Chinese Five Spice Noodles and Zoodles! Don’t wait making this quick and easy dish that is sure to please!

Healthy, satisfying, and brimming with plant-powerhouse ingredients, this oil free Chinese Five Spice Noodles and Zoodles dish is so flavorful and sure to sate those take-out cravings! Healing Chinese Five Spice goodness is the base for this tasty noodles and zucchini zoodles dish!

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

Our family is huge fan of Chinese Five Spice powder!  It has been speculated that for centuries that the origins of Chinese Five Spice may have been originally used to medicinally balance yin and yang.  The number 5 has been associated with healing.

It is very much a part of both Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine.  It encompasses all the major taste sensations – sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami.

Spices are a terrific source of antioxidants and are also filled with wonderful minerals. Dr. Greger has added spices to his daily dozen.

Our family totally went nutso over this dish. It immediately zoomed to the top of all our best recipes of 2022 thus far. We traditionally publish a “Best of [Year]” post at the close of every year capturing what our family thinks is our best recipes that we made that year.  You can be sure this one will be in the Top 10 for me, Mom, and Dad!

You gotta give this one a try!

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: This Asian dish is all about the Chinese Five Spice blend which is essentially a mix of the following spices: Cinnamon, star anise, anise seed, ginger, and cloves. We think it is absolutely delicious! We love Penzeys Chinese Five Spice Powder because we feel it is has the perfect balance of these 5 spices. Feel free to use your favorite Chinese Five Spice blend or make your own blend. If you are not a fan of Chinese Five Spice Powder or the spices used in the mix, then perhaps you may be interested in our Veggie Lo Mein, Fast and Easy Sesame Noodles, or Asian Cabbage Noodle Stir Fry instead.
• Amount of Pasta: While it is always tempting to use more pasta than the amount indicated in the recipe; however, resist the temptation as the amount of pasta indicated is the perfection sauce to pasta ratio.  We found 8 oz. to be the perfect amount if you are also incorporating zoodles.  If you decide to leave out the zucchini zoodles, you can increase the amount of pasta.  If you decide to add more vegetables, you will need to cut back on the amount of pasta.
• Zucchini Zoodles to Pasta Noodles Ratio: Finding that perfect ratio of zucchini zoodles to pasta noodles ratio is key or you could potentially end up with a dry dish which is no fun.
• Linguini or Rice Noodles: You can use any type of long noodle you wish in this recipe.  Please note that if you use really thin rice noodles, you will need to use less as they require a lot of sauce to coat the noodles.  We used linguini.
• Zucchini Zoodles: We absolutely loved using zucchini zoodles in this recipe. We used an OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Tabletop Spiralizer using the orange cutting blade.  If you don’t have a veggie zoodler/spiralizer, you can often times find zucchini already spiralized at most major grocery stores.  If you can’t locate zoodles at your local grocery, then you simple can slice the zucchini into very thin strips using a chef’s knife or vegetable peeler, or simply leave them out altogether and just increase the amount of pasta noodles.
• Julienne/Grated Carrots: We used a vegetable julienne peeler to cut the carrots into long thin strips, then cut those into small pieces.  We used grated carrots in previous kitchen tests, and while grated carrots work perfectly in this recipe, we really enjoyed the texture of the peeled julienne carrots. We tried diced carrots as well, they were just a tad too crunchy. We suggest grated or julienned carrots.  For those interested, we used a Kuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler.
• Fresh Basil Leaves: You can use either Thai basil or regular fresh basil.  We couldn’t locate Thai Basil, so we used fresh basil from our garden (or grocery store) and we loved it.  You do not need to chop the basil leaves, just place them into the skillet whole.  They will slightly wilt, the same way as fresh spinach leaves do.
• Pasta Alternatives: You can leave the pasta out of this recipe and simply use all zucchini zoodles if you wish.
• Optional Mushrooms: Mushrooms (any type) can be easily added to this dish. After the onions, carrots, and peppers have been sauteed, add the sliced mushrooms with a splash of tamari and sauté for several minutes until they reduce.  We did not add mushrooms to our recipe.  If you add mushrooms, you may wish to cut back on the zoodles or pasta to avoid a dry dish.
• Optional Beans: Beans can be easily added to this dish. Simply add at the end with the cooked pasta. We did not add beans to our recipe.  If you add beans, you may wish to cut back on the zoodles or pasta to avoid a dry dish.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered container.  Reheating can be done on the stovetop or in the microwave.

This dish can be frozen.

Pantry Products Used:

• Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium. You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.
• Chili Garlic Sauce: We used Huy Fong Foods Chili Garlic Sauce. This brand does have a small amount of sugar. However, this brand is generally accepted by the WFPB community.
• Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.

Kitchen Products Used:

• Large ceramic/enamel lined skillet or similar stockpot
• Stockpot to cook the linguini (or rice noodles)

If you try this noodle goodness, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Chinese Five Spice Noodles and Zoodles

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 15 Minutes
• Total Time: 25 Minutes
• Yield: 4 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Asian Inspired
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Healthy, satisfying, and brimming with plant-powerhouse ingredients, this oil free Chinese Five Spice Noodles and Zoodles dish is so flavor and sure to sate those take-out cravings!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Base Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, fine dice
• 1 medium carrot, julienne sliced (or grated) *

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari *
• 3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon tahini
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• ¼ teaspoon chili garlic sauce *
• ¼ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice Powder *
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)

Other Ingredients:

• 8 oz. linguini (or noodle of choice) *
• 2 to 3 cups zucchini zoodles *
• ½ to ¾ cup fresh basil leaves *

Optional Toppings:

• Fresh basil leaves

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Instructions

1. Fill a large stock pot full of water. Add some sea salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil then add the linguini (or noodles of choice). Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Check package directions on cooking times and/or boil the pasta until el dente, drain, rinse with cold water to remove any excess starch, shake well, set aside until Step 6. If the pasta gets sticky while waiting, simply rinse with cold water to loosen it up again.
2. Prepare all the vegetables (diced onions, jalapenos, sliced bell peppers, julienned carrots, and zucchini zoodles), set aside. The recipe goes fast so it is important to have the veggies ready to go.
3. Place all the Sauce Ingredients into a bowl, whisk well, set aside.
4. In a large ceramic/enamel-lined pot or similar stock pot, add the onion, jalapeno, carrots, and bell pepper strips, sauté over medium-high heat until the onions and peppers are tender, but not overly soft, approximately 5 to 7 minutes, stirring periodically to prevent burning. Add a tablespoon or so of water if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning.
5. Once the onions, peppers and carrots reach the desired tenderness, add the Sauce and simmer over medium-high heat until the sauce thickens, then turn down the heat to a simmer, simmer for several minutes.
6. Add the zucchini zoodles mix well to evenly distribute and coat the zoodles. Simmer for several minutes to ensure the zoodles has been thoroughly heated through, then stir in the cooked linguini noodles. Stir well to coat the linguini noodles and to heat through.
7. Stir in the fresh basil leaves, then remove from the stove and allow to sit for 3 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
8. Serve topped with freshly basil.

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Notes

*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used. 

*Serving:  4

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