I would like to petition for a Superbowl schedule swap. Saturday Superbowl. I know, I know – Sunday night football. It’s a thing. Unfortunately, even though I love my job, my colleagues and my weeknight routine, that doesn’t stop the pang in the pit of my stomach that kicks in as the sun sets each Sunday. Saturday night? Not a care in the world.
Full disclosure: I am the last person who should be dictating the schedule. At the risk of sounding super basic, I only tune in for the halftime show, the commercials and the accompanying eats. But understanding that the program draws millions of Americans – many of whom share my same motivations – can’t we just embrace the levity of the situation and plop it right into the Saturday night schedule?
You may be wondering why I am ranting. This year’s Superbowl fell on a particularly busy Sunday. I was coming in from out of town and had a laundry list of tasks to get done before Monday morning. By the time I got to the bar to meet my friends, I was tightly wound and my desire to binge on greasy food and drinks had all but disappeared – I knew I had more to do back at home. So, here I am on a Tuesday night, craving the nachos and Doritos I should have eaten two nights ago. And I’m bitter.
The good news is that during that hurricane of chores on Sunday evening, I broke out the wok and stir fried my new favorite dish. It’s just about as close as it gets to guilt-free Chinese takeout. This recipe made 4 servings.
Ingredients:
1 large spaghetti squash, sliced lengthwise
2 large carrots, stem removed and cleaned
1 crown of broccoli, cleaned and bottom of stem removed
1 small zucchini, clean with stem chopped off
1 egg (optional – for non-vegans)
1.5 cups of baked tofu, chopped (any protein works – I was in a hurry and grabbed this at Whole Foods)
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp of peanut butter, room temperature
3 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of sesame oil
1 tbsp of sriracha
1 lime
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a spoon or a fork, scoop out all of the seeds from both halves of the squash (sort of like you’re prepping a pumpkin for carving).
Place the squash with the skin side up and sliced side down on a large baking tray or dish. Fill the tray with about an inch of water.
Bake the squash for 40 minutes and remove to cool, dumping the water and flipping the squash up so that it can fully air out. In the meantime, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, sriracha, and juice from the lime in a food processor or small bowl and whisk and/or combine thoroughly.
Next, slice your carrots into thin medallions and chop up your zucchini as preferred (I like to slice mine long ways four times and cut into little triangular pieces). Chop up your broccoli – and make sure to keep the clean parts of the stem as they taste delicious in the stir fry.
Using a large wok or saute pan, place over medium heat and add a tablespoon of cooking oil. Add in your veggies and about a tablespoon of your sauce mix and stir fry for about 5 minutes.
The pan should be very hot at this point. If you choose to use an egg, push your veggies to the side and make a small area in the middle of the pan, then crack your egg and let it fry for a bit, loosening some of the yoke with a fork. Once it is no longer liquidy, toss everything together.
Using a fork on the cooled squash, loosen the spaghetti strands and scrape everything but the skin of the squash in the pan. Then add in the rest of your sauce and tofu and saute for about 10 more minutes. Serve with optional toppings like lime wedges, chopped peanuts and/or sriracha as desired!
