How to make Zoodles with a mandolin
The mandoline (using the julienne blade) is my favorite tool for making zoodles. I don’t own a spiralizer, and if I did I’m sure that would be my favorite tool, but I don’t have anywhere to store one more kitchen gadget.
But the mandoline is pretty great. I adore that you can change the setting to make your zoodles as thick as you like. The other non-spiralizer options I’ve included here all result in fairly thin zoodles.
The best zoodles are thick ones because they retain their shape when cooked and don’t turn to a soggy mess. When the noodles are thick, it is very simple to get them al dente. I prefer them to be roughly the same thickness as a chopstick, or slightly thinner.
There are two methods for preparing zoodles with your mandoline’s julienne blade. Long, straight zucchini strips can be obtained by pushing the zucchini lengthwise down the julienne blade.
However, my preferred method involves twisting the zucchini around the julienne blade, much like how you would twist a pencil in a sharpener. This produces long, perfectly curly noodles that are zoodle heaven. It’s fast and easy. Just make sure you don’t slice your fingers off. Mandolines are ruthless. It’s pretty nice that the one I linked to up there includes a metal glove to protect your hands.
Use a hand held spiralizer
A hand held spiralizer is my second favorite method. This is the one I have. It’s even more like a giant pencil sharpener; you twist the zucchini into it and zoodles come out the other end. You have to use some force but it’s really not to bad once you get into the rhythm of it.
You can’t beat this one for storage space. It fits neatly in a drawer next to your peeler for potatoes.
The Kuhn Rikon handheld one that I have is $17-20, but there are other handheld ones on the market that are cheaper, like this Veggetti one ($8) or this Oxo Grips one ($15). They all have pretty good reviews.
How to make Zoodles not watery or soggy
In essence, zucchini are green, solidified tubes of water that we refer to as vegetables. The minute you burst into one, the cell walls are sliced open and begin releasing waterfalls of liquid (seriously, they’re made of about 2095 percent water, aren’t they crazy?)
A zucchini releases even more water when it cooks. The solution? Saute in small batches. In this manner, the liquid that the zucchini released can have an opportunity to evaporate off the hot pan’s surface. When you add too many zoodles to the pan, they will all release their liquid at once and steam one another in the pan’s bottom rather than sautéing. Resulting in a sad soggy mess.
The other culprit is salt. When you salt a zucchini, it releases more water, so if you happen to accidentally salt it while it’s cooking, the water problem will only get worse. The answer is to salt your zoodles right before serving, as soon as you remove them from the heat.
Granted, this goes against what your grandmother taught you, but in general, vegetables should be salted first thing in the cooking process to allow the salt to absorb and enhance the flavor. However, save the salting for right before serving when it comes to zoodles and the Battle Against the Sog.
