Well, now, here’s a use for spaghetti squash that I never would have anticipated!
A couple of weeks ago, I was thumbing through The Kitchn (as I am want to do) and came across a recipe that immediately piqued my interest: Spaghetti squash pad Thai. With tofu, of all things! With the CSA autumnal season in full swing and winter squashes arriving at our door every 45 seconds (or so it seems), this recipe proved to be quite timely indeed.
I’ll admit it: Though I’ve been working fairly late hours this week, I came home relatively early tonight just to put the spaghetti squash in the oven. I knew it would take an hour to bake, after all, and I was just dying to get the pad Thai party started!
So when I got home, I immediately put my biggest squash atop a baking sheet and placed it in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour, turning the squash over halfway through. In the last half-hour of baking time, I sliced up a block of tofu, pulled out my favorite cast-iron skillet, and stir-fried the tofu until it was golden brown on both sides.
Now, this Kitchn recipe and I did deviate in terms of our technique. The recipe calls for putting things in and out of the pan piece by piece; I did that once, between the tofu and egg, but otherwise I refrained. That’s probably because I neglected to purchase any spring onions, or cloves of garlic. No, rather, when dinner was nearly done I simply sprinkled some minced onion over the top, mixed it in, and called it a day! Also, in the sauce, I did not use the tamarind paste or the fish sauce (naturally), opting instead for a soy-sauce/water/brown sugar blend. I also added a dollop of peanut butter to the spaghetti squash at the last, because … well, why not?
I did, however, add the peanuts, cilantro, and red pepper flakes to the top of the dish for garnish, along with some lime. So I didn’t go completely far afield!
Oh, and did I mention that my cast-iron skillet is now smooth enough to scramble eggs without a lick of sticking? This is by far one of life’s greatest feats.
Anyway, ingredient substitutions or no, this meal turned out great. LeeLee and I enjoyed a couple of helpings apiece and polished off nearly an entire spaghetti squash between us. (Oh, that’s right – whereas the recipe called for half a squash, we used the whole thing. It’s what we do!)
The beauty of this recipe is that the “spaghetti” strands absorb so many of the dish’s flavors, without adding to the heaviness at all! The tofu, too, picks up the spices and richness of the dish, from the soy sauce to the Sriracha (did I mention I added Sriracha?) to the peanut butter and even the cilantro. In combination, it’s an amazing marriage of flavors and texture that just can’t be beat.
As it happens, we’ve got another spaghetti squash hanging out on the dinner table presently! I may have to try this squash-as-Asian-noodle thing again next week. Stay tuned!
:)