Thai Pork and Zoodle Salad

I was reading an article the other day about how to be successful in life. In particular, it talked about how the questions you ask yourself every day determine the kind of life you lead.
Because those questions trigger answers that lead to actions.
So if you ask yourself limiting questions, you’ll get limited results. If, instead you ask yourself forwarding questions, you set no boundaries to what you can achieve in life.
I thought about it for a moment: what questions do I most often ask myself every day?

I noted them down and found that these are the most recurring ones:

• “Can I get away with hitting snooze one more time?”
  Believe it or not, I ask myself this question every single morning at around 7am.
• “Where’s the phone” and “Where did I put my keys”
  These are pretty popular questions — a panic attack often follows shortly afterwards.
• “What was I supposed to say/remember or what did I come into this room for?”
  I'm sure it's a sign that I am aging, that’s OK.
• “Why didn't I learn parkour?”
  Parkour is SIK. But then I remember that if I ever take a class the other kids will humiliate me and laugh at me — kids are mean.
• “Am I wasting my time?”
  The answer is unfortunately often: YES.
• "What the hell?!?"
  No, seriously.
• “Ketchup or Catsup?”
  This is a daunting question, but I don’t wanna know the answer.
• “Why did I do that?” alternatively "Why did I say that?"
  I ask myself these questions every time I do/say something stupid and then I immediately want to hit Ctrl - Z to undo. But then my brain kicks in and I realise it’s too late and that I’m just a moron.
  
  

Then there’s the question I like the most: “What am I going to cook/eat?”
Not surprisingly, I always have the answer to that question. I don’t mean to brag, but I know my way around the kitchen.
Take for instance this Thai Pork and Zoodle salad. The idea for this recipe popped-up in my head the other night. Just like that.
I eat something similar at a Thai place here in town, with rice noodles instead of zoodles.
I love it because it’s a complete and refreshing dish.
I know that refreshing isn’t usually an adjective that we associate with pork or spicy food — but in this salad the bright flavor of zoodles, lime juice, carrots, scallions, and cilantro transform the pork into something so light and delicious.
It’s spicy, salty, sour, and sweet — all at once. It also has a terrific texture, with crisp carrots, scallions and tender noodles.
I like to serve it on a large platter so that everyone can customize their meal. It can also be easily doubled or tripled for a crowd.
One bite is all it takes: it’s love at first salty-sour-sweet-crunchy forkful.

Afterwards they will praise you for how exotic and delicious this meal was and clamor for more!

Thai Pork and Zoodle Salad                                                                             Print this recipe!

Ingredients
Serves 4

6 medium zucchini
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 tablespoons wheat-free soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
3 tablespoons Sriracha (make your own Sriracha with this recipe)
Juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon fish sauce (I used Red Boat)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 lb / 453 gr organic ground pork
4 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
2 carrots, julienned
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 chili pepper, seeded and chopped
Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

Using a spiralizer create zucchini noodles (always read the directions for your spiral slicer as they vary by brand - I use this spiralizer.) If you don't have a spiralizer use a regular vegetable peeler to vertically peel long, thin strips of the zucchini. This will form more of a wider "noodle" from the zucchini, like fettuccini.
Place the noodles in a covered microwave safe dish and microwave them on high for about 2 minutes. Alternatively, you can cook them in boiling water for 2 minutes.
Let noodles rest for about 3 to 5 minutes in the bowl so that they can release all of the moisture. Drain the excess water and set aside.
In a small bowl mix grated ginger, soy sauce (or coconut aminos), Sriracha, fish sauce, lime juice and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Set aside.
Heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add ground pork and cook until brown, about 15 minutes - breaking it into small pieces with the tines of a fork.
Add ½ of the sauce and cook for further 5 minutes.
Arrange zoodles, pork, carrots, scallions, chili pepper, cilantro on a large serving platter. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve with lime wedges and remaining sauce.
Enjoy!

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 495 calories, 35 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbs and 21 grams of protein.