Thai Spicy Noodles and Cucumber Salad

Good morning, dear readers! Happy Monday! Doesn't that sound oxymoronic? Who's happy about a Monday - well except maybe Eagles fans who are rioting over their big game win. I couldn't care less who won the Super Bowl but I'll admit I felt a bit of joy knowing that the Patriots were losers.


Per tradition, I made my famous (well, at least among my friends) Artichoke and Green Chile Dip. It always gets rave reviews, tastes amazing and is decadent when added to grilled cheese. This year I swapped out the parmesan cheese for some good ol' sharp white cheddar and it was a definite touchdown (see what I did there?)!


Now for the recipes that title this blog post. Friday night I wanted to make something hearty and delicious with little work involved and this meal turned out better than I could've imagined! I've always loved the fresh and spicy flavors of Thai food. So much cilantro, lime, ginger, oh my I'm salivating just thinking about all of it!


Thai Spicy Noodles

1 lb linguine, cooked according to package instruction
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 Tsp red pepper flake
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 zucchini, cut into half-moons
8 oz baby portabella mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/3 C low sodium soy sayce
2 Tbsp Sriracha sauce
2 inches fresh ginger, grated
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 C unsalted peanuts, chopped


In a large stock pot, cook linguine according to package directions. Drain and set aside.


In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, Sriracha and ginger. Set aside. This will be the sauce for your noodles.


In the same large stock pot used for the linguine (because who wants to dirty extra dishes unnecessarily), add 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and heat up the chili flake and scramble the egg. The eggs should be light, fluffy and most importantly, cooked through. Remove the cooked egg and set aside.


Return the stock pot to the stove over medium heat and add in remaining olive oil. Sauté garlic until fragrant and add in the zucchini and mushrooms. Cook until veggies are soft.


Add the egg and pasta back to the pot and drizzle in your sauce. Toss everything to coat.


After serving, top the noodles with fresh cilantro and peanuts.


This recipe was awesome! The sauce was out-of-this-world flavorful, the veggies were tender, and the noodles were the perfect vessel to hold everything together. This recipe yields quite a bit (it's pasta after all). We were able to get about 5-6 servings out of the recipe. It was even better the next day after everything had a chance to marinate a little longer.


Cucumber Salad





2 large cucumbers, seeded and cut into half-moons
1 large bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 C unsalted peanuts
1/4 C fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
1 garlic clove, minced


In a large salad bowl, combine the cucumbers, cilantro, peanuts and jalapeno. Set aside.


In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together lime juice, oil, sauce, sugar and garlic. Pour over veggies and toss to combine.


This salad is so fresh and flavorful for being so simple to make! It actually is a very close copycat to one of my favorite salads from a restaurant here in downtown Raleigh (anyone else love Garland?). We were able to get 2 heaping bowls each of this light and fresh salad, which I will most definitely make again.


Stay tuned for some more great recipes and enjoy your Monday, readers! Happy eating!