culinary scene veggie "noodles" have been the new low carb option.  

Naturally I had to play with this fun vegetable noodle and what better recipe to play with than Drunken Noodles? Legend says that this noodle dish was dreamed up by a hungry drunkard looking for something quick to fix after a night of drinking, as there is no alcohol in the dish. Modern theories tend to be that the dish is so spicy you need to have a beer on the side to tame it.

My version of Drunken Noodles is a very similar recipe to Dragon Noodles. The sauce is very similar but adds quite a spicy kick to the tender zucchini noodles and juicy meatballs. As for veggies, I went with mushrooms, onions, garlic, sugar snap peas, red bell pepper, and asparagus. You can use any veggies you have on hand but stick with the peanuts. They add a necessary salty crunch element. 

Drunken Zoodles with Spicy Turkey Meatballs

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup sriracha

vegetables for stir frying
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
2 tablespoons minced onion
2-3 cloves, minced garlic
several dashes soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons sriracha
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 medium zucchini, spiralized

1/4 chopped roasted peanuts

cooking oil or coconut oil

additional flat leaf parsley for serving

In a bowl combine the sauce ingredients. Set aside for now.

As usual, I was out of Sriracha- so I substituted a hot sauce
I made myself from red rocket chilies. Worked great!

In a bowl combine the turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, minced onion, minced garlic, several dashes of soy sauce, the 1-2 teaspoons sriracha and a good tablespoon of chopped parsley. Mix lightly and form into small meatballs. 

Place meatballs onto greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees 25-30 minutes until cooked completely. Remove from oven and set aside.

Prepare the vegetables for stir frying while the meatballs are baking. Cut vegetables into equal sized pieces. Set aside.

Use a spiralizer to cut the zucchini into zoodles. 

Preheat a large skillet or wok. Add a couple tablespoons oil to the skillet. Add the vegetables and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until crisp tender. Remove from wok to a big bowl to toss. Add a little more oil if necessary and add zoodles. Stir fry for about one minute until heated through but barely cooked. Remove and place in the bowl with the vegetables.

Add the sauce to the wok with the meatballs. 

Cook and stir until meatballs are heated through. Pour over the vegetables in the bowl. Add the peanuts and toss to coat. Sprinkle with torn parsley and serve immediately.

Now this dish is complete just like this, and very low carb. Sometimes I like to serve with a little bit of steamed rice on the side as well, for me that makes it more Asianish. Either way, it's healthy and delicious and I hope you try it!