The spiralizer craze hit just before I went to away to Ireland for med school 6 years ago. I didn’t want to accumulate too much stuff overseas and I was so busy working when I was home in the summers that I didn’t think I’d use it enough. I held off buying one and made due with a julienne peeler to make my “courgetti,” but my spiralizer-envy was sparked again when the Hemsley sisters repopularized spiralizing with “The Art of Eating Well” in 2014. My mom gave me one for my birthday a few weeks ago (she knows me) and when I finally turned that handle earlier this week, I was hooked!

You guys, its seriously a problem. I can’t stop spiralizing. The result is so pretty, and it makes even really crunchy / hard vegetables like carrots so delicate. I just want to experiment with spiralizing everything! Can we spiralize an apple? I’m going to find out (and make a wild fruit salad for y’all if it works)!

This first foray of mine into spiralizer salads was inspired by the “Tangled Thai” salad at a local restaurant (and personal favourite here in Toronto), Fresh. They have a cookbook as well, which I’ll be adding to My Bookshelf reviews soon. The base is spiralized carrot, cucumber and zucchini, and the salad is topped with red pepper, edamame, peanuts, cilantro, and a peanut-ginger dressing. I served this as a main with some pan-fried shrimp, and served the leftovers as a side the next day.

This recipe makes a ton of dressing, but it makes quite a big bowl of the salad as well. The dressing can be easily halved if you think it’s too much, and you can always make the other half if you still have leftover salad after. I really recommend unsweetened peanut butter, as the honey adds plenty of sugar. If you’re using sweetened, I’d cut the honey in half. I found frozen, shelled edamame in the freezer section of my (non-specialty) grocery store. I had rice vinegar on hand, and used it in keeping with the Asian theme, but you can substitute wine vinegar or apple cider if you don’t have it. The other ingredients are fairly straightforward.

While this salad will obviously be good if prepped with a knife or a julienne peeler, the spiralizer really does make it so beautiful. Adding one to your kitchen equipment may inspire you to experiment with different fruits and vegetables – it has certainly inspired me!

Asian-Inspired Spiralizer Slaw

Ingredients

Salad

1 zucchini, spiralized or julienned
1 large or 2 small carrots, spiralized or julienned
1 English cucumber, spiralized or julienned
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Dressing

1/2 cup EVOO
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup honey
6 Tbsp unsweetened peanut butter
4 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Mix together spiralized zucchini, carrots and cucumber.
Arrange on individual plates and top with diced red pepper, chopped peanuts, and chopped cilantro.
Serve dressing on the side with a spoon to serve so the minced ginger doesn't get left behind.