Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

If you like pad thai, you will love this dish. I was testing it out yesterday and wasn't sure how it will turn out so I didn't take pics along the way but it ended up being super delicious.  Compared to traditional pad thai, the ingredients for the sauce are much simpler and I bet ya you already have them in your fridge/pantry. The zucchini noodles held up great, but feel free to use regular rice noodles. I used shrimp, but you can also use chicken or both.  

What you will need...

3-4 servings

For the sauce

3 tbsp of all natural peanut butter (you could also use almond butter)

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp of honey

1 tbsp chili paste (you can use more if you like it spicy)

juice of a lime

Rest of ingredients

2 large zucchini (spirilized)

1 large carrot, julienned or spirilized

1 bell pepper, sliced into thin strips (you can use yellow, red or orange)

3 cup of bean sprouts

1 small onion or 2 shallots, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp of fresh ginger, grated or minced

3 tbsp of coconut oil or oil of your choice

2 eggs, scrambled (I like to scramble the eggs separately, but feel free to do it as you cook the dish)

1 lbs of raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used medium size shrimp and that was about 31-40 shrimps)

Garnish

1/4 cup of chopped roasted peanuts (or cashews)

1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro

lime wedges

Let's prepare it..

In a microwave safe bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce and put in the microwave for about a min, just to warm it up;

In a large heave bottom pan or wok, heat up the oil over medium-high heat and add the onion, garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for about a minute;

Add  the shrimp and stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes, or until slightly pink;

Add in the carrots and peppers and cook for  about a minute;

Add scrambled eggs (or if you choose scramble in pan) and  half of the sauce; 

Toss in the zucchini noodles (or rice noodles) and bean sprouts and add the remaining sauce;

Toss and stir-fry until zoodles/noodles are tender and well incorporated with  the sauce, about 3-5 minutes;

Garnish with peanuts,  cilantro and lime wedges.

Basic Swiss Role Cake With Whipped Cream Filling

This is a prefect, not too sweet desert for mid afternoon. It may look a little complicated at first glance, but in fact it is very easy to make. Just follow the steps.

What you will need:

For the cake:

Vegetable oil, enough for greasing pan

5 large eggs

35g white flour

30g corn flour

80g white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the cream filling:

1.5 cups 35% heavy cream (you can replace it with your favorite jam as well)

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Grated chocolate for garnishing

How to make it:

Preheat the oven at 450F.

Line an approximately 30 by 25 cm tray with parchment paper and grease well.

In a large bowl add 2 whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks (save two of the egg whites in another bowl) and sugar. Using your electric mixer beat until light and creamy (about 5 min).

Add the flour mixture in 3-4 additions and mix well using a rubber spatula.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer beat the two egg whites until soft peaks form.

Add egg whites into flour mixture in 3 addition and stir well using a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter into the prepared tray and smooth it out evenly to the edges. Tap the tray few times on the counter top to get rid of any bubbles. Bake on the oven for 7-10 min or until the top is lightly golden and firm to touch (Avoid over baking otherwise the cake will get tender and hard to roll).

Take the tray out of the oven, and dust with powdered sugar.

Loosen the edges of the sponge cake with a knife and turn it out on a clean kitchen towel. Dust the the other side as well.

If desired, trim the edges to get a cleaner rectangle ( I just skipped this step).

Now, start rolling the sponge cake to form a log.

Set aside to get to room temperature, then put in the fridge for an hour or so to cool.

Meanwhile, start making your cream filling. Just remember it is very important to leave the cream in the refrigerator until you are ready to whip it.

Simply pour all the ingredients into a medium size bowl. Using your electric mixer start whipping on low speed and increase to medium. You want keep whisking until the cream starts up to take volume and the trails in the cream becomes stiff. If you took your whisk out of the cream and the whipped cream held firmly to the whisk then your whipped cream is ready. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Now, take the sponge cake out of the refrigerator and unroll. Spread 3/4 of the  whipped cream evenly  onto the cake, leaving about an inch from the edges. Then start rolling the sponge cake without the towel.

Spread the remaining cream filling all over the roll and garnish with grated chocolate if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.